These deliciously tangy sourdough crumpets are a long-fermented version of the traditional English recipe, yielding a light, fluffy crumb full of holes to capture your butter and jam.
Also known as griddle cakes, crumpets are an airy and spongy cross between English muffins and pancakes. They have a golden bottom and a holey top because once the batter is poured, they are cooked through without being flipped.
If you have a busy morning, this recipe is a tasty, make-ahead option. Starting the batter the night before and letting the flour ferment while you sleep, you simply add baking soda in the morning when you’re ready to cook.
I love breakfasts like this. Breakfast can feel like a lot between all the morning chores and starting homeschool each day. I’m always looking for easy breakfast ideas that will hold us over until lunchtime.
A hot crumpet, tangy with sourdough flavor and slathered with plenty of butter and a drizzle of raw honey, is just delightful. The crumb is tender and pocketed with the melted butter that works its way down into the holes, and the bottom of the crumpet is chewy and buttery from cooking in the skillet.
Served with your favorite toppings, such as butter and strawberry jam, honey, maple syrup, peanut butter, or even a over-hard egg, farmers cheese, and bacon, this will surely be a new family favorite.
What are crumpets?
A very popular breakfast or a side with afternoon tea in the UK, crumpets are round griddle cakes with lots of small holes that are typically made with commercial yeast. Their spongey texture is scattered with air pockets, perfect to slather on butter, jams, or honey.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Delicious and unique – Crumpets are kind of like a pancake that is intentionally left too long on the griddle. They have a chewy, crisp bottom that is fried to golden brown, plus an airy, tangy crumb on top that holds your toppings in all its little air pockets. They are buttery and tasty, offering a fun and less typical breakfast perfectly complemented with meat or fresh fruit for a full breakfast.
Super easy breakfast – When started the night before, crumpets are quickly ready to cook for breakfast the next day. Simply add the baking soda, stir well, and pour into your egg rings on the griddle or preheated skillet.
Long-fermented sourdough – The long fermentation time breaks down the grains for better digestion and nutrient absorption, making these little cakes tasty and wholesome.
Ingredients
Sourdough starter – Active, bubbly starter works well for a mild sourdough flavor. Discard, or unfed starter, will also work due to the addition of baking soda before cooking.
A full ingredient list with exact amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
Tools You May Need
Ring molds – Multiple types of metal rings will work, including English muffin rings, cookie cutters, or pastry rings.
How to Make Sourdough Crumpets
Step 1: In the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, add sourdough starter, all-purpose flour, salt, water, and sugar, and mix for 2-3 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap or a lid and allow to ferment at room temperature overnight or up to 12 hours. For best results, avoid using a towel as a cover because a hard crust may form on top of the dough from exposure to air.
Step 2: The next day, heat a cast iron skillet over medium heat and add butter. The temperature and time may be dependent on your stove and the type of skillet you use. Butter the inside of the crumpet rings and place them in the hot pan.
Step 3: Sprinkle the baking soda on top of the fermented batter and mix until a smooth batter forms.
Step 4: Pour the batter into each ring and allow to cook for 8-10 minutes. The batter should get all bubbly and rise to the top. Check to make sure the bottom of the crumpet is not burning and adjust the temperature down if needed. They should be golden brown.
Step 5: The rings can be removed once the top of the crumpets are cooked through and presenting lots of holes. Remove them from the skillet and serve your batch of crumpets warm.
Tips
- Cook time and temperature vary with each stove and the type of pan used, so keep a close eye to avoid burning the bottom.
- A pastry brush makes oiling the rings much easier.
- Traditionally, crumpets are only baked on one side. If you prefer a slight crust on the second side, then you can flip them over and cook for a few minutes, until golden.
- This is a thick batter. A cross between pancake batter and English muffin dough.
- Measuring the batter in each ring is helpful in securing an even bake.
- I like using active starter, but discarded sourdough starter will also work due to the added baking soda.
- Make sure your baking soda is fresh. If it is too old, your batter may not rise well.
- For a dairy-free alternative, you can substitute coconut oil for the butter when cooking.
Recipe FAQs
Store in an airtight container for 3-4 days or freeze for up to 3 months. They tend to get soft when stored in an airtight container, so I suggest toasting leftovers before serving.
English muffins are a much thicker dough that is rolled out and cooked on both sides. Crumpets must be cooked in a metal ring because it has a loose batter and is traditionally only cooked on one side.
