Old Fashioned Home-made English Crumpets For Tea-time

Total Time: 1 hr 30 mins Preparation Time: 1 hr Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients

• 450 g strong plain flour, sifted (1lb)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons fast-rising active dry yeast (1x7g sachet)
• 300 ml warm milk (1/2 pint)
• 300 ml warm water (1/2 pint)
• 1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• vegetable oil

Recipe

• 1 note - you will need 4 crumpet rings, or egg rings or 7.5cm (3in) plain pastry cutters, greased.
• 2 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.
• 3 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, add the bicarbonate of soda and pour into a large jug - mix well and allow to stand for a further 30 minutes.
• 4 heat a non-stick frying pan, or a greased griddle, over a very low heat with a drop of oil or butter. wipe the pan with kitchen paper to remove excess oil/butter. sit the greased crumpet rings in the pan and leave to heat up for a couple of minutes.
• 5 pour in enough mixture to fill the rings just over halfway up the sides. leave to cook until lots of small holes appear on the surface and the batter has just dried out. this will take about 8-10 minutes.
• 6 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 whilst continuing to cook the remaining crumpets.
• 7 serve the crumpets warm, generously buttered. if you are making crumpets in advance, then reheat them by toasting lightly on both sides before serving. (prep time includes rising time for the yeast dough.).