Sourdough Crumpets

Everyone's familiar with crumpets, but perhaps you haven't tried making them yourself? Home-made crumpets are surprisingly easy and well worth the effort for the delicious outcome. Maybe not an everyday breakfast but unbeatable for a little lazy indulgence.

I'm assuming your have some bubbly, active sourdough starter. If you don't, come to an Otis Beanery sourdough class for a thorough grounding in the basics :-)
Don't forget you'll need four rings about 10cm diameter for baking the crumpets. See end notes about crumpet rings.


1. Put the following ingredients together in a large bowl the night before you make your crumpets:
30g sourdough starter
180g plain flour
400ml water
Mix well, cover and leave at room temperature overnight. The batter needs at least 12 hours.
   
2. In the morning, lightly grease a large, flat, heavy (e.g. cast-iron) pan and place it on a low heat to warm up.
Meanwhile dd the following to the overnight mixture:
2/3 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
2/3 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
Stir well so the batter is thoroughly mixed. It should be a little frothy and quite thick; if not thick enough the crumpet holes won't set.

3. Place the four crumpet rings in the pan and pour batter into each of them until about 7-8mm thick. There should be a little headroom as the crumpets will rise. Cook for 10 minutes uncovered until the bubbly top just begins to set.

4. Cover and bake another 3 minutes. The top should now be fully set, otherwise bake a little longer.

5. Carefully turn the crumpets out of the rings and serve with crisp marmalade, maple syrup or your favourite toppings. The crumpets can be toasted to crisp them up if you prefer.

Crumpet/English muffin rings are available from in Hobart from Your Habitat. Largish metal pastry cutters are an option, otherwise you could make your own rings if you are handy enough to cut a fruit tin into sections about 2.5cm high. Small springform pans are okay if you remove the base. Egg rings are generally not high enough. Happy crumpeteering!

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