Afternoon Tea And Crumpets Recipes

OLD FASHIONED HOME-MADE ENGLISH CRUMPETS FOR TEA-TIME

Steps:

• Note - you will need 4 crumpet rings, or egg rings or 7.5cm (3in) plain pastry cutters, greased.
• Place the flour and salt into a large bowl and stir in the sugar and yeast making a well in the centre. Pour in the warm milk and water and mix to give quite a thick batter. Beat well until completely combined and cover with a tea towel or cling film.
• Leave in a warm place to rise for about an hour until it's a light, spongy texture. Stir well to knock out any air, add the bicarbonate of soda and pour into a large jug - mix well and allow to stand for a further 30 minutes.
• Heat a non-stick frying pan, or a greased griddle, over a very low heat with a drop of oil or butter. Wipe the pan with kitchen paper to remove excess oil/butter. Sit the greased crumpet rings in the pan and leave to heat up for a couple of minutes.
• Pour in enough mixture to fill the rings just over halfway up the sides. Leave to cook until lots of small holes appear on the surface and the batter has just dried out. This will take about 8-10 minutes.
• Remove the rings and turn over the crumpets to cook for a further minute or two on the other side. Sit the first batch of crumpets on a wire rack whilst continuing to cook the remaining crumpets.
• Serve the crumpets warm, generously buttered. If you are making crumpets in advance, then reheat them by toasting lightly on both sides before serving. (Prep time includes rising time for the yeast dough.).

CRUMPETS

Steps:

• In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the milk, sugar and yeast. Let them sit until the yeast starts to bubble, about 5 minutes.
• Add the flour and salt to the yeast mixture and beat on medium-high speed for 3 minutes, or until the batter is smooth and it stretches when you lift out the beater. Remove the bowl from the mixer and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Place in a warm, draft-free area until the mixture has doubled in size and is bubbly on top, about 1 hour.
• In a small bowl, stir together the water and baking soda. Stir this mixture into the batter, then set aside for 30 minutes.
• Heat a large skillet over medium low heat. Spray the surface lightly with nonstick cooking spray, and spray 4- 2 1/2 -inch crumpet molds. Place the molds in the skillet. Add 1 1/2 tablespoons of the batter to the center of each mold and then cook until the bottoms are a deep golden brown and air bubbles have formed on the top, about 9 minutes. Use a pair of tongs to remove the molds, then turn the crumpets over to cook on the second side for about a minute.
• Remove the crumpets to a plate or serving platter, then repeat until you have used all of the batter. Serve warm.

TRADITIONAL ENGLISH CRUMPETS

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Warm the milk in a saucepan. Make sure that it is warm but not boiling. Otherwise, it will kill the yeast.
• Skim any film off of the top.
• Whisk together the warmed milk, flour , sugar, and yeast in a large bowl.
• Once combined, add half the water and beat into the batter.
• Continue to add more water until the batter is thick and smooth. Stop adding water once it reaches the consistency of thick cream.
• Cover with plastic wrap and leave in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in size and foaming. This should take about 1 hour but can take up to 2 hours (keep an eye on it).
• Whisk the salt and baking powder into the batter.
• Heat a large heavy-duty non-stick skillet over medium to medium-high heat until hot but not smoking.
• Moisten a paper towel with a little oil (alternatively, use cooking spray) and carefully grease the base of the pan and crumpet (or pastry) rings measuring approximately 3 inches wide by 1/2 inch tall.
• Place 1 ring on the heated pan and pour in enough batter to fill just below the top of the ring, about 1/4 cup.
• Cook for 5 minutes, until there are many tiny holes on the surface and the crumpet is setting around the edges.
• Flip the crumpet over (in the ring) and cook until the crumpet is light brown and cooked through, about 3 minutes more.
• Adjust the temperature as needed. Repeat with the remaining batter, greasing the pan in between each batch.
• Rest the crumpets on a wire rack until cool.
• To reheat, place crumpets in a toaster or directly on the center rack in a 350 F oven for about 5 minutes before serving.
• Serve with lots of butter and jam .

