Sometimes a single word triggers a memory. Sure experts tell us that smell and taste are powerful mental alarm bells but my internal dictionary seems to also have a web of recall attached. Today that word was ‘crumpet’. A leftover from Welsh, a language that my brain can barely hear at full speed let alone comprehend, they’re also named ‘pikelets’ in some Anglo-Saxon circles and can be solidly documented back to the 1300s. I think it likely that hungry tribesmen were tossing risen batter on a hot rock in cold northern forests even centuries earlier.
For a long time I walked past a shop every day that sold crumpets hot off their grill all day long. I was spoiled for teatime as they’re hard to beat when made fresh. It was a constant war of the dough as there was a terrific bagel bakery literally two doors down from them. Thank goodness there are seven days in a week or I would have had to choose.
When the word ‘crumpet’ crossed my path the other day I realized I hadn’t had one in years. Awash in a sea of toast and biscuits, I had forgotten how unique they are on the bread texture spectrum. Not really a dough, not really a batter, their leveners don’t actually rise them to heights like a loaf but rather add taste and texture before anything else. A pleasantly spongy texture that nearly always gets painted with obscene amounts of butter.
People insist on staging a sort of pastry joust between crumpets and English muffins citing all manner of absolutes surrounding their preparation but in practice, I’ve seen any such rules tossed on the heap like yesterday’s tea leaves. In a wide swath of generalization, crumpets usually have more dairy whereas English muffins have less or none in favour of water. The further differentiation lies between the risen dough-like consistency of English muffins and the “nearly-a-batter” that crumpets use. But again, you’ll likely find exceptions to all these attempts at absolute definition.
Even though crumpet batter rapidly approaches dough consistency, it won’t hold shape without help at first so you’ll probably need rings for shaping the tasty little devils. Four inches seems to be the norm but they can be any diameter you wish and you can attempt them ‘free form’ with some pan finesse. Height is the more important dimension for cooking. While metal rings will work perfectly well they get bloody hot in the process. Just ask my scorched fingertips. I’ve had better luck with newfangled silicone versions, not least because they’re easier to clean between forming each crumpet. Something you’ll inevitably need to do unless you buy eight of the gizmos. If you’re searching online for the silicone versions,* it seems more common to find them listed as ‘egg rings’ since there’s apparently some global compulsion for perfectly round breakfast food. Who knew?
On a completely different note and while you’re shopping, silicone egg poachers are one of the best inventions ever and have revolutionized the task. They’ve changed my egg poaching world.
Of course in America the breakfast griddle cake of choice is the pancake, not least because they’re the instant gratification entry in the category. Sadly they oftentimes suffer from less than inspired taste and if you’ve ever tried to reheat a pancake you know they have less than zero shelf life. The leveners of choice in my crumpets are both yeast and bicarb of soda (aka. baking soda to the Americans) which adds a degree of durability to the finished texture and makes up for the added prep time since you can make a week’s worth in one go on a lazy weekend morning. Of course they’re best hot off the hob but not bad at all refreshed in the toaster on busy days.
Crumpets At Home – With or Without Rings
100 ml light (10%) cream *
200 ml hot water
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon rapid rise yeast (or up to 2 teaspoons on cold days)
250g all-purpose flour **
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
2 teaspoons bicarb of soda (baking soda)
Yield: 8-10 crumpets depending on ring size used
* Use whatever dairy is already in your fridge. Regular whole milk @ 3.25% can be used with equal parts water. Full cream @ 18% can be mixed 1:5 with water. In all cases, the total volume of dairy and water should remain 300ml. Using all dairy is not advised because the inclusion of water helps the bottom of the crumpets brown better.
** Regular readers will know that my Canadian flour is slightly ‘harder’ than many other sources. You may need to substitute a small portion of strong flour (aka ‘bread’ flour) in your neighbourhood for the best texture.
Stir the milk and water together and either cool or microwave to a temperature of 46C (115F). Add the sugar and yeast whisking well to combine. Cover and set in a warm spot for ten minutes or until frothy.
Add the flour and salt. Stir vigorously with a very stiff spoon or similar until well combined then continue for at least thirty seconds longer. You want to work the gluten well for structure here and it will seem almost like a very wet bread dough at this point. Cover and return to a warm place to develop for sixty to ninety minutes.
Measure additional warm water – 75ml if using ring forms or 25ml if making ‘free form’ crumpets. Stir together with the bicarb until completely dissolved. Add to the rested batter and stir again until well incorporated. Cover and return to a warm spot for thirty minutes.
Heat a non-stick griddle or pan over medium heat. I actually get better results by NOT using butter or oil in the pan which tends to overcook the bottoms. Adapt as you see fit on this front.
Use roughly 80ml (1/3 cup) batter for each four-inch crumpet. Adjust this amount depending on the size you are making. If using rings, measure into them allowing for expansion by about a third. If ‘free forming’, slowly and gently spoon into a heated pan to make round shapes letting the heat of the pan set the edges slightly before putting the full measure on each crumpet.
Getting the temperature just right will take some adjustments depending on your equipment but you want the edges to be mostly dry with the top just barely cooked before the bottom becomes too dark. This should translate to five minutes cook time if using rings or about a minute shorter for thinner free form examples.
Ideally you wouldn’t need to flip the crumpet to finish cooking but in reality I usually turn mine over for about ten seconds at the very end. Alternately the rings can be removed in the last sixty seconds so a lid can be placed over the pan to finish cooking the tops with steam as necessary but don’t cover the pan prematurely or the characteristic holes won’t form as well. Some people prefer to have the oven broiler turned on to finish the tops so as not to sacrifice even a single delightful butter-holding hole that appears atop a well-made crumpet. The great crumpet finishing debate continues.
Serve warm with heaps of butter or cool completely on a rack and store sealed for up to a week. Reheat briefly in a toaster if you’re playing the crumpet long game on later days as the tea kettle comes to a boil.
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