Maris Widgeon Crumpets

Our organic white Maris Widgeon flour makes lovely soft crumpets. The Maris Widgeon grain is farmed organically less than 30 miles from the mill by local farmers, and it is a variety we are passionate about preserving. For every acre, Maris Widgeon yields less than half the amount of wheat of many modern varieties, but its flavour is so lovely we have worked with farmers for over 40 years to encourage the growth and preservation of this fantastic grain.

These crumpets are great with butter and marmite, you could add cheese and fresh herbs for a light savoury lunch.

EQUIPMENT – I use crumpet rings which are 8 ½ cm in diameter.

Makes 10-12 crumpets.

INGREDIENTS

• 330g Maris Widgeon white flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 9g fast-action dried yeast
• 265ml whole milk
• 130ml water
• ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda (plus another 60ml warm water to mix it with)

METHOD

Sift the flour and mix with the salt and yeast in a large mixing bowl. Create a well in the middle and pour in the milk and water. Stir until it reaches a smooth batter.

Cover with a tea towel and leave to rest in a warm place for 1-2 hours. The mixture should become light and frothy with lots of little bubbles. If the bubbles aren’t forming, leave if for another half hour until it reaches the desired consistency.

Mix your bicarbonate of soda with 60ml of warm water. Pour this into the batter to loosen it, and make sure it is evenly incorporated. Cover again, and leave to rest for a further 20 minutes in a warm place. Little holes will appear in the batter.

Grease a griddle pan and your crumpet rings with butter. Heat the griddle pan over a medium-low heat. When the pan is hot, fill each crumpet ring to just under half full. To make sure you cook the crumpets thoroughly without burning the bottom, a medium-low heat works best. If you make the crumpets too thick, they will not cook all the way through before the bottoms start to burn.

Once the tops of the crumpet are no longer liquid and the batter has firmed up into open holes, flip them over and finish the tops off for a couple of minutes, until they have a light golden-brown finish. Remove carefully from the crumpet rings and leave to cool on a wire rack.

These are best eaten on the day of making, but are still good the following day if you toast or warm them first.