HOMEMADE CRUMPETS
Its hard to believe homemade crumpets would be so easy, but I was surprised to find this the case! Here is my adaptation with slightly more extravagant toppings than your usual butter and jam crumpet. Having said that, these crumpets will still rock your tastebuds with some quality real butter & jam.
As this breaky is quite rich, it couples well with something light and brisk such as Peppermyntle Tisane or a good ol’ breakfast tea such as Evermore.
CRUMPET INGREDIENTS
2 cups white spelt flour
1 Tablespoon of baking powder
A scant teaspoon of fine salt
1 teaspoon of caster sugar
1.5 cups warm water
Half a sachet of dry yeast (or 1¼ teaspoons)
METHOD
- Sift the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar into a mixing bowl and combine.
- Mix yeast with lukewarm water – TIP lukewarm is when the water runs comfortably over your skin without any sensations of cold or hot but is very comfortably warm.
- Make a well in your dry ingredients and pour the yeast mixture into the well.
- Whisk ingredients until you get a smooth batter.
- Cover with cling film or a damp tea towel and place in a warm place to rise. A temperature of around 24-26 degrees celcius is ideal. I pop it in my bathroom, close the door and crank up the central heating. It’s a small space so heats up nicely!
- DON’T SKIP THIS STEP! Leave to rise for at least 30 minutes. Its also fine to leave the batter to rise overnight. You would not need such a high temperature if its rising over a longer period.
- The batter will have risen (fingers crossed!) and have little bubbles on the surface. It will be quite airy and a bit foamy.
- Place some egg rings in a non-stick pan and spray them and the base of the pan with cooking oil. When the pan is hot, spoon mixture into each ring until about ¾ full.
- Turn the heat down to a very low heat so as not to burn the bottom and cook slowly.
- Bubbles will start to appear on the surface and then the surface will slowly start drying out. This may take a few minutes. Cover with a lid for a further 3 minutes until the tops are completely dry, then remove the lid and flip the crumpets for about a minute to get a little browning on the tops.
Now you can serve simply with butter and jam or you can go the extra mile and make my suggested topping below.
INGREDIENTS FOR TOPPING
Deli fresh ricotta
Hiranya Chai Honey (or regular honey)
Fresh Raspberries
Pistachios
- Mix a little honey through the ricotta to sweeten it a touch.
- Create candied pistachios by throwing a handful of pistachios in pan with a drizzle of honey. Heat gently until the honey starts to become thick and sticky – a couple of minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool. The honey will harden giving the nuts a sweet crunchy hit.
- You can simply use fresh raspberries (or frozen) or make an easy coulis by heating some raspberries with a small amount of water and a sprinkle of sugar. Simmer gently until the raspberries start collapsing and softening. Then mash the raspberries roughly with a fork – voila!
- Layer these toppings in any order you like. I recommended a bit of honey first to sink into the holes, followed by a thick layer of ricotta followed by the raspberry coulis and some extra fresh raspberries to garnish.
Happy Mother’s Day to all the wonderful Mums and mums to be out there
Mama Chai xx