Crumpets with Honey

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cooking Time: 20-30 minutes

Difficulty: Easy

This is a super simple recipe I had tested out a few times on lazy Sunday mornings in my French oven at home and it adapted perfectly to cooking on the BBQ hotplate while sitting on the edge of Lake St Clair, near Singleton in NSW. 

It’s a slow process (made slower by the fact that I only had one egg ring) but these little gems are definitely worth the wait. This recipe requires a sourdough starter, you can find the recipe I used to make my own here. 

2 cups starter discard (this is the portion you throw away when feeding your starter)

1 big tablespoon of honey

1 level tablespoon baking soda

pinch of salt

1. Start by pouring your starter into a cup (I found this the most useful way to control my pour while camping) and mix in the honey until it is evenly mixed through. You may need to add a splash of water to loosen up the starter if it is too thick. 

2. Add in your baking soda and salt and mix through the batter ensuring there are no lumps of baking soda left behind. 

3. Leave the batter mixture to sit for 10-15 minutes or until it begins to bubble and look “frothy”. 

4. While the batter is resting preheat your BBQ hotplate, keeping the flame on a low setting. Try to use a BBQ that has a cover on it as you need to seal in the heat, alternatively you can place a bowl or pot over the top if your BBQ doesn’t have a cover. 

5. Lightly oil your hotplate and place a small drop of oil inside your egg ring before giving it a swish around the coat the ring in oil. 

6. Now that the batter mix is light and bubbly, pour it into the oiled ring until it comes approximately half way up the side (it really doesn’t take a lot of batter per crumpet)

7. Cover the crumpet for 2-3 minutes until clear holes are forming in the top of the batter. Using a knife carefully ease the ring off the crumpet, it should be set enough by now that it does not loose its shape and should come off easily by giving the ring a little flick from the bottom. 

8. Now you can pour out your next crumpet as the first one continues to cook on the one side. 

9. When your second one is ready to remove fro the ring, I like to flip the first crumpet over to get a light toasting on the top side. (Alternatively you can wait until the batter is set all the way through) 

Once they are cooked through, turn the cooked crumpet out onto a piece of paper towel to absorb any excess oil. 

It will take a little while but you will soon find a rhythm to pouring and flipping, With my one ring I usually have three crumpets on the go at once, one freshly poured, one just out of the ring and the third finishing off top side down. 

Serve while they are still warm with a drizzle of honey.