I am now able to turn out proper crumpets. What a thrill! And, using Genevieve, my ancient (over 200 years and counting)
natural yeast starter, this is a double thrill, as anyone maintaining a starter will realize. It is a super way to use up that excess, continually being produced as a result of their prodigious appetites. At least once a week, we feed our starters, giving away, using in recipes, or dumping the extra.
Thanks here are due to Clotilde of
Chocolate and Zucchini, who some months ago posted
her recipe. They turned out wonderfully, slightly crispy on the outside, tender and moist inside, with that tangy sourdough flavor. I didn't need to change a thing. So, I am recommending that you just try her recipe. Also, her suggestion to lift the ring off, flip and cook the other side, worked out well, as I am doing below, while the next one is cooking.
If you are wanting to be frugal (as I was) and not buy more kitchen utensils, don't bother saving tuna cans. They now make it impossible to remove both ends. One end is rounded. Unless you live in an unrounded tuna tin country. I did find a substitute however, which makes a slightly larger, more authentic sized crumpet. Pick up, if you can find them, a couple cans of Stuffed Grape Leaves, vegetarian dolmas. Save, wash and remove both ends, for perfect crumpet rings.
After cooling, pull apart or slice in half, toast your crumpets, and watch them soak up butter. I'm having mine with slices of our lovely white pineapple.
P.S. I had been laboring under the impression that English Muffins and Crumpets were synonomous, and hence the splitting instructions. Next time I will use only 1/4 cup batter in each, and not bother flipping them, or splitting. Clotilde has instructions
here for English Muffins, using sourdough starter. They are quite similar, though the muffin is a thicker individual. And, the process MUCH more involved, as you will note. In any case, they should never be sliced in half. That, apparently is verbotin. Pulling only is permitted.
2 comments:
How clever to use tin cans for shaping crumpets! I wonder if the crumpet police will come after me if I use stewed tomato tins (and if they would work as well because they are so much taller than tuna tins).
I'm most impressed that you are using a 200 year old natural yeast starter! I only managed to hold onto the wild yeast starter I made for about 2 years before accidentally on purpose murdering it. What a shame I didn't know about this crumpet recipe when I was still diligently feeding feeding feeding the voracious pet.
I LOVE crumpets! I believe it is permissible to use a fork to split crumpets in half.
WOW.
I haven't seen crumpets, in like, several years.
They're absolutely fabulous with melted butter. (Aren't most things? Except in their case, fabulous is an understatement ... more like awesome.)
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