How to Make Crumpets

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In this detailed guide I will teach you how to make crumpets in the comfort of your own kitchen and it's easier than you think. Fluffy, chewy, spongey and with plenty of holes to hold all that butter, they are perfect!

Course Breakfast, Brunch, Snack

Cuisine English

Keyword crumpets

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 15

Proving Time 30

Total Time 55

Servings crumpets

Calories 77kcal

Author Jo Allison

Equipment

Kitchen Scales*
Large Glass Bowl*
Crumpet Rings*
Pastry Brush*
Carbon Steel Pan 28cm or any non-stick pan
Ice Serving Tongs* or use regular kitchen tongs

Ingredients

300 g strong bread flour or plain (all-purpose) flour or mixture of both
2 teaspoon quick/instant yeast
1 teaspoon fine salt see notes
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
400 ml lukewarm water
oil or olive oil for greasing the rings and a pan

Instructions

In a large bowl mix together flour, yeast and salt.
300 g strong bread flour, 2 teaspoon quick/instant yeast, 1 teaspoon fine salt
Add warm water and whisk it into the flour vigorously until you get uniform batter. Continue whisking a little longer to incorporate more air into the mixture.
400 ml lukewarm water
Cover the bowl and put it somewhere warm for 30min - 1hour or so to become bubbly and increase in size (not necessarily double ).
Once batter had a time to rest, sprinkle over bicarbonate of soda and whisk it into the batter really well.
***Quick Tip*** It is quite a gloopy batter and it might feel a bit stiff as you're whisking but do persist as you want your baking soda mixed in well.
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
Prepare your crumpet rings by greasing them generously with some oil or butter if you prefer.
oil or olive oil for greasing the rings and a pan
Place your non-stick pan (preferably cast iron or carbon steel) on a medium-low heat, grease it lightly with some oil and let it come to temperature for about 5 minutes.
Place rings in a pan and fill them approximately half way up with crumpet batter.
Cooking time is approximately 8-12 minutes.
As they cook, bubbles will appear on the surface of each crumpet. Eventually, most of the them will pop uncovering signature little holes crumpets are known and loved for.
Crumpets are ready to flip when the top surface looks almost dry.
Carefully take off the rings. They will be super hot so do take care.
***Quick Tip*** I use ice serving tongs to lift the rings off as they are small and grippy but any kitchen tongs will do.
Flip the crumpets over to gently brown the tops. All they need is up to a minute max just for a little colour.
Flip cooked crumpets back over to check they're done and take them out onto cooling rack to cool.
Repeat the process with remaining batter.

Notes

Nutritional information is per crumpet (based on 15 crumpets) and doesn't include the oil used for greasing the rings and a pan. It should be treated as a rough guideline only.
This recipe makes anything between 12-15 crumpets depending on the size of your rings and how much you fill them. Cooking time is up to 15 minutes per 4 crumpets, you will have to repeat the process until you've used up all the batter.
Feel free to adjust the amount of salt. I find 1 teaspoon of fine salt to be just right here.
Crumpets will keep for up to a week in the fridge or freeze them for up to 3 months. No need to defrost, you can pop them straight into a toaster.

Crumpet batter doesn't need to double in size after proving. You want to leave it to rest for 30min-1hr and as long as you see some surface bubbles and some increase in volume indicating that there is an activity and yeast are doing their job, it's all good.

Pan temperature control is super important for crumpet success. Be patient and let the pan you're using come to temperature before cooking. I find medium-low heat the most consistent. It's really easy to burn bottoms of your crumpets before they're cooked through so don't be tempted to turn the heat up to speed the process. Good crumpets take time. The more you make them the better you'll get at gauging it.

Grease your rings every single time and not just at the beginning. You might think it will be fine but trust me, crumpets will get stuck.

Don't overfill rings with batter. I find filling them up half way to be a sweet spot. They will rise in a pan and fill the rings fully, if you fill them up too much, batter might spill over.

Don't flip the crumpets too soon. You want for the tops to be almost dry before you flip.

Make loads and freeze. If you enjoy a crumpet or two on regular basis it's a sound advice. I often make double batch at a time, pop them in a freezer and feel smug every time I pop one in a toaster (straight from the freezer).

Don't skimp on butter when serving.

Nutrition