Name: Homemade British-Style Crumpets
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 55 min
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 2 1/4 Teaspoons ( 1 Standard- American Packet) Instant Yeast; 15.2oz ( 1 3/4 Cup + 2.5 Tablespoons) Warm Water; 338 Grams (2.5 Cups + 3 Tablespoons +1 Teaspoon) All-Purpose Flour; 1 Teaspoon Salt; 1 Teaspoon Sugar; 2 1/4 Teaspoon Baking Powder; Butter, for cooking

Soft, chewy, and topped with tons of delicate holes, my recipe for crumpets will have you swooning at breakfast! Step-by-step photos teach you how to make this quintessential British recipe. Made with instant yeast and cooked on the stovetop!

crumpet served on a black plate on a blue linen with a cup of coffee on a light brown background — Those little holes perfect for pools of melting butter… honestly this is peak British comfort food!

Growing up in a British family in America there are a few food items that are favorites but unfortunately not too frequently enjoyed because of the lack of availability here in the States. Crumpets are one of those foods, you can find some store-bought crumpets at some Trader Joe's but to be honest, they aren't my favorite. Nothing compares to the iconic Warburtons Crumpets. My absolute favorite, we always load up in England and will often smuggle some back into the States!

These are best served warm, reheating and toasting them is the way we enjoy. My ideal way is to enjoy a warm toasted crumpet slathered with a thick schmear of Lurpak butter. And sometimes butter and jam. Some enjoy honey on top too!

So when I saw that Warburtons released their iconic recipe I knew I had to try it myself. The first time I made this homemade crumpet recipe was with my mom, we were both shocked it had taken us so many years to make them for ourselves. So easy and so delicious. I adjusted the Warburtons recipe to use one standard American packet of yeast, 2 ¼ teaspoons. This recipe makes 12 traditional crumpets using a 3.5-inch ring, I tried using 3-inch rings and we felt they were just too small.

The beauty of crumpets is that they freeze beautifully. You will adore this tasty bread recipe. Here are some homemade bread recipes you'll want to make again and again.

butter spread on to a crumpet served on a white plate next to a cup of coffee and a blue and white linen

Featured Review

"I moved here from England and these bring back so many great memories, I would eat a Warburtons crumpet every day. These are just as good!"
Karen

Jump to Recipe·5 from 4 reviews

Simple Ingredients, Cozy Breakfast Energy

All-Purpose Flour: I've found this works perfectly for crumpets here - it still gives you that soft texture without needing specialty flours.
Yeast: I always make sure the yeast is properly activated because I've found it's what creates that light texture and helps form those classic bubbles.
Warm Water: I like using warm (not hot) water so the yeast activates properly - too hot and it can kill the yeast, trust me I have done that!
Baking Powder: I've found this helps encourage those signature bubbles and gives the crumpets their classic texture.
Salt + Sugar: I've found in recipe testing this balance gives just enough flavor without overpowering the crumpets since they're meant to be topped.

There is one other key component the crumpet rings. You could use egg rings or cookie cutters that are heatproof, but ideally they will not have a top piece that you can easily hold a cookie cutter with, because it will be hard to flip out the crumpet.

You can cook them in a non-stick frying pan, cast iron pan, or a stainless steel pan greased well.

crumpets stacked on top of each other on a wire rack on a light brown surface

Step-by-Step: Soft and Fluffy Crumpets

yeast activated in water in a liquid measuring cup on a light brown surface — Combine the yeast and warm water to activate.

First thing is you need to activate your yeast, if it doesn't activate then your crumpets will not turn out. It is critical that you use the right temperature of water for your brand of yeast, mine is 120F-130F.I use a thermometer to check the temperature as you want to make sure you activate your yeast without burning and killing it.

water poured into bowl of dry ingredients in a metal bowl on a light brown surface with a blue linen — Combine the flour, remaining water, and salt

crumpet batter in a metal bowl on a light brown surface with blue linen — Combine the flour, remaining water, and salt

crumpet batter after resting in a large metal bowl on a light brown surface — Cover the bowl with a clean tea towel and place it in a warm environment to proof for 15-20 minutes. The batter is ready when there are lots of air bubbles.

butter rubbed onto metal ring with a paper towel over a metal pan — Take your round cutters and heavily butter them.

crumpet batter poured into metal rings in a metal pan — Take your round cutters and heavily butter them.

close up of crumpets cooking in a metal pan — Cook until you start to see lots of bubbles popping then reduce the temperature and finish cooking.

piece of butter added to pan for crumpet to cook in a metal pan — Take a piece of butter place it in the pan and flip the crumpet upside down on to the butter.

hand holding a crumpet on top of the pan showing its golden brown — Cook the crumpet just until golden brown.

crumpets cooling on a wire rack on top of a blue linen on a light brown surface — Cook the crumpet just until golden brown.

hand holding a crumpet above a rack of more crumpets on a light brown surface

I always eat crumpets warm with salted butter and if I want something sweet raspberry jam - the butter melts into all the little holes and makes them ridiculously good.

crumpets served with melted butter on a black plate on top of a blue and white linen with a cup of coffee in the background

★★★★★ Please let me know if you make this recipe by leaving a star rating and comment below!

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