Crumpets
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups lukewarm water
- 1 cup lukewarm milk
- 2 tablespoons melted butter
- 3 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
- 2 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
Directions
1) Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl, and beat vigorously for 2 minutes. A stand or hand mixer, set on high speed, work well here.
2) Cover the bowl, and let the batter rest at room temperature for 1 hour. It will expand and become bubbly. Towards the end of the rest, preheat a griddle to medium-low, about 325°F. If you don't have an electric griddle, preheat a frying pan; it shouldn't be as hot as the temperature you use to cook pancakes.
3) Lightly grease the griddle or frying pan, and place well-greased 3 3/4" English muffin rings in the pan, as many as will fit. (If you don't have English muffin rings, use well-cleaned tuna cans, from which you've removed the top and bottom.) Pour sticky batter by the scant 1/4-cupful into each ring; a muffin scoop works well here.
4) After about 4 minutes, use a pair of tongs to slip the rings off. Cook the crumpets for a total of about 10 minutes on the first side, until their tops are riddled with small bubbles/holes. They should be starting to look a bit dry around the edges. Their bottoms will be a mottled, light-golden brown. Note: They probably won't be as full of holes as store-bought crumpets; that's OK.
5) Turn the crumpets over, and cook for an additional 5 minutes, to finish cooking the insides and to brown the tops gently. This isn't traditional; "real" crumpets are white on top, but the crumpet police won't chastise you for adding a little color to the tops.
6) Remove the crumpets from the pan, and repeat with the remaining batter, until all the crumpets are cooked. Serve warm. Or cool completely, wrap in plastic, and store at room temperature. To enjoy, warm in the toaster. Serve with butter, or butter and jam.
Yield: about twenty 3 3/4" crumpets.
Reviews
04/07/2012- I accept I may have made some mistake (not using your flour) but I followed this recipe to the "t". It was flat. I got bubbles! My proofing oven did a great job of getting the dough going. But I read over this recipe no more than three times to verify there was no sugar. Every recipe I've come across elsewhere has some form of sugar in at least a small amount. I have new crumpet rings and a nice big , thick bottom pan. The crumpets browned beautifully, but I could never get them to fully cook inside. And after flipping them, they flattened out to cracker. And they taste just like a cracker too. Sorry, I'm not a negative reviewer, but HEADS UP to all who attempt, check around and make the adjustment to add a little sugar. I may try it again, but it was quite an ordeal. I ended up splitting them and toasting to set the centers. Funny too, the crumpets I used to buy in San Francisco were not crisped on top which left many more holes to fill with butter and jam. These come out more like English muffins.
I am sorry this was a disappointment. I recommend turning the temperature of your pan or griddle down so they will cook longer for the interior to cook through while not achieving a "crisp" on the exterior. Elisabeth
02/26/2012- I just made these and have already eaten 2 while the rest still cooks! The first being a bit hot was quite doughy and the second still a bit doughy. I will try cooking a little longer. I didn't have the rings so made 2 rings with non-stick tinfoil, wrapped them around a cat food can to get size & shape - works quite well. Also used a round cookie cutter but it's a bit small. I'd like to know if you can keep the batter a day or two as it's an awful lot to make at once. I'll have to freeze these & hope for the best.
If the center seems doughy, finish cooking in a preheated oven set to 350 degrees for 5-8 minutes. I think your best bet is to freeze the final product and reheat for service in the toaster rather than store the batter in the frig. Elisabeth
- 01/20/2012
- WOW! All I can say is a BIG thank you for such a great tasting, foolproof recipe! My crumpets came out amazing, compared to the previous batch I made which were one big stodgy mess. And so much nicer than the shop bought ones. I also found out that by using silicon egg rings they came out really easy and can be found on Amazon. Thanks once again :)
09/05/2011- I just came back from Washington a couple days ago where I visited the crumpet shop in Pikes Place Market. I was so in love with them that I had to look up how to make them at home. This morning's preparation was so easy and only took a few minutes. the hardest part was waiting for an hour! When the time came to cook them there were plenty of bubbles but they disappeared towards the time it took to flip them. I wonder where they ran off to, but they tasted great with the Canadian maple butter I smuggled back from my pacific northwest vacation. :x Also, I didn't have 3" english muffin rings so I used by 3" biscuit rings - which took some maneuvering due to the rounded handle on top. I would definitely make them again if I can figure out how to keep the lovely bubbles from the rise.
- 04/29/2011
- I seem to be having the same issue as some other bakers in that my batter turned out too thick. The only difference I made was using proofed active dry yeast instead of instant. Next time I make these I will try it using instant yeast. The ones I made taste alright, despite being heavy and too squishy.
You may be measuring too much flour into your dough. If you are not scaling by weight, we suggest that you use this method for measuring flour: http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipe/measuring-flour.html ~Amy
- 04/22/2011
- First of all let me say I haven't made this recipe but I just want to tell people who may never have had crumpets that they ARE doughy all the way through. Once toasted they will be crispy outside but still doughy inside. Not doughy as in raw dough but as in a wet sponge. Once smeared with butter that drips thru the holes & maybe some jam, you won't mind the texture!
- 04/12/2011
- I used whole wheat pastry flour in place of the all purpose and greased canning jar lids in place of the english muffin tins. They were quite doughy after cooking so I would use more liquid next time, but still delicious warm with peach jam.
- 03/16/2011
- I could not believe how quick and easy and, how delicious, these crumpets are.
03/10/2011- I seem to be having some of the same trouble with these as some of the other bakers, I cant seem to keep these from being doughy in the middle. My other problem is, I have never even eaten a crumpet so I guess Im not sure what the taste and texture are supposed to be..these were a request of my husbands.To me the flavor is alright...kinda like a pancake. If I could fix the doughy problem I think they would be pretty tasty.
I am sorry to hear of your difficulty. When a crumpet or English muffin is gummy and wet in the center, the dough is too dry. I know this seems counter intuitive, but the dough needs more liquid. This will allow the yeast to work better and make a lighter product during cooking. Give it a try. Frank @ KAF.
- 01/15/2011
- I made these crumpets using gluten free King Arthur flour, and also substituted Earth Balance for butter and SO Delicious coconut milk for the milk. I wasn't sure if the gf flour would go cup for cup substitute for the regular flour so i asked the King Arthur online baker for advise. She said the only change would be to add a couple of eggs. Good idea, (thanks Amy!) especially considering I would lose the binder of actual cows milk when I subbed with coconut. I never made crumpets before so I am a rookie. Myself and two kiddos are all GFCF and it is an adventure to find yummy foods. This next week my six year olds class is having a tea and crumpet party in honor of AA Milne's birthday. I didn't want him to feel left out and am so happy to find this great recipe with helpful advice. My son Loved the crumpets! Scarfed one down and begged for a second! Thanks so much!
