CRUMPS!

Its as simple as the title suggest. I always like to try out new things and seeing them being made on telly I thought I'd give crumpets a try (or crumps as we like to call them). They are a big hit in our house and so armed with some freshly bought crump rings I set off into the kitchen ready to give them a go. Now they are time consuming to make so don't think you can whip a few up at breakfast time. I suggest you knock out a large batch of them on a quiet day, keep some out to eat and freeze the rest so you some ready to take out the night before for brekkie.

Cooking them is the tricky part. Low and slow is the name of the game. You need to place in the batter inside the rings on a low heat so that after around 8-10 minutes the base of the crump is golden brown (not burnt) and the top is set with burst air bubbles on the top. Only then must you remove the rings and flip them to brown the tops for around 4-5 minutes. I cant really tell you what settings to put your hob on, it'll all depend on your oven and the pan your using so do singular test runs until you've got the cooking technique just right. 

Don't over fill your crump ring either other wise the middle of the crumps will never cook through properly. The batter shouldn't be more than 1.5 thick in your rings. For me this was around 2 tbsp of the batter per ring but again adjust with your test runs until you get it just right.

This recipe will make about 10 crumps - double if you want to make a large batch for freezing. Lets get crumpin!

Crumps!

175ml Semi Skimmed Milk
225g Plain Flour

1/2 Tsp Caster Sugar

7g Dried Active Yeast

175ml Cold Water

1/2 Tsp Salt

1/4 Tsp Bicarb

1. Place the milk into a saucepan and gently heat on the hob until luke warm. It should not be steaming and you should be able to easily dip the tip of your little finger into it.
2. Whilst the milk is warming up, sieve the flour into a bowl and add in the sugar and yeast and give everything a good mix together.
3. Add in the water, followed by the milk and give everything a good beating. You should end up with a runny batter. Cover the bowl with cling film and leave to proof for at least 1.5 hours in a warm dry place.
4. After proofing, add the salt and bicarb into the batter and beat again. You should now have a yeasty, thick yet runny batter (hope that makes sense!).
5. Heat a flat pan on a low heat. Spray the pan and the inside of your crump rings with oil to grease them. Place as many rings as you can into the pan.
6. As in the introduction to this post there is no set guide for cooking the crumps so fill one crump ring first and test the heat of the pan and thickness of the batter in the rings until they cook to your liking. Once you have made one good crump you can start making them in bathes depending on how many rings you can fit in your pan. Good luck!

You can eat your crumps straight away but I've been told they are better when left to cool and then toasted to really crisp up the tops. Cover them with lashings of butter and you have the prefect homemade breakfast treat!

 A ton of beautiful crumps at a fraction of the cost of buying shop bought it really is is worth putting in the time to make these little beauties.

 Crumptastic!