AFTERNOON TEA AND CRUMPETS

Steps:

• 1. WHAT YOU WILL NEED
• 2. A good fry pan; preferably cast iron. Some cooking rings. They actually make, what are called crumpet rings; however, any cooking rings of the right size should work.
• 3. Chef's Tip: A good crumpet ring should be about 3.5 inches (8.5cm) wide, and 1 inch (2.5cm) tall.
• 4. Begin by whisking the flour, milk, water, and yeast into a thick liquid. A bit thicker than say, heavy cream.
• 5. Chef's Tip: To accomplish this, mix all the ingredients, except the water, and then slowly add the water until you achieve the correct consistency.
• 6. Cover the bowl, and leave in a non-drafty corner of the kitchen until the liquid gets nice and bubbly. This can take (depending on kitchen temperature) several hours.
• 7. Now, whisk the salt and baking powder into the batter.
• 8. Lightly grease the crumpet rings, and set aside.
• 9. Chef's Note: The greasing of the crumpet rings is very important, because the crumpets will need to slide easily out of the rings, during cooking.
• 10. Put some oil on a paper towel, and lightly grease a fry pan or flat griddle. Heat up over medium to medium-high heat.
• 11. MAKING A TEST CRUMPET
• 12. Place a single greased crumpet ring on the hot griddle or fry pan.
• 13. Use a ladle to add batter to the ring but don't fill to the top, give it a bit of room to expand.
• 14. Chef's Note: If the batter runs out the bottom of the ring... the batter is too thin. Add a bit more flour. It's okay if a bit runs out... however, most should stay within the ring.
• 15. After a few minutes, you should see bubbles beginning to form on the surface of the crumpet... Just like making pancakes.
• 16. Chef's Note: If you don't see many bubbles, your batter is too thick. Add a bit of water.
• 17. If you see a lot of bubbles, then after about five minutes, remove the ring, and gently (very gently) turn the crumpet over (unless you prefer to cook only on one side).
• 18. Chef's Tip: Be gentle when turning the crumpets over. If you flip them too hard, it will collapse a lot of the bubbles on the surface, and we want those bubbles.
• 19. Chef's Note: If the bottom is too brown, turn down the heat a bit.
• 20. Cook for two or three minutes, and remove from the heat. The top (that's the part you turned over), should not be as cooked at the bottom. Nicely brown on the bottom, lightly brown on the top, with lots of holes for butter and jam.
• 21. Repeat the procedure until you have the perfect crumpet.
• 22. KEEP CALM AND COOK ON
• 23. You should now have a good batter, and temperature for cooking the remaining crumpets.
• 24. Chef's Note: If you don't have any crumpet rings, you can always add a bit more flour to the mixture, and then drop dollops of batter onto the hot griddle and cook for a few minutes on each side. However, if you do this you won't have a crumpet; you'll have a pikelet.
• 25. Serving Tip: Crumpets store well in the fridge, and can even be frozen. Just reheat them before serving. And those holes in the bread are excellent for holding melted butter and jam... Enjoy.
• 26. Keep the faith, and keep cooking.

EASY ENGLISH CRUMPET RECIPE

Steps:

• In a large jug mix warm milk, warm water, sugar and yeast. Let stand in the sun or warm spot for around 5 - 10 minutes until it foams.
• Then using a whisk, mix the plain flour, salt, baking powder and butter together in a bowl with the warm yeast mixture until combined into a dough.
• Cover with plastic wrap and a tea towel if you like and let sit for around 1.5 hours in a warm place like a windowsill in the sun. The crumpet batter should double in size and bubble up on top.
• Cook in buttered or oiled rings on low to medium non-stick frying pan. Ladle mixture into each ring until half full.
• Cook on one side for around 10-15 minutes or until bubbles appear on the top and you have an even browned base. Flip to briefly to seal the top and serve hot.