Sourdough Crumpets
These are quite possibly the best thing I've ever made from my sourdough starter, and by far the quickest and easiest. Crumpets are my most favorite storebought baked item - they are soft & chewy with big, open holes on the top for the butter and honey to seep into. They are wonderful, and I had almost given up hope of making my own when I happened across this old recipe on the King Arthur website. [1]
It worked like a charm!
- For this batch I mixed 1 1/2 cups of my leftover 100% hydration starter (right out of the fridge where I'd been collecting it every time I made bread) with 1.5 teaspoons white granulated sugar, 3/4 teaspoon baking soda, and 3/4 teaspoon salt. Almost immediately, it gets very, very bubbly.
- I poured the batter into 3.5" crumpet rings on my pancake griddle in a big dollop that slowly spread to fill the rings about 1/4 inch deep before rising.
- I only have 4 crumpet rings, so once the sides started to set, I removed the rings and poured 4 more while letting the first ones cook until there were lots of bubbles on top and the sides were getting dry.
- I flipped them briefly, and took them off the griddle.
- I ate some hot right off the griddle (soooo good), and heated the rest up the toaster later on.
- To serve them, spread with butter and honey and watch them disappear into the holes, saturating the crumpet with buttery goodness. They are not crispy like english muffins.
- 1 1/2 cups starter made 12 crumpets.
I have since tried this recipe with freshly fed sourdough starter, with less luck. It seems to work best with the old leftovers I collect in my fridge over several weeks. I also tried a half whole wheat version, but the texture just isn't the same as with 100% white flour.
I'll be making these again!