Everyone has a favorite comfort food. Maybe it's something from your childhood or a dish that brings back fond memories of time spent with family or friends. For immigrants, it might be food they took for granted in their homeland that isn't readily available in their new country. My husband falls into the latter category. Prior to the pandemic halting international travel, he regularly traveled to England and was able to enjoy foods he had grown up with but couldn't get stateside. When he wistfully mentioned a longing for crumpets recently, I decided it was time to revisit these delicious little spongy griddle cakes.
Crumpets are traditionally eaten for breakfast or as a teatime treat throughout the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand and Australia. They are about the same size as the American-invented English muffin, but whereas muffins are bread-like discs that are split in half to toast, crumpets are cooked on one side only, leaving the sponge-like tops full of distinctive nooks and crannies. Crumpets are far less time-consuming to make from scratch than English muffins, and they are much more fun to watch as they cook, due to the mesmerizing bubbles that form and pop on the surface.
If you can make pancakes, you can make crumpets. The batter is similar, but it needs to be contained so it can plump up when heated. I recommend high-sided egg rings for this task – they are easiest to find if you don't already have them at hand – but any kind of round tin will work as long as the dimensions are at least 3-inches round and 1-inch high.
Crumpets can be eaten right after cooking but they taste best if left to rest overnight in the refrigerator and then toasted like a bagel. Either way, be sure to slather with butter. It melts down into the crevices so that every bite is packed with buttery deliciousness. You can get creative and drizzle with honey or syrup, or top with jam or marmalade, but a simple, buttered crumpet is hard to beat.
Note: This recipe was adapted to American standard measure from Warburton's Bakery's metric recipe. I've included the metric in parenthesis, and recommend using it if you have a kitchen scale for precise measuring.
British Crumpets
1 tsp. active dry yeast
1 Tbsp. warm water
1/2 tsp. sugar
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour (150 grams)
3/4 cup + 1 Tbsp. warm water (200 ml)
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
2 Tbsp. salted butter, melted
Instructions:
1. Dissolve yeast in warm water. Sprinkle in the sugar and let sit until frothy, about 10 minutes.
2. Combine flour, water and salt in a mixing bowl and whisk by hand for two minutes. Add baking powder and the yeast mixture to the batter and whisk a further 30 seconds. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and set in a warm place for 30-45 minutes. Batter is ready when the surface is nice and foamy.
3. Heat a skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Brush some melted butter in the pan and on the rings, and put the rings in the skillet to heat. (if it starts to smoke, turn heat down slightly). Note that even if you have a nonstick pan and nonstick rings, you will still need to brush with butter or the batter will stick.
4. Stir the batter to remove any large air bubbles, then ladle or pour about 1/4 cup into each ring. After a minute or two, the batter will start to rise and bubbles will form on the surface and begin to pop. Turn down the heat to medium so the bottoms don't scorch, and let the bubbles pop until the surface has set and there are no more bubbles popping. You can use a toothpick to open up any extra air pockets.
5. Carefully remove the rings, then gently flip the crumpets over for a minute or so to cook any residual raw batter and give them a blush of color on the surface. Remove from pan and set aside to cool. Once completely cooled, store in the refrigerator until ready to toast.
Makes 6 crumpets
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