With a soft, spongy texture and lots of signature holes to hold melted butter (or your favourite topping) these proper English crumpets (or pikelets as we used to call them) are a delight. You only need a few simple ingredients to make them, and the recipe is practically effortless!
These homemade crumpets take me right back to my childhood. I remember sitting in front of a roaring fire, with my crumpet (or pikelet as we called them in those days) stuck onto the prongs of a long toasting fork, waiting impatiently for it to turn brown. Then it would be slathered in butter, which melted and soaked into the holes, and drizzled down my chin as I took a bite.
Of course, even in those days, the crumpets were shop-bought. It took me all these years to make my own homemade crumpets, and I have to tell you I think they taste even better than bought ones.
I got the idea for making them when I read on the Internet that Warburton's (the great British baking company) had published their recipe for crumpets during the Covid lockdown. The problem with their recipe was that it only made 6 crumpets, which isn't a lot. So I doubled the ingredients to make 12. Here's the original Warburton's crumpet recipe if you want to take a look.
This is a great recipe to have in your repetoire because you can freeze these crumpets and have freshly toasted English crumpets for breakfast with minimal effort.
And talking of breakfast, I love topping these crumpets with a fried egg. Believe me, you are missing out on an amazing culinary feast if you haven't experienced the delight that is a forkful of toasted crumpet with runny egg yolk soaking into the holes!
Jump to:
What is a crumpet?
A crumpet is a small griddle cake, made from a thin batter consisting of water, flour and yeast. As the crumpet cooks, bubbles of carbon dioxide, formed by the action of the yeast, rise up through the batter and pop on top, forming distinctive holes.
A proper English crumpet is full of these holes, which gives it a spongy, somewhat chewy texture.
To stop the batter from running all over the frying pan, the crumpet batter is poured into a metal ring which helps to to form the round shape.
Even though you CAN buy these rings, you can improvise and use a cleaned tuna tin with the top and bottom cut out, or even a round metal scone cutter. And you don't have to stick with a round shape - you can use cookie cutters too, as long as they are metal (don't use plastic - it will melt)! St Patrick's Day is on the way - why not find a shamrock-shaped cookie cutter and make a batch of shamrock-shaped crumpets?
Let's have a look at how to make crumpets!
What you will need
Equipment
You will need a mixing bowl for making the batter, and either a balloon whisk or a hand mixer to mix it.
You can find 3-and-a-half-inch metal crumpet rings on Amazon, but as I mentioned earlier these are not strictly necessary, and you can improvise. One thing I will say is that whatever you use, the metal gets very hot so I would recommend using a pair of silicone tongs to remove the metal shapes from the crumpets.
It is quite important to brush the inside of the rings with melted butter so that they don't stick to the crumpets. For this, you can use a silicone brush which you can also use to brush melted butter onto the frying pan.
You will also need a frying pan for frying the crumpets.
Ingredients
This recipe is intended to make 12 crumpets. The actual number will depend on the size of your rings, and also on how much batter you use. I made 14 crumpets.
- Flour - this is plain all-purpose flour, but if you only have self-raising flour that will work too.
- Yeast - I used instant yeast granules, but fresh yeast will work too. Do remember that you will need more fresh yeast than instant.
- Sugar - this is mixed with the yeast to help activate it.
- Salt - for seasoning.
- Water - this should be lukewarm.
- Baking powder - this helps form the 'bubbles' in the dough. I know there is yeast in the recipe, but don't leave out the baking powder.
- Butter - both for frying the crumpets and for brushing on the inside of the rings. You can use sunflower oil instead if you prefer.
**Get the exact ingredient measurements on the printable recipe card at the end of this post**
What to do
Ans these are the steps for making proper English crumpets:
Place the yeast and sugar into a small dish and stir in 2 tablespoons of lukewarm water. Set it aside for 5 minutes until it becomes 'foamy' on top. If your yeast doesn't foam then your yeast may be old and I would suggest you buy some more and start again.
While the yeast is activating, mix the flour, salt and baking powder with the milk. If you have a hand beater, beat well for 3 to 4 minutes. Otherwise, use a wooden spoon or a whisk and beat well for 5 minutes.
Pour in the yeast mixture.
Whisk for another minute, then cover the bowl with a clean cloth and set aside in a warm draught-free place for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes the mixture should be full of bubbles. It won't have risen much, but this is perfectly fine.
Brush a frying pan and the inside of the molds liberally with melted butter and allow the pan to heat.
The pan will be hot enough when it sizzles gently if you add a drop of batter. Place the ring molds in the pan and pour in the batter until the molds are half-full.
Fry on low to moderate heat until the tops of the crumpets are full of holes and the batter has set. Use a pair of silicone tongs to remove the molds.
Turn the crumpets over and cook for a further minute or so to brown the other side.
Make sure that the crumpets are set on top before turning them otherwise the batter will simply spread out and fill up the holes (like this) - and we don't want that!
Repeat the steps with the remaining batter.
To serve, pop a crumpet into the toaster until the outside is lightly browned and crispy, then spread with melted butter and either jam or syrup while it is still warm.
Tips for perfect crumpets
Here are my top tips for ensuring perfectly cooked crumpets:
- Test the yeast to ensure that it is active. If your yeast doesn't foam it won't form the bubbles that are needed, so you should buy some more and start again.
