Nov 25

Nov 25 Crumpets for Tea

Bread Cake Pastry, Musings, Robert Jones, Snacks, Welsh

I am easily influenced. I Confess. And Accept. I am an advertisers dream!

So when I heard someone on the radio the other day eulogising about the joys of Crumpets, it was just a matter of time before a bargain packet would drop into my basket at the supermarket.

And so it came to pass.

It’s something I have always assumed was universal - like pancakes, and faggots. Something everyone knows and eats. But life has shown me that this is not the case.

The oracle of all things - Wikipedia - immediately throws a spanner in the works by linking to a French cartoon series for children called The Crumpets about a family with 142 children, which I found mildly disturbing and entertaining in equal measure. Anyhow, it wasted 30 minutes on a wet day.

Then it flags up the uncertainty whether edible crumpets originated in Wales or were Anglo Saxon.

Then comes the name - I recall as a child, while toasting crumpets on the fire at home, my best friend announced that they were actually called Pikelets! The certainty in my world was crumbling at the edges.

It gets worse - in Welsh, there was a thing called a ‘Bara Pyglyd’ or sticky bread, with a name perilously close to Pikelet. Or does the name come from the Welsh for pancake - Crempog?

You’ll even find some people trying to pass them off as Muffins! don’t go there.

Anyhow it’s a minefield.

When should one eat them? Too bulky for breakfast. To meagre for dinner. It was always a Saturday afternoon in Winter thing in our house, eaten while watching the wrestling and waiting for the classified football results. Always smeared with butter. It’s tempting to add a topping, but why bother.

The key is to butter it several times, so the butter has time to melt and fill up all the holes.

Inevitably have a napkin on hand to wipe your chin and fingers.

Easily made:

In a bowl, stir together 250ml of warm water with 2 1/2 teaspoons of Dried Yeast. Let it stand for a bit. Add a little warm Milk, 50g of Butter, 1 teaspoon of Salt, and 2 teaspoons of Sugar.

Add 450g of plainflour, mix well and leave to stand. You can get it to the right consistency by topping up with warm milk.

Stir in 1/2 teaspoon of Baking Powder, first dissolved in water. Leave for another half an hour.

This is the tricky bit - Get a heavy frying pan, and put over a medium heat.

If you have Crumpet Rings, grease them, and pour the batter in up to about half way. Metal pastry cutters will work, but they need to be deep. Cook until the tops look dry.

Turn them over and cook for another five minutes.