I thought as English Crumpets is an Iconic English Recipe and Snack, which I thought would be interesting to tell on its long history. Crumpets were an Anglo-Saxon invention. In early times, they were hard pancakes cooked on a griddle, rather than the soft and spongy crumpets of the Victorian era which were made with yeast. The crumpet-makers of the Midlands and London developed the characteristic holes, by adding extra baking powder to the yeast dough. The term itself may refer to a crumpled or curled-up cake, or have Celtic origins relating to meaning a "thin, flat cake".
Crumpets are generally circular roughly 7cm in diameter and roughly 2cm thick. Their shape comes from being restrained in the pan/griddle by a shallow ring. They have a characteristic flat top with many small pores and a half-chewy half-spongy texture. They may be cooked until ready to eat warm from the pan, but are frequently left slightly undercooked so that they may be cooled and stored before being eaten freshly-toasted. In Australia and New Zealand, branded square crumpets can be purchased from supermarkets, designed to easily fit in a standard toaster.
Crumpets are generally eaten hot with butter with or without a second (sweet or savoury) topping. Popular second toppings are cheese (melted on top), honey, poached egg, jam, marmite, salt, marmalade, cheese spread, golden syrup, hummus, lemon curd and maple syrup. The butter may be omitted - but a phrase very commonly associated with crumpets is "dripping with butter" (in this context, 'dripping' is - usually - a verb, rather than a reference to animal fat).
Delicious fresh from the pan spread with butter! Why not try with a slice of cheese and gently grill?
Ingredients
450 grams
White Bread Flour
1 sachet
Baking Yeast1 x 7g sachet
300 ml
Water
300 ml
Milk
1 tsp
Sugar
1 tsp
Salt
Method
Warm the milk and the water together.
Place all of the ingredients into a bowl and beat until smooth (1 to 2 minutes).
Leave until the mixture is frothy and double in size.
Grease and heat a heavy frying pan or griddle and 9 cm (3 in) rings and half fill with the mixture.
Maintaining a moderate heat, cook the crumpets for 5 minutes until the mixture bubbles.
Reduce the heat until the bubbles have burst.
Turn the crumpets over and cook for a further 2 minutes.
Serve hot with butter and jam.
If allowed to cool, toast before serving.
Preparation Time 30 minutes
Baking Time 07 minutes
Portions 12
Please visit my Funny Animal Art Prints Collection @ http://www.fabprints.com
My other website is called Directory of British Icons: http://fabprints.webs.com
The Chinese call Britain 'The Island of Hero's' which I think sums up what we British are all about. We British are inquisitive and competitive and are always looking over the horizon to the next adventure and discovery.
Copyright © 2010 Paul Hussey. All Rights Reserved.
My family tree has been traced back to the early Kings of England from the 7th Century AD. I am also a direct descendent of Sir Christopher Wren which has given me an interest in English History and Icons which is great fun to research.
I have recently decided to write articles on my favourite subjects: English Sports, English History, English Icons, English Discoveries and English Inventions.
At present I have written over 100 articles which I call "An Englishman's Favourite Bits Of England" in various Volumes.
Please visit my Blogs page http://Bloggs.Resourcez.Comwhere I have listed all my articles to date.
Copyright © 2010 Paul Hussey. All Rights Reserved.
Posts
