MORNING TEA ON A MONDAY: CRUMPETS and CONSERVATION

I'm finding it hard to type as I am scoffing one of these crumpets right now! Toasted for afternoon tea- they are a delight! I have had this recipe bookmarked for a year or two and FINALLY gave it a go seeing I was hosting playgroup this morning. Planning and preparation needs to happen when making crumpets and seeing I had to be at the local primary school a couple of hours before p.group for a protest then I needed to be prepared!

Last Friday we witnessed a beautiful old gum tree being destroyed at the Bell Primary School to make way for more portable classrooms, at present there are 7 portable classrooms and there are plans for even more. When we moved into the area I remember being impressed by the beautiful old school building that I assumed was in full use and not one but two big ovals the school had for the kids to play on. It reminded me of my own infants school which I lived within walking distance from and how big the oval and playgrounds were and luckily still are! I thought when we have kids we're sorted! Now we are considering other schools as sadly this one is being taken over by quick fix portable classrooms, decreased play grounds and a lack of respect for the environment. But just like the glimmer of melting butter on my crumpet there is a glimmer of hope for the school as the local community have come together to voice their concerns about the school and what an eyesore it has become. So here's hoping we can turn things around! 

CRUMPETS

recipe adapted from the beloved blog Trotski and Ash

I have halved the original recipe and it gave me 5 or 6 large crumpets. I used a small egg frying pan about 5 inches wide. Each crumpet takes about 10-12 minutes to cook, I would suggest using a larger frying pan and cooking one or two mega crumpets and cutting that up to share, that way you can be done and dusted in less than an hour. Or you can use traditional crumpet rings and be all fancy pants!

I did what Sarah and Romy suggested and made my batter the night before.

S & R also warm all their ingredients. I just used boiling water so once the cold milk went in the liquid was warm. I didn't bother warming my flour either- the dishwasher was going at the time so I just placed the bowl on the warm bench top!

225g plain flour

1 tsp salt

150ml cold milk

150ml boiling water

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1/2 tsp caster sugar

1 tsp dried yeast

1/4 tsp bicarbonate soda

2 tbsp warm water

A slug of warm water if needed. 

Sift flour and salt into a bowl and make a well in the center.

Mix the milk and water and oil and add the sugar and stir to dissolve.

Add the yeast and leave covered in a warm place until frothy (may not froth as much as usual because of the oil). 

Stir the yeast mixture into the bowl of flour and beat energetically for five minutes trying to get as much air into the mixture as possible. 

Cover the bowl and leave at room temperature for two hours until the surface of the mixture is bubbled. (Or place in the fridge overnight.) 

Dissolve the bicarbonate of soda in 2 tbsp of warm water and (take batter out of fridge) stir the bi-carb liquid into the batter stirring energetically for another couple of minutes. 

Cover the bowl again and leave for an hour.

Cook in greased crumpet rings 7.5 – 10cm wide or cook in a heavy bottomed frying pan and cut into squares, or a little egg fry pan. 

Lightly grease your pan of choice and add a ladleful of mixture. 

Cook this very gently for ten minutes until the surface becomes pitted with holes. 

Flip if you want to golden the top of the crumpet for just a minute.

Keep the crumpets warm wrapped in a clean tea towel and enjoy them warm or they are excellent the next day popped into the toaster!

NB. If your first crumpet isn’t holey enough add a slug of warm water to the rest of the batter.