This is the crumpet recipe released by Warburtons, the UK’s biggest commercial crumpet maker. They’re an absolute dead ringer for store bought – except far better – 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….
Ash says
Iv never commented on a recipe site before, make lots but never bother to comment. BUT the crumpets were amazing! Infact the few recipes iv made off your page so far have all turned out amazing!
I cant wait to go through and try more!
My go to site now. 💕
Melissa says
Dear Nagi, thank you for sharing this crumpet recipe. My family enjoyed them for breakfast this morning. I was not expecting to perfect the recipe first go but to my surprise I did thanks to you Nagi, thank you so much. I am a huge fan of your recipes and tell anyone I can about it. It has seriously made me a better cook. For anyone passionate about high quality stainless steel crumpet rings I purchased mine from a website http://www.bakerybits.co.uk who ship internationally.
DT says
Hi Nagi ! Thanks for the recipe, i’m an aussie living in Germany where crumpets don’t exist, so gotta get into it and make’em myself. Just a little query , do you use Double action baking powder ? We don’t have that in Germany and it makes a big difference . I’m not getting the amount of bubbles I would like and that could be the problem
. Thanks .
Alberto Del Fonso says
Hi DT,
Double action baking powder is crucial to the recipe. I’ve always had limited success with just baking soda. The special crystallised acid in double action baking powder is the key to getting that bubbly action! The heat activates that second expansion to make the perfect crumpet!
DT says
Hi Alberto
Thanks for the info !! I really appreciate it and I think you are 100% correct. I have tried everything and I still have inconsistent bubbles with the German powder. Thanks again !
DT says
Thanks for the reply ! Mmmmm, I think I know what the problem is now, in my impatience I used German 405 flour, which is cake flour, less protein than all purpose. I just want them to look like yours !!!! They taste great already, but it’s about the holes ! Ahhhhhhh
Nagi says
Hi DT, just regular baking powder – the bubbles could be a problem with your yeast. How did they cook? N x
Gwen Kelly says
I am using active dry yeast, I tried a second time with better results then tried a third time but used half bread and half plain flour plus used bicarbonate of soda instead of baking powder and they turned out perfect
Laceher says
Thank you for inspiring us to make these complicated looking treats – you make things look so easy! We stacked 2 egg rings on top of each other to get some height and it kinda worked so well .
Our pan was not even to it slid a bit – we need to get a new one and try again. Cooking on gas was a little unpredicatable as well so we found we had to lower the heat a little.
Tina de Jonge says
Made these for breakfast this morning. For sure the best ones I ever made. So fluffy! Delicious !
Gwen Kelly says
Hi Nagi, my batter produces very little bubbles so not sure when it is ready to cook
Nagi says
Hi Gwen, can I ask what type of yeast you’re using? It will still produce more bubbles when it cooks as well. Love to know how you went! N x
Rebecca says
New favorite!
Grankids loved.
Didnt have crumpet rings so used cookie cutters…….
Nagi says
Perfect Rebecca!! N x
Audrey says
I love your recipes! I cooked up a batch in the evening to have for breakfast the following morning. Hubby mentioned it’s the best crumpets he’s ever had. It was so easy to make as well! I’ll have to make a bigger batch for next time 🙂
Stella says
I’m currently devouring these and eyeballing the ones on my son’s plate…. Also, I used bread-machine yeast and it worked just fine. Thanks for sharing this one, Nagi!
Nagi says
That’s great to hear Stella!! N x
Rachel says
Made these yesterday and who knew making crumpets would be so easy! I had to add a little extra water as it wasnt the right consistency at the start but they turned out delicious!
The hardest part is just getting the temperatures right but I’m determined to nail it! Thanks Nagi!
Susan says
My 1st attempt at crumpets and hubby just love it. It remains soft and fluffy on the 3rd day. I’m gonna double or triple the portion the next time. Wish I could share the photo with you. I’ve never regret following recipetineats.
Nagi says
That’s so great to hear Susan – you can always make a big batch and freeze them too 🙂 N x
Greer says
just made these and they look so cute! now i know what i’m doing i’ll definitely double the batch next time, because this lot is going to last a couple of days max 😀 Can’t wait to slather them in golden syrup and cinnamon, or maybe marmite and cream cheese
Nagi says
Enjoy Greer! N x
Anne says
This looks great. I’ve tried a sourdough starter crumpet recipe that was good. Have you tried sourdough starter instead of yeast and would you make any changes. BTW in NZ we usually have Golden Syrup on crumpets, haven’t heard of the Australian option and not the other options you suggest either 🙂 Interesting times 😀
Nagi says
Hi Anne, you could definitely use a starter but I haven’t tried with this recipe just yet! N x
Christine Kirchmayer says
This recipe brought back so many memories of “back home” in the UK. The crumpets I have bought in the shop here in Canada are just stodgy mush as far as I am concerned. These are delicious – so light and fluffy – what I call proper crumpets. Thanks so much Nagy.
Nagi says
I’m so glad you enjoyed them Christine! N x
Laceher says
We tried this tonight and mindblown at how easy it was to replicate shop ones. Thanks so much for inspiring Nagi xx
Carol Chamberlain says
Just made these for the first time, even though I buttered the rings well they did stick but I’m thinking maybe it’s because they had never been used before, the star, gingerbread and Christmas tree shapes came out perfectly, the last of the batter I didn’t bother with a ring and that was a tasty pancake. I don’t know what they will be like tomorrow because they were eaten more or less straight from the pan. I preferred the texture better than the shop bought ones. Another great Nagi recipe, thank you.
Emy says
Delicious recipes
Debbie Rodrigues says
My 1st attempt at crumpets and they came out perfectly. Will definitely be making them again. Thank you.
Alison says
Hi, Where do you get the rings from please?