Crumpet vs English Muffin - Vote

[Old Hippie]

I've been wanting to try "clotted cream" for a long time so I finally got around to making some using this recipe I found for it.

[snippola]

Sourdough english muffin with clotted cream & wild thimbleberry jam.

Somehow I missed this. Probably while chuckling in insane glee over my new vacuum pot.

Well done!

It's been a few years -- wow; it's been more than a few years -- since the last high tea I attended at the Empress in Victoria. They must have a sous-chef just for the Devonshire Cream. The very nice waiter kept bringing pots of it to our table and we could barely keep up with him.

If I can manage it, I think Mrs. Hippie and I will plan to pack our squeakin' shoes and have a few days in Victoria at the Empress this year. Breakfast is royal. The curry bar is divine. High tea is simply what one does at the Empress. Sitting under the punka sipping an IPA is a great way to people-watch.

O.H.

 

[MoreArtful]

Stainless steel crumpet rings

 

[MoreArtful]

Please, PLEASE what brand of SS crumpet rings do you use????

Cool! Here's sourdough crumpets for you:

1 cup sourdough (fresh or discard, old or new, cold or room temp)
1 tsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
3/8 tsp. baking soda

Put all in a medium bowl (because it expands) and beat it all together. Heat griddle to 300F, grease crumpet rings. Cook about five minutes on one side, until the top is fairly dry and has lots of bubble holes. Remove the rings and flip the crumpets; cook another five or so minutes until done. Then, as Peter Reinhart says, since we want to make sure they're dead, toast them.

I have a very nice set of handmade stainless steel crumpet rings imported from a British baking supply house at considerable expense. They are a lovely excuse to use the kind of language I use too much anyway. I also have a set of the cheap silicone "egg/crumpet" rings you can get in most grocery stores, and they're great.

Using the cheap rings, this recipe makes about 6 crumpets -- so scale as needed to feed the masses.

O.H.

 

[Old Hippie]

Please, PLEASE what brand of SS crumpet rings do you use????

I purchased six 4-inch/10 cm stainless steel crumpet rings from Bakery Bits in the UK.

As they stand, they look quite lovely. However I find the crumpets don't release easily from the steel, which leads to poking and prying with a table knife and ultimately a pretty nasty looking crumpet. (Yes, I greased them.) This makes me swear both loudly and long. Honest advice: if you're just getting into crumpets buy a nice set of the little silicone rings with the stand-up handles on them. They'll still need a bit of grease but they are much easier to release.

I'm giving some thought to working over the stainless ones with a progression of sand and emery papers.

Used the silicone rings this morning. Mrs. Hippie indicated crumpets would be kindly received.

O.H.

 

[frbock]

While I love english muffins, I seldom have one.
A couple years ago, we found a recipe for English Muffin Bread. It makes loaves, slice like bread and toast.

 

[frbock]

I purchased six 4-inch/10 cm stainless steel crumpet rings from Bakery Bits in the UK.

As they stand, they look quite lovely. However I find the crumpets don't release easily from the steel, which leads to poking and prying with a table knife and ultimately a pretty nasty looking crumpet. (Yes, I greased them.) This makes me swear both loudly and long. Honest advice: if you're just getting into crumpets buy a nice set of the little silicone rings with the stand-up handles on them. They'll still need a bit of grease but they are much easier to release.

I'm giving some thought to working over the stainless ones with a progression of sand and emery papers.

Used the silicone rings this morning. Mrs. Hippie indicated crumpets would be kindly received.

O.H.

After you grease, either use flour, or corn meal... no that's english muffin.
Coat the sides and bottom. They'll pop out just fine.

 

[Old Hippie]

After you grease, either use flour, or corn meal... no that's english muffin.
Coat the sides and bottom. They'll pop out just fine.

There's no bottom. It's a ring that you put on the griddle, to contain the batter until it sets up. Then remove the ring, flip the crumpet, and put the tea to steep.

O.H.

 

[Quaznoid]

Had an English muffin today with cream cheese. I’ve never seen a crumpet.

 

[Old Hippie]

Had an English muffin today with cream cheese. I’ve never seen a crumpet.

English muffins you can buy in the store, six to a bag. They're easy to make, though...

Crumpets don't ship well, so if you want crumpets your choices are to make them yourself (easy) or get somebody to make them for you. If you already do sourdough baking, the recipe I use for crumpets uses the discard you have left after refreshing your culture regularly. If only for a regular source of crumpets, sourdough is worth the minimal bother.

O.H.