they look great! ok ok. whats the recipe then? do share please
peace
450g/1pound of plain flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons/1x7g sachet of dried yeast
300mls/1/2 imperial pint of warm milk (hand hot)
300mls/1/2 imperial pint warm water (hand hot)
Vegetable oil or lard for frying.
Crumpet rings or 7.5cm/3" plain pastry rings. Attention: metal ones as these are going on to a frying pan or griddle.
Mix together the sifted flour, salt, yeast and sugar in a large mixing bowl.
Pour in the warm liquids, stir to give a thick batter. Beat well until completely mixed then cover with a tea towel or cling film.
Leave in a warm place to rise for about an hour until a light, spongy texture.
Stir again, then pour into a large jug.
Heat a large frying pan or griddle, grease with a drop of oil or lard. Place the greased rings onto the griddle and allow to heat for a couple of minutes.
Pour in enough mixture to fill the rings to just over halfway up the sides. Leave to cook until loads of small holes appear on the surface and the batter has just dried out (approx 8 mins).
Remove the rings and turn the crumpets over to cook for another minute or two.
Eat whilst still warm and spread with loads of butter!
Anjela's recipe is more or less what I have, except my recipe called for one tablespoonful of oil to be added to the mixture and the mixing was in a different order.
Just a couple of tips:
- Try to find round rings, not wavy ones. Butter them well. My husband made me some rings from sheet stainless steel (aircraft quality from leftover metal from the Swiss FA-18 project, so they're valuable things, haha) which he cut and rolled using a machine.
- The rings I used are about 2.5 cm high (an inch) and they needed a good half inch of batter in them.
- Make as many crumpets as you can at a time. If necessary, get two frying pans on the go, one for the mixture in the rings, the other for doing the second side when they've been taken out of the rings.
- Don't burn your fingers taking them out of the rings to turn them over - have a couple of oven gloves or thick tea-towels at the ready. Steel rings get very hot!
- After putting mixture in the rings, keep the mixture slightly warm by returning the bowl of mixture to a warm place (e.g. an oven with the door slightly open, at 50° C). It doesn't stay bubbly all that long.
- Make sure the top is completely dry before removing the ring and turning a crumpet over otherwise it flattens.
- Go easy on the salt. Rather less than more. The salt tends to be amplified by the rest of the ingredients.
If you don't have a spare 40CHF to buy proper crumpet rings or a handyman about the house, I found that washed pineapple tins with the paper and both lids removed do the trick.
Fresh yeast comes up nicer and bubblier too
I made some to impress my German hubby, and he didn't like them! "Too buttery", he says.
Puddy
I did some research, and you can find similar rings for cooking eggs; so I guess now I know what I am going to look for shortly.
I feel that this recipe, with some excellent swiss butter, will be responsible for alas a couple more pounds...
Easy to make them as well.
Looking forward to hearing how well they turn out!
Puddy
Works well - lovely hot (not sure how many will get to cool down ) - the rings works nicely, different sizes is a nice touch.
hints:
- keep the heat quite low: they need the time to dry inside. on my cooker, level 2 out of 6 is good
- butter or oil slightly the rings - and the pan each time you put in a new batch
- don't try to pry the rings off before turning. Turn the whole thing with a flat spatula, then push gently down the solid part and remove the ring.
- remember the rings are hot, so handle with care.