That crumpet recipe

[dianeduane]

For those (Twitterers & others) who were inquiring — the recipe is over here at The Foppish Baker. If I want crumpets, I have to make them myself: the local supermarket doesn’t carry them. This is okay, though, because there’s no way a store-bought crumpet can compare with one just baked.

There are a lot of crumpet recipes out there that don’t work. Either the batters come out too thick — so the bubbles can’t break and leave the necessary holes on top — or they’re too sloppy, and the bubbles either come out too small to let the melted butter in, or break too soon, so that again you wind up with a “blind” bake with no holes. This batter works perfectly, though. 

My only alteration to this recipe: I add two packages of yeast instead of one. It seems to improve the flavor.  Also, you don’t really need the two kinds of flour for this recipe — they’re preferable, but not absolutely necessary. Just make sure you beat the batter the full two minutes the first time. You want to make sure the gluten develops enough.

BTW, there’s no need for special crumpet rings: I use regular-size tuna cans with the tops and bottoms taken off (we have one of those can openers that mills the edges smooth). Butter them well inside between each batch. It’s pretty easy to use a flat knife to knock the rings up and off the crumpets as soon as the outsides are solid: that way you can set them aside to cool so you can handle them as soon as the crumpets in the pan or on the griddle or bakestone are done. (Yeah, there’s a crumpet recipe on that page. It’s not as good as the Foppish Baker one: I’m going to replace it. The English muffin recipe, though, is terrific.)

When you toast these, do it under the grill / broiler, or in a toaster oven that lets you do just one side. Then… the butter. 

NOM NOM NOM NOM.  :)

Tags: crumpet, bread, toast, bakestone, home+baking, butter, griddle

Comments

[slimequeen.livejournal.com]

My goodness, that recipe is making me hungry. I love crumpets and I never thought to try making them at home.

[dduane.livejournal.com]

I'll grant you, the mind doesn't normally leap straight to the concept. But once you've gone through the process and learned the logistics of it, baking them goes pretty quickly. (I did about a dozen last night in about an hour and a half, while doing other things at the same time.)

[slimequeen.livejournal.com]

Do they freeze well? Since there are only two folks in my house to eat them, I wouldn't want them to go to waste.

[dduane.livejournal.com]

They do freeze! You have to let them cool completely before you stick them in the freezer first. A zip-loc bag works fine.

[antikythera.livejournal.com]

Beautiful. I've never had a homemade crumpet; one Canadian supermarket chain sells store-brand packaged crumpets, but they are, as the article says, rubbery. I knew there must be something better.

Glad to see you posting again, too. :)

[dduane.livejournal.com]

Glad to be back, too. Life is still ...markedly peculiar... but some things at least are normalizing.

[lunalovegoddess.livejournal.com]

Crumpets! *swoons*
I haven't had them in such a long time!
*adds them to shopping list*

[aaangyl.livejournal.com]

You have a twitter?

So you do! Added!

[kokoroverboten.livejournal.com]

Mm, crumpets.

Will we be seeing anymore of Kit and Nita at any point?

[dduane.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah. Can't give more details right now, but the next book is in the pipeline.

[kokoroverboten.livejournal.com]

That is absolutely all I wanted to know. :D

^^ Thank you! You've made my day!

[dduane.livejournal.com]

You might want to check this (http://www.youngwizards.com/Now-online-for-subscribers-A-Wizard-Of-Mars) out. :)

[kayshapero]

Oooh, yummy. Thank you - I shall try this.

[dduane.livejournal.com]

Do. They're terrific. (I just had two more. [excuse]Gotta eat 'em or they'll go stale...)[/excuse]

[come-love-sleep.livejournal.com]

Yay!
When I first came home to the US after living with my fiance in Pittsburgh, all I wanted was a good crumpet. I found something at the grocery store that said "Crumpet" on the package, but when I got it home it tasted like a cross between Styrofoam and whatever they made my toy dinosaurs out of, when I was a kid. Haven't had a real crumpet in years...

[muppetk.livejournal.com]

I don't know which is better, the crumpet-porn or the fact that one of my favorite novelists is using the phrase "nom nom nom nom". :)

[dduane.livejournal.com]

(grin) I couldn't let a day go by without visiting ICanHasCheezburger.com . P. and I find that LolCat talk has seriously (Srsly.) contaminated our daily conversation. :)

[muppetk.livejournal.com]

I used to blame Joss Whedon for destroying my grammar, but he's an amateur by comparison to what
ICanHasCheezburger has done to me. (And my mom, heh! I hooked her on the site a few feeks ago.) :D

Though recently, for me, ihasatardis is more to blame. *shakes head* LolDoctors (Who) frequently have me crying from funny. Though the pervert level is... a bit higher than with the kitties.

[marlinkhylacat]

For my mother's 49th in June, I sent her this nifty assortment of jams, English muffins, and crumpets from wolfermans.com.

Ever since then, she's been asking me repeatedly to keep an eye out for crumpets whenever I go shopping because she can't find them anywhere in southeast Alabama. XD (And I can't find them in southeast Virginia!) She's also been asking me for a crumpet recipe 'cause she knows I bake.

Guess who's getting a link to this journal in her email tonight! You may have saved both my and my mom's sanity. :D