Topless English Muffins

I grew up eating English muffins on occasion for breakfast. I tried crumpets for the first time in England and found them to be like a thicker, more doughy and squishy English muffin.

My boyfriend loves crumpets and they are very difficult to find here in the States. I have found them once or twice at our local supermarket, but that's about it. I thought I'd make a nice surprise for him and do some homemade ones. I wanted him to be able to have them for breakfast, so I actually made them late last night after I got home from the movies. I ended up starting at about midnight and finishing at 2am. Luckily, he loved them and appreciated the effort I went through. He fell asleep on the chair waiting for them to be made and woke up long enough to eat three before going back to sleep! I wasn't too fond of crumpets when I tried eating them in England and I figured I would try my homemade ones. I think crumpets are ok, but definitely not one of my favorite foods, although I do prefer my homemade ones to the store-bought.

These crumpets did not end up looking like the traditional ones you find in the stores. I wasn't able to get the little bubbles on top. I'm wondering if it was my fault since nobody else who reviewed the recipe mentioned that problem. The important thing is the taste, and they taste just like crumpets.

I feel bad these crumpets didn't have the holes, so I'm definitely going to try them again sometime. They did an excellent job of satisfying my boyfriend's craving for crumpets, so I'd make them again for that reason alone.

I used a ¼ cup measuring cup to drop the batter onto my sauté pan (I don't have a griddle). I sprayed it lightly with a non-stick cooking spray before dipping in the batter and it worked perfectly.

These can be spread with butter or peanut butter.

Crumpets

3½ cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons butter, melted
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons sugar
2½ teaspoons dry active yeast
1 cup warm water
1 cup warm milk
½ teaspoon baking soda dissolved in ¼ cup water
butter for greasing griddle

1. Put yeast and warm water in a large bowl. Allow yeast to proof for 5-10 minutes or until frothy.
   
2. Add the milk, butter, salt, and sugar.
3. Slowly stir in flour until dough is slightly elastic.
4. Cover and let stand 45 minutes.
5. Stir in soda and water mixture. Let rise for 20-30 minutes.
6. Melt butter on griddle over medium-low heat.
   
7. Drop ¼ cup batter onto griddle. Space batter about 2 inches apart.
   
8. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook for about 15 minutes or until the tops look dry and gummy.
9. Allow to cool. Toast before serving.