Scottish crumpets are larger and more like pancakes and don’t contain yeast like English crumpets.
Crumpets are best served warm or toasted with sweet or savory toppings. They can be topped as simply or as layered as you prefer. Try them with butter and jam, honey or syrup, topped with homemade cream cheese and fresh fruit, goat cheese and honey, peanut butter or nut butter, or make them into breakfast sandwiches with fried egg, cheese, and bacon or sausage.
I think anything sourdough is better, being that the benefits of fermentation are present, as well as the pleasant tanginess sourdough provides.
More Sourdough Recipes from the Farmhouse
If you try this recipe and love it, I would love it if you could come back and give it 5 stars! Tag me on Instagram @farmhouseonboone.
Sourdough Crumpets
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup sourdough starter, active and bubbly
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 3/4 cups water
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted, for cooking
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, add sourdough starter, all-purpose flour, salt, water, and sugar, and mix for 2-3 minutes.
- Cover with plastic wrap or a lid and allow to ferment at room temperature overnight or up to 12 hours. For best results, avoid using a towel as a cover because a hard crust may form on top of the dough from exposure to air.
- The next day, heat the skillet over medium heat and add butter. The temperature and time may be dependent on your stove and the type of skillet you use.
- Butter the rings and place them in the skillet.
- Sprinkle the baking soda on top of the fermented batter and mix until a smooth batter forms.
- Pour the batter into each ring and allow to cook for 8-10 minutes. The batter should get all bubbly and rise to the top. Check to make sure the bottom of the crumpet is not burning and adjust the temperature down if needed. They should be golden brown.
- The rings can be removed once the top of the crumpets are cooked through and presenting lots of holes. Remove them from the skillet and serve warm.
Notes
- Cook time and temperature vary with each stove and the type of pan used, so keep a close eye to avoid burning the bottom.
- A pastry brush makes buttering the rings much easier.
- Traditionally, crumpets are only baked on one side. If you prefer a slight crust on the second side, then you can flip them over and cook for a few minutes, until golden.
- This is a thick batter. A cross between pancake batter and English muffin dough.
- I like using active starter, but discarded sourdough starter will also work due to the added baking soda.
- Make sure your baking soda is fresh. If it is too old, your batter may not rise well.
- For a dairy-free alternative, you can substitute coconut oil for the butter when cooking.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I just made these for the first time and they were delicious. Light and airy but with a good chew. I did the single recipe and it made 13. Will definitely be making these again.
Should the “baking soda” called for in the recipe be instead “baking powder”? Old “baking powder” will certainly lose its oomph, but baking soda (a constituent of “baking powder”), should be stable for centuries. Anyway, after consulting other on-line recipes, I used one tsp baking powder and the results were terrific. Kudos for a great recipe!
These Crumpets Are Just SOOOOOOOO Delicious!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
EXCELLENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Delicious! And super easy to make! Will be making on repeat!
This recipe was an incredible success!! My husband was blown away by how good these crumpets were. I’ll be adding these to my rotation and make double batches during holiday season… so easy, thank you 🙂
These are delicious! So much easier than English muffins. Made the batter just before dinner, & let it ferment in cool basement overnight. I used an electric griddle, 300-325 for 8-10 mins, used a large ice cream scoop to portion (scant 1/4 cup), removed rings, flipped and cooked them for another 2 mins. Made 14
I also added 2 T/25g melted butter to the batter, not traditional, but it will stay fresher longer. For others using wt-100 g sourdough starter, 250gms AP flour, 5 g salt, 400 mls water, 5g sugar, 5g baking soda, and 25-30 g of melted butter if using. Next time I’ll double recipe. At the same time I was making the crumpets I also made a double batch of waffles, 1/2 regular sourdough and 1/2 cheese to make your BLT sandwiches (can’t wait!) tonight. This reduced the amount of time standing around.
On a personal note; I’m 68, have been making sourdough bread for years, but it is your website Lisa that has inspired me to venture in new and delicious directions. You are inspiring! Thank you.
Thank you for sharing!
This is my second time making these. I love them. I put the baking soda in with all the other ingredients. Is that going to ruin my batter?
I think I made a mistake, is the melted butter only used to fry in, it’s not added to the mixture? I added mine to the mixture, they were kind of doughy inside and didn’t bubble up on the the top.