Grab some butter and your spread of choice because these perfect homemade crumpets are what it’s all about. So easy to make with just a handful of ingredients, you’ll have this tasty breakfast or tea-time snack served up in no time.

Try these chocolate crumpets too and whichever you choose, they’re great added to a breakfast platter like this.

Two crumpets on a white plate with honey being drizzled over

If you love  cooking up a good weekend brekky or brunch treat as much as I do, you’ll love these crumpets along with my English Pancakes, Double Chocolate Pancakes or these Pecan Cinnamon Rolls with Coffee Icing.

What are crumpets?

Crumpets are a yeasted breakfast bread that is cooked in a pan. Crumpets are well known for their holey tops and funnel like, chewy insides. Here in Australia, we most often seem to eat them for breakfast or sometimes a snack but in the UK these are well and truly thought of as an afternoon tea snack.

Let me tell you, these crumpets are perfect. They have the right texture and light flavour making them the perfect vehicle for your favourite toppings.

Ingredients for homemade crumpets

One of the great things about crumpets is the small number of ingredients making it a very simple recipe.

Jump to the recipe card for full ingredients and instructions.

  • Flour
  • Yeast
  • Baking soda
  • Sugar
  • Salt
  • Water

That’s it! And for something so simple they taste truly amazing.

I personally don’t like a crumpet with an overpowering yeast flavour as I’ve found many recipes have. I’ve specifically designed this recipe with just a small amount of yeast so they benefit from the lift without having a strong yeast flavour.

A crumpet broken in half showing the inside texture

How to make crumpets

Homemade crumpets are extremely simple to make. It starts with a quick to make, one-bowl batter and then the crumpets are cooked in a dry, non-stick pan.

  1. The batter: Mix together flour, salt, sugar, yeast, baking soda and warm water.
  2. Beat: You need to give the batter a really good beat for a full minute with a handheld electric beater. If you don’t have one, give it a good whisk with a balloon whisk for a couple of minutes.
  3. Rest: Now the batter gets to have a little rest in a warm place.
  4. Cook: There are two stages to the cook – the first stage is on medium-high for about 6 minutes, then the heat drops to low and they cook for a further 6 minutes.

Tools you’ll need

  • Crumpet rings: You’ll definitely need these to make crumpets. Being a runny batter, you need the crumpet rings for the batter to hold their shape and spread upwards instead of out. Grease the rings with butter and then dip them in flour and shake off the excess.
  • Non-stick frying pan with a flat bottom: A good pan is a must. There will be no need to oil a non-stick frying pan and the perfectly flat surface means the batter won’t run out under the crumpet rings.

Can crumpets be made ahead?

Yes, in fact crumpets are best made the day before. Leaving them overnight actually helps with their signature chewy texture. This is great if you’re entertaining for breakfast as you can make them all the day before and toast them up when everyone arrives.

How to serve crumpets

Always toast crumpets until golden before serving. Toasting them crisps the outside while leaving the centre soft and chewy. It also gets them nice and hot again. So straight into a toaster for a few minutes or under a broiler or overhead grill until golden on each side.

Related: Breakfast Charcuterie Board

Two crumpets on a white plate with butter on top.

Crumpet toppings

There are so many wonderful crumpet toppings but they all begin with butter.

  • Butter: Always start with a good lashing of butter. It will melt and drip down all those holes and fill the whole crumpet with buttery goodness. You could try this whipped maple butter for something different.
  • Honey: Honey is an absolute classic crumpet topping. Just like in these photos it warms up and dribbles down the holes and down the sides and tastes amazing.
  • Jam / Preserves: Jams and preserves are lovely on crumpets and any flavour works. You could even try a homemade topping like this Blueberry Topping or Blackberry Compote
  • Curd: Lemon curd and orange curd are both lovely on crumpets.
  • Get creative: try ricotta with blueberries and honey or even a caramel sauce with berries.
  • Savoury: try some savoury toppings like eggs, bacon, avocado and / or cheese.
  • Or you could just eat them with peanut butter or vegemite like I often do – separately of course and always with butter first.

How long do crumpets last

Store your crumpets in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days. Crumpets can be frozen too, for 2-3 months. Again, make sure they are in an airtight container and it helps to place a piece of baking paper between each.

