Traditional English Crumpets

No Afternoon Tea Is Complete Without These

By
Elaine Lemm
Elaine Lemm
Elaine Lemm
Elaine Lemm is a renowned British food writer, classically trained chef, teacher, and author with over 25 years of experience writing about British food and cooking.
Learn about The Spruce Eats' Editorial Process
Updated on 06/22/23
Tested by
Diana Andrews
Diana Andrews
Tested by Diana Andrews
Diana has served as head recipe developer and editor for the Emmy-nominated PBS series Moveable Feast, food editor and test kitchen manager at Fine Cooking Magazine, and recipe developer and product tester at Food Network. 
Learn about The Spruce Eats' Editorial Process
Prep: 15 mins
Cook: 64 mins
Rest Time: 60 mins
Total: 2 hrs 19 mins
Servings: 10 to 12 servings
Yield: 20 to 24 crumpets

Crumpets are the quintessential afternoon tea treat, especially when served warm with lots of butter. They're popular in the U.K. and make frequent appearances at British teatime. While there are many ready-made brands of crumpets available, baking your own is easy and so much fun. Just be sure to plan ahead as the crumpet batter needs an hour or two to rise.

What Exactly Is An English Crumpet?

Crumpets are a griddled bread that falls somewhere between an English muffin and a pancake. Like an English muffin, they're full of tiny holes, but their loose batter more closely resembles that of a pancake.

While crumpets and English muffins are similar in size and cooked on the stovetop, there are some key differences between the two breakfast and teatime classics. Crumpets have an extremely airy, spongy dough with lots of distinctive bubbles throughout and visible on top. English muffins, while also airy, are solid on both sides and are made to be split open and topped with butter or jam.

Crumpets have the best qualities of both English muffins and pancakes: The extra yeasty batter creates the delicate holes on top, perfect for soaking up jam and butter, but also thin and moist on its own.

Tips for Making Crumpets Like a Brit

Don't give up if your first couple of crumpets don't turn out perfectly—it takes practice. It only takes making one or two crumpets until you get the hang of it.

  • We recommend cooking one crumpet at a time for the first one or two rounds to let you tweak the temperature and the mixture.
  • If the crumpet batter seeps out from under the ring into the pan, it means the batter is too thin. Whisk in more flour to thicken, adding a small amount at a time.
  • If a cooked crumpet is heavy and without holes, the batter is too thick; slowly add more water until a better consistency develops.
  • If you don't have any pastry or crumpet rings, you can use a similar-sized, clean food can—just be careful with any sharp edges.
  • This recipe yields about 24 crumpets. Freeze what you don't eat. They're really easy to reheat in the toaster.
English Crumpets

The Spruce Eats / Cara Cormack

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups milk

  • 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

  • 2 teaspoons granulated sugar

  • 1 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast

  • 1 1/2 cups lukewarm water

  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt

  • 1 teaspoon baking powder

  • Oil for the pan, or cooking spray

  • For serving: Butter and jam

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Ingredients to make English crumpets

    The Spruce Eats / Cara Cormack

  2. Warm the milk in a saucepan. Make sure that it is warm but not boiling. Otherwise, it will kill the yeast.

    A pot of warm milk

    The Spruce Eats / Cara Cormack

  3. Skim any film off of the top.

    A spoon skimming film from the top of the warm milk

    The Spruce Eats / Cara Cormack

  4. Whisk together the warmed milk, flour, sugar, and yeast in a large bowl.

    A large bowl of combined milk, flour, sugar, and yeast

    The Spruce Eats / Cara Cormack

  5. Once combined, add half the water and beat into the batter.

    A bowl of wet dough

    The Spruce Eats / Cara Cormack

  6. Continue to add more water until the batter is thick and smooth. Stop adding water once it reaches the consistency of thick cream.

    A bowl of runny batter

    The Spruce Eats / Cara Cormack

  7. Cover with plastic wrap and leave in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in size and foaming. This should take about 1 hour but can take up to 2 hours (keep an eye on it).

    A bowl of wet dough covered in plastic wrap

    The Spruce Eats / Cara Cormack

  8. Whisk the salt and baking powder into the batter.

    Salt and baking powder added to the bowl of wet dough

    The Spruce Eats / Cara Cormack

  9. Heat a large heavy-duty non-stick skillet over medium to medium-high heat until hot but not smoking. Moisten a paper towel with a little oil (alternatively, use cooking spray) and carefully grease the base of the pan and crumpet (or pastry) rings measuring approximately 3 inches wide by 1/2 inch tall.

    A pan of oil with a round pastry ring

    The Spruce Eats / Cara Cormack

  10. Place 1 ring on the heated pan and pour in enough batter to fill just below the top of the ring, about 1/4 cup.

    A pan of oil with a pastry ring filled with crumpet dough

    The Spruce Eats / Cara Cormack

  11. Cook for 5 minutes, until there are many tiny holes on the surface and the crumpet is setting around the edges.

    A pastry ring of bubbling crumpet dough in a pan of oil

    The Spruce Eats / Cara Cormack

  12. Flip the crumpet over (in the ring) and cook until the crumpet is light brown and cooked through, about 3 minutes more. Adjust the temperature as needed. Repeat with the remaining batter, greasing the pan in between each batch.

    A flipped over pastry ring of crumpet dough in a pan

    The Spruce Eats / Cara Cormack

  13. Rest the crumpets on a wire rack until cool. To reheat, place crumpets in a toaster or directly on the center rack in a 350 F oven for about 5 minutes before serving. Serve with lots of butter and jam.

    A cooling rack of English crumpets

    The Spruce Eats / Cara Cormack

Tips

  • We recommend cooking one crumpet at a time for the first one or two rounds to let you tweak the temperature and the mixture.
  • If the crumpet batter seeps out from under the ring into the pan, it means the batter is too thin. Whisk in more flour to thicken, adding a small amount at a time.
  • If a cooked crumpet is heavy and without holes, the batter is too thick; slowly add more water until a better consistency develops.
  • If you don't have any pastry or crumpet rings, you can use a similar-sized, clean food can—just be careful with any sharp edges.
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
171 Calories
3g Fat
30g Carbs
5g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 10 to 12
Amount per serving
Calories 171
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 3g 4%
Saturated Fat 1g 6%
Cholesterol 5mg 2%
Sodium 91mg 4%
Total Carbohydrate 30g 11%
Dietary Fiber 1g 4%
Total Sugars 2g
Protein 5g
Vitamin C 0mg 0%
Calcium 66mg 5%
Iron 2mg 10%
Potassium 86mg 2%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)