I am of the firm belief that a hot crumpet, slathered with butter, drizzle of honey, and perhaps a high quality jam, is one of life’s greatest pleasures when it comes to food indulgent moments.
You will need some cookie cutter rings or food rings to get that perfectly round shape. Ideal size would be 7-8cm rings. You will want at least 18mm/0.7 inch in height. To ensure it doesn’t stick, heat the rings on the pan with some oil and grease them with a brush before you pour the batter into each one.
A sleepy starter won’t work here. You need to use an active starter for best results. So feed your starter with water and flour about a day earlier, rather than a starter that has not been fed for some time.
Patience is key too when it comes to making crumpets. Low and slow. If you go fast you will risk burning the bottoms before the top cooks. Oh, and don’t move the rings as you cook.
Oh, and be careful not to add too much baking soda/powder, it can make your crumpets taste metallic.
How do you know when the crumpets are ready? The crumpets are cooked all the way through when bubbles appear on the surface and then pop to make holes. Do not remove from the heat before the holes pop. Flip over quickly to heat up other side and serve with your favorite jam, honey and/or butter.
Ingredients
- 200g sourdough discard / starter
- 50ml water
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon bicarb of soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- Oil for frying
- Butter and/or honey to serve
Instructions
- Mix the active sourdough discard with water. Then add sugar, bicarb soda, baking powder, salt. Mix again till incorporated.
- Heat a non-stick frying pan with oil on medium heat and place rings on the pan. Once hot, brush insides of rings with the oil from the pan.
- Pour around 1cm of batter into each ring. Don't move the ring as it cooks. Bubbles should appear quickly and pop.
- Once bubbles have popped you can do a quick flip and cook for 20 seconds before transferring to a plate and serving with butter and / or honey and / or jam.
Notes
* Crumpets freeze well so feel free to freeze for up to 4 months and reheat on pan or toaster * Adjust heat to low when cooking if it browns too much at the bottom
