This is the crumpet recipe released by Warburtons, the UK’s biggest commercial crumpet maker. They’re an absolute dead ringer for store bought, with the signature holes, distinct “spongey” texture, perfect for toasting. If you’ve ever wanted to know how to make a crumpet, this is going to blow your mind! And it’s easy!
Crumpet recipe
Warburtons is the UK’s biggest and most popular commercial crumpet producer. They make over 700 million of them a year!
To cheer up the UK public during lockdown, they shared their secret crumpet recipe for people to make at home. Though I doubt it’s the precise commercial batter recipe (they probably adapted it for the home cook), the end result is EXACTY like store bought crumpets.
After many, many, MANY failed crumpet attempts over the years (even from notable chefs!), I am still shaking my head at how astonishingly perfect these crumpets are – and how easy they are to make!
What are crumpets?
Hailing from England, they’re like a cross between an English muffin and pancakes. Their distinguishing feature is the surface that’s riddled with holes which allows butter to permeate through from top to bottom. The surface has a unique almost “spongey” texture, but it’s very fluffy inside, just like bread!
What goes in crumpets
Here’s what you need to make crumpets. I always knew yeast was in the batter. The addition of baking powder was the key that made all the difference – from crumpet making fails to crumpet making success!
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Yeast – use instant / rapid rise yeast or active dry yeast (sometimes just labelled “yeast”). Both work just fine.
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Fresh yeast? Haven’t tried with fresh yeast but see no reason why it wouldn’t work using the standard conversion of 7.75g / 0.275 ounces fresh yeast per 1 teaspoon of dry yeast. Crumble into warm water with sugar and follow above directions for active dry yeast.
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Flour – just normal plain / all purpose flour. Not self raising flour, not wholemeal flour.
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Gluten free – unfortunately doesn’t work with gluten free flour. We tried, and it was a dismal failure!
How to make crumpets
Here’s how to make crumpets in 3 easy steps:
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Mix water, flour and salt to form a sticky but stirrable batter. Then mix in yeast dissolved in a bit of water, baking powder and sugar to form a smooth batter;
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Leave in a warm place for 30 minutes until the surface gets foamy; then
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Ladle into rings and cook on the stove until bubbles pop on the surface and the top is cooked.
It is quite straightforward, but because homemade crumpets is a bit of a unique recipe, I’m going to add a bit more information about each step in the proceeding sections. If you’re not interested, jump to the recipe! (Or video – or Dozer 😂)
The crumpet batter
The crumpet batter is literally a dump-and-mix job, though you do need to mix well for a couple of minutes by hand (or half that time using a handheld mixer) which I assume is to get good gluten formation to get that signature chew for any type of yeast bread, as opposed to being “cakey”.
Then once mixed, you simply put it in a warm place so it gets nice and foamy. This is the equivalent of dough rising so the crumpets rise when they’re cooking.
The crumpet batter won’t increase in volume very much – just around 10 / 15%.
Crumpet rings
Crumpet rings are a “thing”. They are around 9 cm / 3.5″ wide and about 2.5cm / 1″ tall. The ones I have are non stick, but they come in silver too.
But honestly, anything metal and round will do the trick – egg rings, biscuit cutters, scone cutters, even cleaned large tuna cans. Actually, it doesn’t even have to be round! Star shaped crumpets, anyone??
Cooking crumpets
Now, I’m not going to lie to you – you probably won’t nail the first one. It does take practice – but no more than when you first started out perfecting the art of golden fluffy pancakes or pikelets!
The secret to cooking crumpets perfectly is to start them off on a high heat to get those bubbles activated, then turn the stove down so the crumpet cooks through without burning the base. The cooking technique is one change I made to the original Warburtons recipe – they say to cook on medium high the whole time = scorched base.
Though store bought crumpets don’t have colour on the holey side, I like to flip to get a blush of colour on it and cook any residual raw batter.
And here’s a close up of the inside of the crumpets with the signature vertical “tunnels” from the holes!
Even better the next day!!
An essential step with crumpets is to cool them completely, otherwise they are kind of moist and “doughy” inside.
In fact, if you want an absolute dead ringer for store bought crumpets, they are best made the day before, or the day before! They keep for days in the fridge – I’ve kept them for 5 days and once toasted, they are perfect.
Can you freezer homemade crumpets?
They freezer perfectly too. Thaw or even microwave thaw, then toast as usual!
How to eat a crumpet
I realise that writing about how to eat crumpets may induce eye rolling from Crumpet-Eating-Experts. But bear with me – not everyone has been eating crumpets all their life!
Toasting is essential to make the golden base crispy. Then slather with butter (what do you think all those holes are for?? So the crumpet gets soaked with butter, from top to bottom!) then spread of choice.
What to put on crumpets
As far as what to put on crumpets (other than the mandatory butter) – honey is by far the top choice (think – hole seepage). My personal second choice is Vegemite (it’s an Aussie thing 🇦🇺), followed by jam. Other spreads like Nutella and peanut butter go great too – whatever you put on toast, you can put on crumpets!
