Warm, buttered homemade crumpets are one of the best British treats. While store-bought crumpets like Warburtons are popular, nothing beats the taste of homemade crumpets.
This recipe, refined over my 20+ years as a chef, delivers authentic crumpets with perfect holes and a spongy, chewy texture.
It's super easy to make, yields far superior results compared to store-bought versions, freezes well and if you want, you could even make them with a sourdough starter.
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What are crumpets
Crumpets are a hybrid between English muffins and American pancakes, originating from Wales but loved across Britain.
They have a signature surface with many holes that allow butter to seep through, making them super juicy, with a spongy, fluffy interior.
They are amazing when simply toasted and served with butter or clotted cream, good quality honey with a sprinkling of flaky salt, or homemade strawberry jam or orange marmalade.
Ingredients and substitutions
- Flour - All-purpose or plain flour. You can substitute up to 10% with rye, buckwheat, or spelt flour.
- Milk - Use a mix of milk and water. For a vegan version, substitute with natural oat milk.
- Water - Clean, drinkable water.
- Yeast - Instant yeast. For fresh yeast, double the quantity. Alternatively, use 300 grams of ripe sourdough starter.
- Baking powder - Not to be confused with baking soda. Essential for the unique spongy structure.
- Sugar - Sugar helps the yeast, and balances the taste. Regular white sugar or confectioner's sugar.
- Salt - Fine table salt. Do not skip this.
See the recipe card for quantities.
Equipment
• Crumpet rings: Approximately 9 cm (3.5 inches) in diameter and 2.5 cm (1 inch) tall. Either non-stick steel crumpet rings or silicone pastry rings. Alternatives include egg rings, pastry cutters, cleaned tuna cans or even cooking foil shaped into a ring.
• Non-stick frying pan: Essential for cooking the crumpets evenly and preventing them from sticking. A wide-diameter nonstick pan to fit as many crumpets as possible. Use a silicone spatula to flip the crumpets without damaging the pan.
Making the crumpet batter
Crumpet batter is unique. It requires vigorous whisking to develop gluten, which gives crumpets their signature tunnel holes.
- Step 1 - Dissolve the yeast into room temperature water along with the sugar and salt. Let it bloom for 5 minutes. Once dissolved, add the milk and add that to the rest of the ingredients in a large bowl. Tip - Sieve the dry ingredients for best results.
- Step 2 - Mix the batter constantly and vigorously with a whisk for about 3 to 5 minutes until thick and smooth. If you're feeling lazy, do this with an electric mixer.
- Step 3 - Cover the Bowl with a plate, damp towel or plastic wrap. Let it proof in a warm place for 30-45 minutes until bubbly.
- Step 4 - Once it's nice and bubbly, gently stir it to distribute the bubbles evenly. You don't want large, uneven air bubbles in the batter.
Cooking crumpets
Just like cooking pancakes or crêpes, you will probably not cook them perfectly in the first few goes. That's just the way it goes historically. Even after many years of professional cooking, my first few are always the least perfect.
Cooking crumpets is somewhat special. You start hot, gradually lower the heat, then turn up the heat again at the end.
- Step 1 - Butter crumpet rings and heat a non-stick pan on medium-high.
- Step 2 - DO NOT add oil or butter to the pan. You won't get the classic crumpet look if you do. Place the rings in the pan and fill them with 60 grams or a ¼ cup of batter.
- Step 3 - Cook for 2 minutes, then reduce heat to medium as bubbles appear. Pop any unpopped bubbles with a toothpick.
- Step 4 - Once the top is set, remove the rings, flip the crumpets and cook until golden brown.
- Step 5 - Cook for a minute on the side with holes until beautifully golden brown.
- Step 6 - Once cooked, you set them aside. Preferably on a wire rack to avoid soggy bottoms. They are best served when cooled down slightly but still a touch warm.
Here is a picture showing the holes and a cross-section showing the tunnels from the bottom to the top.
Video
Storing and reheating crumpets
- At room temperature: 1 day, sealed airtight.
- In the fridge: Up to 4 days.
- For longer storage: Freeze for up to 3 months.
To reheat, defrost in the microwave or at room temp, then toast in a toaster or pan to restore the crunchy texture with a soft interior.
How to eat crumpets
My favorite way to enjoy crumpets is toasted with a generous amount of butter, good quality honey, and a sprinkling of flaky sea salt. This simple yet delicious combination is hard to beat.
However, crumpets are also fantastic with strawberry jam, orange marmalade or as an alternative to British scones with homemade clotted cream.
For those who like a savory crumpet - I love a classic breakfast crumpet with crispy bacon a fried egg and hollandaise sauce. It's also delicious with cured salmon or homemade turkey ham.
Top tips for success
Two major steps have to be done right to get the perfect crumpets. It might take a go or two but you'll have perfect crumpets in no time following these two rules.
The batter - It's important that you do not overproof or underproof the batter. Underproof is more forgiving though. The batter should by no means rise and fall by itself. This is a sign of an over-proofed crumpet batter. You'll still be able to use it but you won't get as many holes in the crumpets.
Instead, monitor the batter every 10 minutes to see how things are moving along. We all have different temperatures in our houses and live in different climates, right? If it's roughly doubled in size but not quite, then it's ready to use.
Give the batter a gentle stir to make sure it's evenly bubbly, otherwise, you'll end up with a mix of large and small holes.
While cooking the crumpets you place the uncooked batter into the fridge to prevent it from overproofing.
Cooking the crumpets - Heat control is key to getting the perfect holes and color. Too low and you won't get bubble formation and the base will be pale and soft. Too high and it will burn before the bubbles can form and pop.
All stove tops, gas burners and induction hobs cook and heat differently. Use the timings and temperature as a guide to start then adjust according to your equipment.
