Crumpets

I love weekend breakfasts – they offer the possibility of endless creativity, being either savoury or sweet as the mood takes you. I normally go for pancakes or french toast, but as its Bread Month I wanted to try out making crumpets.

This was not the most successful of all my baking experiments, and ended up more of an early lunch because they take such a long time to cook. I assumed they would only need a little longer than pancakes to cook through, but it felt like each batch took hours. In reality it was probably more like 20-30 minutes for each batch, but when you're hungry that seems a lot longer.

The other snag with home made crumpets is that you can't help comparing them to the shop-bought version. They have forced me to admit it's possible that not everything is better when home made. Shocking! But when I'm craving crumpets, it's those flabby ready-made ones of childhood memories that I crave, not this altogether more wholesome-tasting version.

Anyway, I've decided to write up the recipe in case you have more refined tastes than me, which would not be difficult; I should also admit that I have a penchant for dairy milk and spaghetti hoops (though not at the same time, obviously).

Things I have learnt from making crumpets:

I used cookie cutters from a set of graduated circles so I didn't have to buy a set of crumpet rings, which is why they are all slightly different sizes.

To save time, you can make the batter the night before and leave it in the fridge so there's one less thing to do in the morning.

Crumpets: makes approximately 12

(adapted from Felicity Cloake's 'How to cook the perfect...' recipe)

300ml milk

150g strong white flour
100g plain flour
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
7g sachet instant yeast
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
50ml water
Butter, for greasing

• Warm the milk in the microwave to tepid
• Mix the sugar, salt and yeast into the flours
• Add the milk and and stir until smooth
• Cover and leave in the fridge overnight or for 1-2 hours at room temperature
• Dissolve the bicarb in the water then mix into the batter, cover and rest for 30 minutes
• Grease the crumpet rings (or cookie cutters) with a generous amount of butter
• Heat a frying pan to medium and grease
• Put the rings in the pan and pour in enough batter to come half way up the sides of each
• Cook until the tops are dried out and covered with holes (about 20-30 minutes)
• Remove the rings and transfer the crumpets to a grill to cook the tops
• Repeat with the rest of the batter
• Serve hot with lots of butter