Though if you want the ultimate crumpet experience, don’t go past butter and honey. That moment when you bite into the crumpet and salty melted butter and sweet molten honey squirts into your mouth…
Arrrgh … I’m torturing myself at the thought. I’m off to toast another crumpet for morning tea! – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
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Crumpet recipe
Ingredients
- 150g (1 cup) white flour , plain / all purpose
- 200ml (3/4 cup + 1 tbsp) warm water , tap water (200g) (Note 1)
- 1/2 tsp salt , cooking/kosher salt (1/4 tsp table salt)
- 1/2 tsp white sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
Yeast Mixture
- 1 tsp yeast , instant/rapid rise OR dry active yeast (Note 2)
- 1 tbsp warm water (just tap water)
Cooking:
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter , melted (or vegetable oil)
Instructions
Crumpet Batter:
- Place flour, water and salt in a bowl and whisk for 2 minutes (electric beater 1 minute on speed 5).
- Yeast Mixture - Dissolve Yeast into 1 tbsp warm water in a small bowl.
- Add Yeast Mixture, sugar and baking powder into bowl, then whisk for 30 seconds (or 15 sec speed 5).
- Cover with cling wrap or plate, then place in a very warm place for 15 to 30 minutes until the surface gets nice and foamy. It will only increase in volume by ~10 - 15%.
Cooking Crumpets:
- Grease 2 or 3 rings with butter (approx 9 cm / 3.5" wide, though any ring or metal shaper will do, Note 3) (TIP: Non stick rings - brush with melted butter. Everything else - smear with butter)
- Brush non stick skillet lightly with melted butter then place rings in the skillet.
- Turn stove on medium high (medium for strong stoves) and bring to heat (Note 4 for "sizzle test").
- Pour 1/4 cup batter into the rings (65ml), about 1cm / 2/5" deep (will rise ~60%).
- Cook for 1 1/2 minutes - bubbles should start appearing on the surface (but not popping yet).
- Turn heat down to medium, cook for 1 minute - some bubbles should pop around the edges.
- Turn heat down to medium low, cook for a further 2 1/2 to 4 minutes, until the surface is "set" and it's clear there will be no more bubbles popping! (At this stage you can help the final bubbles pop with a skewer!)
- Remove rings (you might need to run knife around to loosen).
- Then flip and cook the other side for 20 to 30 seconds for a blush of colour.
- Transfer to write rack (golden side down) and fully cool.
- Can be eaten once cool, but it's even better the next day (Note 5).
How to eat crumpets:
- Toast in a toaster until the base is crispy.
- Slather generously with butter, then spread of choice (honey is perfection) and devour immediately!
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Life of Dozer
And every once in a while, his patience pays off and food I’m shooting falls to the ground….
What am I doing wrong? Everything seems to work and the final product looks perfect, but the crumpets are just mushy?!? I tried with APF and then again with half bread flour to try to get the chew, but still mushy!?! I’m stumped.
Living in Barbados its hard to find crumpets in the shops and when I do it’s nearly $5.00american for the 6 Warburtons.thank u for the recipe. What a savings
Really nice easy recipe
I’ve made it twice so far using half wholemeal and half plain flour with a bit more water added (10-20 ml), while neither came out looking aesthetically perfect they both tasted great. The first one I used a makeshift ring from foil (only have 7.5 cm egg rings right now, will try to get some larger rings soon) making two big crumpets but I had the heat too high so the bottom cooked too much forcing me to flip them over letting the top cook quite a bit as well to make sure the batter was cooked through giving a browned skin on both sides. After letting them (partially) cool I sliced the more cooked skin off revealing small holes, popped them in the toaster having one with golden syrup and other with Vegemite. The second batch I used those 7.5 cm egg rings making 9 crumpets, I used a different hotplate of the stove with a larger range of the dial and more closely controlled the heat which worked our better though I still had to flip to finish off cooking from the top but not as much. Three of them developed nice holes across the crumpet, though most only had a few holes and a few had none. I’ll need to do more experimentation with the heat, how much batter I put into a ring and with the recipe itself to better suit the use of wholemeal flour (I’m thinking maybe more baking powder might help with the holes) since my end goal is to use 100% wholemeal.
I think this could be a great recipe, but be careful. When you scale it up (ie change the 6-12 crumpets), the recipe will give you strange results. just make it for 6 and you’ll be fine! The details in the text will NOT scale.
Nagi I really don’t know how you do it but these crumpets are EXTRAORDINARY and as easy as pancakes! I made them a few times to get my husband through the worst of his Covid isolation – the only problem is it’s set a precedent for the other wives in our extended family haha! I now have 3 different size sets of crumpet rings and this recipe is in regular rotation.
