Somewhere between an english muffin and a pancake, traditional English crumpets are the quintessential afternoon tea treat. While you have plenty of store-bought options, you’ll soon learn there’s nothing quite like fresh, homemade crumpets. Eat them warm and slather them in butter – the little holes in the top are perfect vessels for all that buttery goodness. This recipe is my favorite take on the classic, with a hint of lemon and pepper! (Note: we recommend making these in a Lodge Cast Iron Mini Cake Pan, but you can also use a heavy sauté pan and ball jar lids as an alternative.)
Click here to watch Chef Kieron’s video tutorial of this recipe!
Ingredients
- ¾ cup and 1 tablespoon (200g) lukewarm water
- ¾ cup and 1 teaspoon (200g) lukewarm milk
- 1 tablespoon (10g) instant yeast
- 1 ½ tablespoon (20g) granulated sugar
- 2 cups (300g) all purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon (10g) kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon (1g) pepper
- 1 ½ teaspoon (5g) baking powder
- ½ each (2.5g) lemon zest
Instructions
Instructions
- Combine 2 tablespoons of flour, yeast, sugar, milk and water together in a bowl. Leave to proof for 10 minutes.
- In a separate bowl, add the remainder of the flour, salt, pepper and lemon zest. Once done mixing, create a well in the center.
- Pour the milk mixture into the well slowly, working together with a large fork until it all comes together. (You can also use a mixer with the dough hook and mix for 4 to 5 minutes.)
- Cover the bowl and let the batter rest at room temperature for approximately 1 hour, or until you can see bubbles appearing in the mix. Tip: check the consistency of the batter - you don’t want it too thick! It should be the pouring consistency of pancake batter.
- Towards the end of the rest, preheat the oven to 325F.
- Warm a Lodge Cast Iron Mini Cake Pan on the stove over medium heat. Don’t have this pan? Place a lightly greased heavy saute pan over medium heat and use ball jar lids as your rings. Simply place the rings in the pan and pour into the rings! Follow the remainder of the instructions, but rather than putting it in the oven, just keep your pan on the stovetop with a sheet tray on top to lock in moisture.
- Lightly grease the cake pan with oil.
- Pour ⅓ cup of mixture into each, filling no further than halfway.
- Cook on low heat for 8 minutes, rotating the pan every two minutes to ensure an even bake.
- Flip the crumpets and cook for 2 additional minutes.
- Remove from the stovetop and place in the oven for 15 minutes, or until tops are golden brown. Option to clam shell the crumpets with a second mini cake pan or a sheet tray to aid with moisture retention.
- Let cool for 15 minutes.
- Repeat steps 6 through 12 with the remainder of the batter.
- Serve and enjoy. Chef Kieron prefers them served warm with loads of butter - and we really mean an excessive amount!
Chef's Tip
Want to save some for later? Pop them in the fridge and toast them when you’re ready to eat!
Want to try another recipe? Try something sweet with these Eccles Cakes or go savory with our Burgundy Beef Pie!