Traditional English Crumpets

Written by
Elaine Lemm
Elaine Lemm is a renowned British food writer, classically trained chef, teacher, and author with over 25 years of experience writing about British food and cooking.
Learn about The Spruce Eats' Editorial Process
Elaine Lemm
Updated 10/07/20
Traditional English crumpets with butter and jam

 The Spruce
Prep: 15 mins
Cook: 30 mins
Rest: 60 mins
Total: 105 mins
Servings: 24 servings
Yields: 24 crumpets
Nutritional Guidelines (per serving)
87 Calories
3g Fat
13g Carbs
2g Protein
See Full Nutritional Guidelines Hide Full Nutritional Guidelines
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 24
Amount per serving
Calories 87
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 3g 4%
Saturated Fat 1g 4%
Cholesterol 2mg 1%
Sodium 294mg 13%
Total Carbohydrate 13g 5%
Dietary Fiber 1g 5%
Protein 2g
Calcium 66mg 5%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

Crumpets are the quintessential afternoon tea treat, especially when served warm with lots of butter. It's the extra yeast in the batter that creates the soft texture and delicate holes on top, perfect for soaking up jam and butter.

Crumpets are popular in the U.K. and make frequent appearances at British teatime. There are many ready-made brands of crumpets available, but it's easy and so much fun to make your own. Just be sure to plan ahead as the crumpet batter needs an hour or two to rise.

Don't give up if your first couple of crumpets don't turn out perfectly—it takes practice. It only takes making one or two crumpets until you get the hang of it. This recipe yields 24 crumpets, but if that is too many, the recipe can easily be halved.

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups milk
  • 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons sugar
  • 1 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
  • 1 1/2 cups water (lukewarm)
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • For serving: butter and jam

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Traditional English crumpets recipe ingredients
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  2. Warm the milk in a saucepan. Make sure that it is warm but not boiling. Otherwise, it will kill the yeast.

    Milk warming in a saucepan
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  3. Skim any film off of the top.

    Remove skim off of milk
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  4. Whisk together the warmed milk, flour, sugar, and yeast in a large bowl.

    Dough in a mixing bowl
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  5. Once combined, add half the water and beat into the batter.

    Add water to dough
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  6. Continue to add more water until the batter is thick and smooth. Stop adding water once it reaches the consistency of thick cream.

    Batter in a bowl
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  7. Cover with plastic wrap and leave in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in size and foaming. This should take about 1 hour but can take up to 2 hours (keep an eye on it).

    Proofing dough in a mixing bowl
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  8. Whisk the salt and baking powder into the batter.

    Traditional English crumpets batter
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  9. Heat a heavy-bottomed frying pan over medium to medium-high heat until hot but not smoking.

    Heat a skillet
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  10. Moisten a paper towel with a little oil and carefully grease the base of the pan and crumpet (or pastry) rings measuring approximately 3 inches wide by 1 1/2 inches tall.

    Grease the skillet
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  11. Place 1 ring on the heated pan and pour in enough batter to fill just below the top of the ring.

    Pour batter into a crumpet ring
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  12. Cook for 5 minutes, until there are many tiny holes on the surface and the crumpet is setting around the edges.

    Cook the crumpets
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  13. Flip the crumpet over (in the ring) and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes.

    Flip crumpets when its toasted
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  14. Adjust the temperature as needed. Repeat with the remaining batter, greasing the pan in between each batch.

    Cooking the crumpet
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  15. Rest the crumpets on a wire rack until cool.

    Crumpets cooking on a wire rack
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  16. To reheat, place crumpets in a toaster or under the broiler before serving.

    Warming the crumpets in a toaster
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  17. Serve with lots of butter and jam.

    Serve crumpets with butter and jam
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Tips

  • We recommend cooking one crumpet at a time for the first one or two rounds to let you tweak the temperature and the mixture.
  • If the crumpet batter seeps out from under the ring into the pan, it means the batter is too thin. Whisk in more flour to thicken, adding a small amount at a time.
  • If a cooked crumpet is heavy and without holes, the batter is too thick; slowly add more water until a better consistency develops.
  • If you don't have any pastry or crumpet rings, you can use a similar-sized, clean food can—just be careful with any sharp edges.

Crumpets vs. English Muffins

While crumpets and English muffins are similar in size and cooked on the stovetop, there are some key differences between the two breakfast and teatime classics. Crumpets have an extremely airy dough with lots of distinctive bubbles throughout and visible on top. English muffins, while also airy, are solid on both sides and are made to be split open and topped with butter or jam.