How to make crumpets, a British classic - forget what you think you know, oven and stovetop cooking is key to success
Crumpets were something Susan Jung read about in English novels growing up. She approached the task of making some without preconceived ideas, and it helped.
Growing up in the United States, crumpets were something I read about in British novels. I didn't taste a crumpet until I moved to Hong Kong. Usually, I buy mine at Marks & Spencer, but the supply is erratic, and some of the other brands aren't as good. So it's handy to know how to rustle them up yourself.
I don't have a tried-and-true crumpet recipe that's been passed down through the generations, so I felt free to experiment, primarily with the cooking method.
Initially, I had problems cooking the crumpets. When I cooked the batter the traditional way - on the griddle - they would get too dark on the bottom before the interior was done; other times, even after griddling them long and slow over a very low flame, they'd be heavy and doughy inside and would have the unpleasant taste of uncooked baking soda. Even when using the same batch of batter, occasionally holes would form on most of the crumpets but not on a few. (If the holes refuse to form on all of the crumpets, it probably means the baking soda is old and/or the yeast is dead.)
So now I use a combination cooking method: I heat the pan and the crumpet rings in the oven set at 180 degrees Celsius. This means the batter starts to cook immediately once it's poured inside the rings. I continue to cook them on the stove top, then, to make sure they're not gummy inside, I bake them for a few minutes in the oven. And for the few crumpets that don't form enough holes, I cheat: I wait until the crumpet is fully cooked, then use a wooden skewer to poke holes.
This recipe is adapted from one in Great British Bakes, by Mary-Anne Boermans; I increased the amount of salt and baking soda, and omitted the egg.