That’s more than I have!!! N x
I never tried crumpets until I made these. I had seen them before at a store we have here, but I read so many people saying homemade is so worth the effort. I am not sure how they should taste or what the texture should be but I don’t care, these turned out great! I followed the recipe with the weights and I am glad I did. I am a huge fan of these crumpets. Thanks for sharing your recipe.
That’s great Sally! I am glad that you enjoyed them!! N x
I made these and they tasted great but didn’t turn out as I expected. The first step mixing the flour, water and salt turned the mixture into a more dough like mix that wanted to take over the hand beater. I added the yeast and the rest of the ingredients and the texture stayed the same. I did leave it to rise a lot longer as I had visitors arrive. After rising the consistency was a super stretchy dough but I was able to put it into the rings to cook. They grew even more but produced no holes and looked more like english muffins in the end. They tasted amazing with a big blob of butter though and I was happy with the end product. I’m going to try to make them again but im unsure why my mix was a dough and not a batter?
The first mixture should have been more liquid than dough sticking to the beaters Simone – did you use a scale to ensure your measurements were accurate? And did you use warm water, not cold and normal plain flour? N x
LOVED THIS!!! They smelt great – the texture perfect – I am in love…
Woo hoo! I’m glad you liked them Totlyn!! N x
Best crumpets recipe I’ve tried. They’re delicious and so easy. One tip: once the bottoms were cooked and the tops starting to dry off, I transferred them to a thick cookie sheet and finished them off in the oven. I also found 1/3 cup measure worked better as the end result was still a good height, allowing for the dough to settle somewhat on cooling.
Sarah,
How long in the oven (& at what temperature)?
Moderate fan oven and kept an eye on them till the tops dried off completely – sorry don’t know how long that took as I was cooking the other crumpets AND parenting at the same time
I made these with my 2 year old last night. Super easy, super delicious. We toasted them upk with butter and honey this morning and they didn’t last long at all. I overdid the bicarb but will modify next round.
Yippee!! I am happy you both liked them Gus! Good on your little man for helping with the cooking!! N x
Oh my goodness – thank you! I’ve tried lots of crumpet recipes, followed the debate of baking powder/no baking powder, but this is the first time my crumpets actually came out with all the little holes instead of just a few and the right texture.
I followed your directions exactly (by weight), and the crumpets were perfect. I will no longer have to ask my British son-in-law to bring back crumpets when he visits his family!
Woo hoo!! So glad that I could help Cathy!! N x
Hi Nagi, I just discovered the wonders of lemon curd and immediately thought of your crumpet recipe. Both are not easily found in the states and I don’t know why. I just wanted to enter a vote for a lemon curd recipe from you in the future. Thanks for sharing!
I actually have one Terri as the filling for my Lemon Tart! You could just use that as the curd on your crumpets! https://www.recipetineats.com/lemon-tart/ N x
Oh my gosh. Lemon curd on crumpets – how delightfully indulgent. It reminds me of something equally luscious that I enjoyed as a teenager: crumpets without butter, but with honey and whipped cream!
Just made these and the best recipe yet! Will be our brekky go to. Thanks
Thanks Samantha! I am happy that you liked them! N x
Thank you for the recipe. I made a double batch this morning and all 16 crumpets were gone by lunchtime. We made another double batch this afternoon.
As an Aussie in the US for more than 20 years, one of my teenage lads gave me a bit of grief for explaining the recipe in grams, but it was so handy to have effective measures available to create these tasty crumpets so easily. He helped me make batch #2.
Good for you, Matt, raising kids who can cook! Can’t say I’m surprised to find that teenagers can eat a double batch of crumpets in one hit!! N x
Can these be frozen? Thanks!
Yes they can be frozen after cooking and reheated in the oven or toaster! N x
Thanks!! 😊
How long will these keep in the freezer? I suspect with 2 teenage boys in the house this would be a non issue however would like to know incase I decide to make a big batch.
i fixed crumpets using this recipe they are wonderful. will be making more for a English Tea this week
I am happy that you liked it Cheryl! N x
beautiful results! good mouthfeel and the temps and measures were spot on! i turned one burner low and the other med and slid them from one to the other as needed. even made 3 inch versions for my grandkids:)
These turned out great, that’s for posting!
Just made this recipe this morning and couldn’t help but eat 2 with my breakfast! I followed the recipe as written and they turned out wonderfully! Thank you!
Only two??!!! 😂😂😂 N x
The best topping is nothing more than butter and a good sprinkle of salt.
Yuuuummm! Butter!! N x
I was somewhat bummed. This came out more like dough and not batter. It formed an “English muffin but never bubbled fast enough to form a crumpet. It was way to thick. I am thinking that a sourdough starter would be great for this recipe,
Yes, I am in the process of making this recipe, and 200ml water did not make a batter. It made a dough. It’s raining here so it should be plenty moist enough. Can’t quite work out what has gone wrong but will wait to see how the crumpets turn out.