Crumpets

I don't know about the rest of the word, but I can not just sit around and do nothing. It might just kill me. I can't just sit down and relax, I'm just to fidgety. So when I'm bored I break out the trusty bread bible, and look for inspiration, or search random blogs. Or in this case, a recipe that I have never seen before. In fact When I decided to make this, I didn't know what a crumpet was. All I could think of was the phrase "crumpets and tea" So they started like any other bread that I have made, except on the second rise you had to stir in baking soda.Weird. Then you cooked them on a stove top.
It was odd cooking them on the stove top. It sort of reminded me of cooking pancakes except different. The batter was quite thick and super bubbly. It made the kitchen smell heavenly, like a little bakery.
And Oh my gosh were they tasty! They were like an English muffin times a 100. The texture was so light and fluffy with lots of little holes. You can toast them up again if you made them at night like I did. Serve them with jelly of jam or just about anything!





Crumpets

The Bread Bible by Rose Levy Berenbaum

• 1 cup plus 1 1/2 tbs unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2 tbs dry milk
• 1 tsp instant yeast
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3/4 plus 2 tbs water divided
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp butter

1. Mix the batter. In a large mixer bowl beat together the flour, dry milk, yeast, sugar, and salt. Add the 3/4 cup of water and, gradually beat on med. for about 5 min. until completely smooth.
2. Let the batter rise. Scrape the dough into into a container with a one quart rising capacity. With a piece of tape mark on the side where doubled the height would be. Cover and let rise until doubled, about an hour.
3. Add the baking soda and water and let dough rise again. In a small bowl mix together the baking soda and remaining 2 tbs of water.Stir into the batter and allow to rise again until almost doubled, about 30 min. The batter will be filled with bubbles.
4. Preheat the griddle or frying pan. If using an electric griddle, preheat to 275 degrees. If using a skillet,heat over low until a drop of water sizzles when added.
5. Fry the crumpets. Brush the pan, and the insides of the crumpet rings lightly with melted butter. Set the rings in the pan and use a ladle to spoon, or pour the batter into the rings, filling 2/3 full. The batter will rise to the top during cooking. Cook the crumpets for 10 min on one side, or until they are nicely browned underneath and have lost their dull shine on top. Turn the crumpets and continue to cook until the bottoms are browned.
6. Cool the crumpets. Remove the crumpets and move to a wire rack. Cool completely. They can be stored over night in a paper bag, or frozen well wrapped for up to 3 months. Thaw before toasting.