Name: 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, this recipe for crumpets will have you swooning at breakfast! Step-by-step photos teach you how to bake this quintessential British bread!

crumpet served on a black plate on a blue linen with a cup of coffee on a light brown background

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 these 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 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.

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

Let's get to the recipe

What are crumpets

Crumpets are a British unsweetened griddle cake. Made from only six ingredients this porous bread is best served toasted with generous amounts of butter, jam, and/ or honey.

The texture is lightly spongey that soaks the topping up beautifully.

Ingredients

For these delicious bites of heaven you only need a few ingredients:

Instant Yeast. You'll need to use rapid rise or instant yeast for this bread recipe.
Warm Water. The water needs to be at the correct temperature to activate the yeast.
All-Purpose Flour. Also known as plain flour, just make sure you measure your flour properly. Too much or too little flour could potentially ruin the recipe.
Salt. You may think it sounds like a lot of salt but the salt helps give the dough great flavor.
Sugar. Just a smidge helps feed the crumpet batter.
Baking Powder. You'll want to make sure your baking powder is fresh so it activates properly.
Butter. I like to use butter to cook the crumpets it gives them a gorgeous golden brown exterior.

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

Instructions

First thing is you need to activate your yeast, if it doesn't activate then your crumpets will not turn out.

In a small bowl combine the yeast and 2.5 tablespoons of warm water. 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. Whisk it together then let it sit aside for 5 minutes it should get nice and foamy.

yeast activated in water in a liquid measuring cup on a light brown surface

In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or a large bowl, needs to be large enough for the batter to almost double in size. Now with a whisk combine the flour, remaining water, and salt.

water poured into bowl of dry ingredients in a metal bowl on a light brown surface with a blue linen

Mix for 2-3 minutes in a stand mixer on low-medium speed or for 5 minutes whisking by hand.

Now add in the baking powder, sugar, and yeast mixture. Mix for another 30 seconds to a minute everything should be completely combined.

crumpet batter in a metal bowl on a light brown surface with blue linen

Cover the bowl with a clean tea towel and place it in a warm environment to proof for 15-20 minutes. I turn my oven on to 200F/93C and turn it off to create a warm but not too hot place for the batter to rest. When ready the crumpet batter will have lots of air bubbles, about 15-20 minutes.

crumpet batter after resting in a large metal bowl on a light brown surface

Place a non-stick frying pan over medium heat add half a tablespoon of butter and swirl around. Take your round cutters and heavily butter them. I take a paper towel and rub some butter inside each round cutter.

butter rubbed onto metal ring with a paper towel over a metal pan

crumpet batter poured into metal rings in a metal pan

Place the buttered cutters inside the pan so they are sitting completely flat. I like to use a large ice cream scoop but two spoons will work to drop the batter into the round cutter. You do not want to fill them more than halfway full.

three crumpets in the middle of cooking on a metal pan

Cook on medium-high for 2-3 minutes until you start to see lots of bubbles popping then reduce the temperature to low, and cook for another 2-4 minutes or so until the top of the crumpet no longer looks wet and there are lots of empty holes.

close up of crumpets cooking in a metal pan

Take a piece of butter and place it in the pan to melt then remove the rings and turn the crumpets down onto the butter. This helps create a gorgeous golden brown crumpet top. Cook for an additional minute or two.

piece of butter added to pan for crumpet to cook in a metal pan

hand holding a crumpet on top of the pan showing its golden brown

Transfer cooked crumpets to a wire rack to cool completely.

Store at room temperature in an airtight container for up to three days or freeze.

crumpets cooling on a wire rack on top of a blue linen on a light brown surface

How to freeze

Let the crumpets cool completely then transfer to a freezer-safe container in an even layer. Flash-freeze for an hour or two then you can stack them in your freezer not in an even layer.

To thaw the crumpets let them sit in the fridge overnight or you can toast right away. Since crumpets are quite small you can transfer from the freezer directly to the toaster. Depending on the strength of your toaster you may need to toast on both sides.

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

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!

Recipe Card

Crumpets

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

5 from 4 reviews

Print Recipe

Soft, chewy, and topped with tons of delicate holes this recipe for crumpets will have you swooning at breakfast! Step-by-step photos teach you how to bake this quintessential British bread!

Total Time: 55 minutes
Yield: 12 Crumpets 1x

Ingredients

Units Scale

2 ¼ Teaspoons ( 1 Standard- American Packet) Instant Yeast
15.2oz ( 1 ¾ 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 ¼ Teaspoon Baking Powder
Butter, for cooking

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

In a small bowl combine the yeast and 2.5 tablespoons of warm water. Make sure you use the right temperature of water for your brand of yeast, mine is 120F-130F. I use a thermometer to check as you want to make sure you activate your yeast without burning and killing it. Whisk it together then let it sit aside for 5 minutes it should get nice and foamy.
In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or a large bowl with a whisk combine the flour, remaining water, and salt. Mix for 2-3 minutes in a stand mixer on low-medium speed or for 5 minutes whisking by hand.
Now add in the baking powder, sugar, and yeast mixture. Mix for another 30 seconds to a minute everything should be completely combined. Cover the mixing bowl with a clean tea towel and place it in a warm environment to proof for 15-20 minutes. I turn my oven on to 200F/93C and turn it off to create a warm but not too hot place for the batter to rest. When ready the crumpet batter will have lots of air bubbles, should take about 15-20 minutes.
Place a non-stick frying pan over medium heat add half a tablespoon of butter and swirl around. Take your round cutters and heavily butter them. I take a paper towel and rub some butter inside each round cutter.
Place the buttered cutters inside the pan so they are sitting completely flat. I like to use a large ice cream scoop but two spoons will work to drop the batter into the round cutter. You do not want to fill them more than halfway full. Cook on medium-high for 2-3 minutes until you start to see lots of bubbles popping then reduce the temperature to low and cook for another 2-4 minutes or so until the top of the crumpet no longer looks wet and there are lots of empty holes. Take a piece of butter and place it in the pan to melt then remove the metal ring and flip the crumpet down onto the butter. This helps create a gorgeous golden brown crumpet top. Cook for an additional minute or two, carefully check for a golden brown top with no wet batter.
Transfer cooked crumpets to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container for up to three days or freeze.