Three stacked crumpets on a white plate with more in the background

So spoil your family, and yourself, this week and see how easy it is to make your very own batch of crumpets.

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A pile of crumpets on a grey plate

Homemade Crumpets

Yield: 7 crumpets
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Resting time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
4.6 from 36 ratings
If you’ve ever wanted to know how to make crumpets, this is the recipe for you. Perfectly soft and spongey with all those signature holes to soak up all the butter, this recipe for homemade crumpets will become a breakfast favourite.
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Ingredients

  • 1 ½ cups plain flour (195g / 6.9oz)
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • ¾ teaspoon table salt
  • ½ teaspoon instant yeast
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 ⅓ cups warm tap water (330ml / 11 fl oz / 1/3 quart)
  • oil if your pan isn’t non stick

For best results, always weigh ingredients where a weight is provided

Equipment

Instructions
 

  • Dry ingredients: In a large bowl, without the yeast and salt touching directly, combine the flour, sugar, salt, yeast and bakind soda.
  • Make the batter: Add the water and use a handheld electric beater to beat the mixture for 1 full minute. Start on low-meidum so that it doesn't splatter, working up to medium-high.
  • Rest the batter: Cover the bowl with a clean tea towel or plate and sit it in a warm place for 30-45 minutes. It should look a little frothy on top by the end but won't rise much.
  • Prep the crumpet rings: Grease the inside of 3-4 crumpet rings with a little butter then dip them in flour and tap off any excess.
  • Heat the pan: Heat a large, non-stick, flat bottomed frying pan over med-high heat. Let it heat for a couple of minutes until it feels hot when you hover your hand over the top.
  • Cook (stage 1): Place 2-3 of the crumpet rings into the pan and tip about 1/4 cup of batter into each one. Let them cook for 5-6 minutes until there is a good ring of dry batter and bubbles all burst around the edge of the crumpets.
  • Cook (stage 2): Turn the heat to low-med and cook for a further 5-6 minutes until all the bubbles have popped and he crumpets look dry all over (once dry, no more bubbles will pop)
  • Flip & finish: Remove the rings and flip the crumpets for 2-3 seconds – just enough to seal the top, not colour them. Remove them from the pan and allow to cool.
  • Clean the rings and re-grease and flour. Start again from step 7 for the remaining batter.
    Once they're all done, whilst edible they need to be toasted before eating so the outside is crisp while the inside is soft and chewy. You can go ahead and toast them now (see next step) or refrigerate in an airtight container for 3-4 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
  • Toast & serve: Always toast crumpets until golden before serving. If you're serving them immediately, just leave them in the pan after you've flipped them until the tops are golden. If serving another time, I find a toaster is the easiest way to get them nice and golden on the top and bottom but a broiler (overhead grill) works too.
  • Please take a moment to leave a comment & rating. It's appreciated and so helpful.

Notes

  1. The batter is quite runny so make sure you have a flat based pan and make sure the pan is hot before adding any batter or it will run out under the rings.
  2. A non-stick pan works best
  3. All stove tops are different. I use a gas stove and cook them on my medium sized burner in a 26cm pan doing 3 crumpets at a time. You’ll need to test your own stove but use these visual clues.
    • by the end of stage 1 cook, a ring of cooked dry batter should be visible around the top, with still a large centre of wet batter with unpopped bubbles.
    • by the end of the stage 2 cook, all bubbles should be popped and the top should look dry. If you find the tops not drying out but the bubbles are mostly popped, flipping them at the end is enough to seal them.
  4. Crumpets can be stored at room temperature for 3-4 days or frozen for up to 3 months.
MORE BREAKAST RECIPES!
Calories: 102kcal
Author: Marie Roffey
Course: Breakfast, Brunch
Cuisine: British, English
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Nutrition information is approximate only and derived from an online calculator. The brands you use and any changes you make may cause variations.

Nutrition Facts
Homemade Crumpets
Amount Per Serving (74 g)
Calories 102 Calories from Fat 3
% Daily Value*
Fat 0.3g0%
Saturated Fat 0.05g0%
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.1g
Monounsaturated Fat 0.1g
Sodium 331mg14%
Potassium 37mg1%
Carbohydrates 21g7%
Fiber 1g4%
Sugar 1g1%
Protein 3g6%
Vitamin C 0.003mg0%
Calcium 6mg1%
Iron 1mg6%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.