English Crumpets

2 cups flour

1 tsp salt

1 cup warm milk

1 Tbsp active dry yeast

1 tsp sugar

1 cup warm water

1/2 tsp baking soda

Stir the sugar and yeast into the warm milk and let it rest for 10 minutes until frothy. In a large mixing bowl combine the flour and salt. Add the milk to the flour mixture and stir for about 3 minutes until a thick dough forms. Cover the bowl loosely with plastic wrap and set it in a warm place for at least an hour(it should double in size).

Dissolve the baking soda in the warm water and add it to the dough. Beat the batter for a minute or two. If some small lumps remain that is okay. Any remaining lumps will dissolve the next resting stage. Cover the batter and let it rest in a warm place for at least 30 minutes. The batter should be nice and bubbly.

Prepare the crumpet rings by greasing the inside of each rim. Lightly oil the pan or skillet. Place the rings in the pan over medium-high heat. Once the rings are hot, pour the batter into each ring until it's slightly more than half full. Cooking time will vary but these will cook for approx. 10 minutes. Be sure to keep an eye on them to ensure they don't burn on the bottom. Turn the heat down to prevent burning. You can either remove the rings and flip the crumpets over to cook the other side for a minute or two until golden or remove them from the rings and toast the crumpets.

Serve the crumpets immediately slathered with butter, jam, or honey. Crumpets are eaten whole/open face and are not sliced in half horizontally.

Once on a trip to Seattle, we found a place called The Crumpet Shoppe next to Pike's Place. We had one that had goat cheese, egg and tomato on it. We thought they were delicious. I have tried to recreate them a few times. This is the closest recipe I have found to be like those were.