At no point should the pan be smoking, apart from when the buttered rings hit the pan and a bit of butter hits the hot pan. That's fine and very much desirable.
Recipe FAQs
Baking powder is a mix of baking soda(alkaline) and cream of tartar(acid). You can also use another acid like lemon juice or vinegar to react with the baking soda. This will give the same effervescent aerating effect.
If you have a well-seasoned cast iron pan, wipe it with a tiny bit of oil then cook them in that. Stainless steel and other pans won't work. If you only have that, then place a piece of parchment paper in the pan and cook on that to avoid sticking.
You need some sort of ring to keep the batter from spreading while it cooks. It doesn't have to be a crumpet ring and you can save spending money by simply using a tuna tin with both sides cut open. Or if you don't have that then simply take a piece of aluminum foil and fold it into a ring mold held together by staples from a stapler.
Untoasted crumpets are not a very pleasant thing to eat. It's remarkable how delicious a toasted crumpet is compared to an untoasted crumpet. Do yourself a favour and toast it.
Related recipes
- Homemade English muffins
- Super soft burger buns - Hokkaido milk rolls
- Pirozhkis - hand pies
- Spiced apple and almond cake
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Recipe
Crumpets - Original British Recipe (Video)
Ingredients
- 300 g (2 cups) flour - plain or all-purpose (note 1)
- 200 g (¾ cup + 1 tbsp) water - room temperature (note 2)
- 200 g (¾ cup + 1 tbsp) milk - whole milk (note 3)
- 8 g (2 teaspoon) yeast - instant or dry active (note 4)
- 4 g (1 teaspoon) sugar - white granulated
- 6 g (1 teaspoon) salt - kosher or table salt
- 10 g (2 ½ teaspoon) baking powder - note 5
For cooking
- 25 g (1 ⅘ tablespoon) butter (for buttering the rings) - unsalted butter or cooking oil
Instructions
Prepare the Batter:
- In a large bowl, whisk together the sifted dry ingredients.300 g flour, 10 g baking powder
- Dissolve the yeast in room temperature water along with the sugar and salt.200 g water, 4 g sugar, 8 g yeast, 6 g salt
- Add the yeast mixture and milk to the bowl with flour and baking powder. Mix well for about 3-5 minutes by hand or 2 minutes with an electric mixer.200 g milk
Rest the Batter:
- Close the Bowl with a plate, damp towel or plastic wrap. Place it in a warm place to proof for about 30 - 45 minutes. It should increase by about 50%. No more. If it's ready before then use it, or if it needs longer then give it some time.
- Once it's nice and bubbly, you need to gently stir it to evenly distribute the bubbles. You don't want large, uneven air bubbles in the batter. Neither a flat, deflated batter.
Cook the Crumpets:
- Brush or rub 9 cm (3.5 inches) crumpet rings with melted butter, or if you don't have crumpet rings, use one of the alternatives mentioned in the post. Tuna tins or pastry cutters does the same job.25 g butter (for buttering the rings)
- Heat a non-stick pan over medium-high heat. Place the buttered rings in the pan and pour about ¼ cup or 60 grams of batter into each ring. While your first batch cooks, keep the batter covered in the fridge to stop it from over proving and drying out.
- Cook the crumpets for about 2 minutes on medium high, then turn the heat down to medium as soon as the bubbles appear and naturally pop. If some bubbles don't pop, then help it along with a tooth pick or tip of a knife.
- Once the top is fully set, no raw batter is left and the bubbles are all popped, turn up the heat once more, remove the rings and flip the crumpets over. Cook for a minute on the side with holes until beautifully golden brown.
Cool and Store:
- Once cooked, you set them aside. Preferably on a wire rack to avoid soggy bottoms. They are best served when cooled down slightly but still a touch warm.
- Once cooled down, crumpets will keep at room temperature for a day, sealed airtight. Keep them in the fridge for up to 4 days. For longer storage, they freeze very well and the quality won't change. Good for 3 months.
Video
Notes
- Classic crumpets are made with plain or all-purpose flour. I've provided a few tips in the ingredients section in the post on how to use gluten-free or other flour.
- You don't have to use warm water with instant yeast. When using fresh yeast, use water that's no hotter than body temperature.
- Whole milk is my choice. You can of course replace it with water or use a dairy-free milk of your choice. I prefer oat milk as an alternative for its flavor. Make sure to use oat milk that's just oats and milk instead of the stuff in cartons that contains fats, sugars and other additives.
- You can use fresh yeast instead of dried instant yeast. Simply double the amount called for. You can also make crumpets with a sourdough starter. Simply omit the yeast, flour, and liquids. Replace with 300 grams of ripe sourdough starter. This is a fantastic way to use sourdough discard btw.
- Baking powder is not baking soda. You need to use baking soda(alkaline) in conjunction with an acid like lemon juice or vinegar to deliver similar results. Simply use 5 grams (2tsp) of baking soda with 5 grams (1tsp) lemon juice or vinegar. Add this when adding the liquid to the dry ingredients.
- See the post for in depth top tips and frequently asked questions answered, as well as the best way to serve crumpets.
- Nutritional value is per crumpet.
Catherine says
Hi
Is the milk used straight from the fridge, room temperature or heated to a warm temperature it is not specified in the recipe
Charlé Visser says
Room temp or slightly warm. Fridge cold will take longer to rise.
Anonymous says
Could you explain how to make with sourdough starter. Thanks
Charlé Visser says
Add 150 grams sourdough starter instead of yeast. It will take longer to rise, though. The rest stays the same.
Allison says
After living in another country for 30 years, I am finally making English Crumpets that taste as good as my last visit home to England!!
Thank you for the easy to follow instructions which result in wonderful tasty results.