Crumpets

Homemade crumpets

These crumpets are a bit of effort but they make quite a large batch which you can store and cook up when needed. You could also try freezing them for later 

Ingredients

450g plain flour, sifted
½ tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

1x7g sachet fast-action dried yeast

300ml / ½ pint warm milk

300ml / ½ pint warm water

vegetable oil

4 crumpet rings or 7.5cm/3in plain pastry cutters, greased

Method

• Place the flour and salt into a large bowl and stir in the sugar and yeast making a well in the centre. Pour in the warm milk and water and mix to give quite a thick batter. Beat well until completely combined and cover with a tea towel or cling film.

• Leave in a warm place to rise for about an hour until it's a light, spongy texture. Stir well to knock out any air and pour into a large jug.

• Heat a non-stick frying pan over a very low heat with a drop of oil. Wipe the pan with kitchen paper to remove excess oil. Sit the greased crumpet rings in the pan and leave to heat up for a couple of minutes.

• Pour in enough mixture to fill the rings just over halfway up the sides. Leave to cook until plenty of small holes appear on the surface and the batter has just dried out. This will take about 8-10 minutes.

•  Remove the rings and turn over the crumpets to cook for a further minute or two on the other side. Sit the first batch of crumpets on a wire rack while continuing to cook the remaining mixture.

• When you are ready to eat the crumpets toast as normal.

I always find that the more I make the better the crumpets are, so don't get disheartened if the first couple don't come out how you had expected.