Good Old-Fashioned Crumpets

Makes 14-16 crumpets

350 ml milk

225g strong white flour

125g plain flour

2 tsp dried yeast

½ tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

150 ml warm water

sunflower oil for cooking

You need some crumpet rings (or egg rings or cooking rings), 8 cm diameter and a crêpe pan (or frying pan or flat griddle).

1.  Whisk together the milk, flour, yeast, salt and sugar until the batter is thick and smooth.

2.  Cover with clingfilm and leave in a warm, draft-free place for 1 - 2 hours, until thick and slightly bubbly.

3.  Dissolve the bicarbonate of soda in the warm water and mix into the batter. Cover and leave to rest for half an hour. 

4.  Put some sunflower oil in a small bowl to a depth of 1 cm or so, then put the crumpet rings in and swirl round to coat well. Place rings in the crêpe pan over a low to medium heat.

5.  Fill each ring with a tablespoon of batter. Leave to cook for about 5 minutes, until bubbles start appearing and the top starts drying out. Remove the rings, then flip the crumpets over for 30 seconds to cook the top. 

6.  Remove to cool on a rack. Repeat until you have used up all the batter.

Serve hot with lots of butter.

The crumpets will keep in an airtight container for 2 - 3 days. To use, put them in a toaster for a couple of minutes to crisp them up again.

(If you have a bread machine, you can use the dough setting for steps 1 and 2).