- It is also important to beat the mixture thoroughly to incorporate as much air as possible into the batter.
- When frying the crumpets keep the heat to low to moderate or the underside of the crumpets will burn before the batter has had a chance to set all the way through.
- Do not overfill the molds. For a 3.5-inch diameter mold, you will need approximately one-third of a cup of batter.
- The metal rings will be HOT. Use silicone tongs to help you remove them from the crumpets.
- Once you have turned the crumpets, you don't need to brown them for very long - they will brown further once you put them into the toaster.
- Do not turn the crumpets before the tops have set or you will find that the batter will close up the holes that you worked so hard to achieve.
Serving suggestions
Crumpets are never split in half as you would do with a muffin for example. They are left whole to serve.
The basic way to serve these crumpets is to toast them and spread with butter which will melt and sink into the holes.
Here are a few other ideas:
- Add a topping of jam or syrup, or even spread them with Nutella.
- Sprinkle with grated cheese (and perhaps a slice of tomato) and melt the cheese under the grill.
- Serve as part of a full English breakfast and top with a runny fried egg.
Storage
These crumpets can be frozen in a plastic bag for at least 4 months. To use either toast under the grill (from frozen) or defrost and then pop them into the toaster.
They will also stay fresh in a plastic bag or other container in the kitchen for 3 to 4 days.
FAQ
As long as the top is set, this is not strictly necessary (other than to give a more appealing brown colour). The crumpet should be toasted before being eaten and this will also serve to brown the top.
Pikelets originated in Wales, where they were called pyglyd in Welsh. Over the years this became anglicised to pikelet.
Save for later
If you would like to make your own English crumpets, why not save the recipe to one of your Pinterest boards so you can find it easily? Just click on the image below.
Alternatively, you can save the recipe by clicking on the floating heart icon on the right-hand side of the screen.
Related recipes
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
📋The recipe
Proper English crumpets
(Click the stars to rate this recipe)
Equipment
- Mixing bowl
- Balloon whisk OR
- Hand mixer
- Metal crumpet rings 3.5 inches diameter
- Silicone tongs
- Silicone brush
- Frying Pan
Ingredients
- 2¼ cups / 310 grams plain all-purpose flour
- 1½ cups / 360 ml lukewarm water
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2¼ teaspoons / 14 grams instant yeast granules
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- 1 ounce / 30 grams butter melted
Instructions
- Place the yeast and sugar into a small dish and stir in 2 tablespoons of lukewarm water. Set it aside for 5 minutes until it becomes 'foamy' on top. If your yeast doesn't foam then your yeast may be old and I would suggest you buy some more and start again.2¼ teaspoons / 14 grams instant yeast granules, ½ teaspoon sugar
- While the yeast is activating, mix the flour, salt and baking powder with the milk. If you have a hand beater, beat well for 3 to 4 minutes. Otherwise, use a wooden spoon or a whisk and beat well for 5 minutes.2¼ cups / 310 grams plain all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon salt, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1½ cups / 360 ml lukewarm water
- Add the yeast mixture to the flour mixture and whisk for another minute. Cover the bowl with a clean cloth and set aside in a warm draught-free place for 30 minutes.
- Brush a frying pan and the inside of the molds liberally with melted butter and allow the pan to heat.1 ounce / 30 grams butter
- The pan will be hot enough when it sizzles gently if you add a drop of batter. Place the ring molds in the pan and pour in the batter until the molds are half-full.
- Fry on low to moderate heat until the tops of the crumpets are full of holes and the batter has set. Use a pair of silicone tongs to remove the molds.
- Turn the crumpets over and cook for a further minute or so to brown the other side.
- Repeat the steps with the remaining batter.
- To serve, pop a crumpet into the toaster until the outside is lightly browned and crispy, then spread with melted butter and either jam or syrup while it is still warm.
Notes
- Test the yeast to ensure that it is active. If your yeast doesn't foam it won't form the bubbles that are needed, so you should buy some more and start again.
- It is also important to beat the mixture thoroughly to incorporate as much air as possible into the batter.
- When frying the crumpets keep the heat to low to moderate or the underside of the crumpets will burn before the batter has had a chance to set all the way through.
- Do not overfill the molds. For a 3.5-inch diameter mold, you will need approximately one-third of a cup of batter.
- The metal rings will be HOT. Use silicone tongs to help you remove them from the crumpets.
- Once you have turned the crumpets, you don't need to brown them for very long - they will brown further once you put them into the toaster.
- Do not turn the crumpets before the tops have set or you will find that the batter will close up the holes that you worked so hard to achieve.
Nutrition
I am not a nutritionist. The nutrition information has been calculated using an on-line calculator, and is intended for information and guidance purposes only. If the nutrition information is important to you, you should consider calculating it yourself, using your preferred tool.
If you made this recipe and enjoyed it, I'd love it if you could give me a star rating in the comments below. And if you'd like to get in touch, you can email me at [email protected]. I'd love to hear from you. And don't forget to subscribe to my mailing list so you can grab yourself a copy of my FREE COOKBOOK!
If you'd like to continue browsing, just click on this link to all my recipes.
Did you make this recipe? Let me know!