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Crumpets, No. 1

A yeast-based batter for making crumpets, using water, yeast, salt, sugar, flour, milk powder, and baking soda.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 7 ingredients
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Why it works: Sugar and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 15% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 92,116 recipes. Both carry phenylacetaldehyde, which smells hawthorne, honey. The science ↓

Crumpets, No. 1

Ingredients

Directions

Make the batter

  1. Reserve ½ pint of water.

  2. Heat the rest of the water to 95°F (35°C).

  3. Add sugar and yeast to the warm water.

  4. Cover for a few minutes until yeast rises.

  5. Stir the mixture with a wire whisk.

  6. Add flour and beat until smooth.

  7. Cover and let it sit in a warm place for 14 hours.

  8. Whisk the batter.

  9. Scrape down the sides.

  10. Cover for another 30 minutes.

  11. Sift salt onto the batter.

  12. Dissolve baking soda in the reserved warm water.

  13. Mix in thoroughly.

  14. Let it stand for 5 minutes before using.

Cook

  1. Fill crumpet rings on a hot plate.

  2. Turn with a palette knife when ready.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Sugar + flourtop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together92,116 recipes

    Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).

  2. Flour + milk powdertop 23% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together210 recipes

    Shared aroma: hexanal (grass, green).

  3. Sugar + milk powdertop 23% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together218 recipes

    Shared aroma: hexanal (grass, green).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Yeast
Ferments the batter, producing gas bubbles that give crumpets their open, holey texture.
Flour
Provides the structure that holds the bubbles as the batter sets on the hot plate.
Baking soda
Reacts with the batter's acidity to release extra gas for rising and a lighter crumb.
Milk powder
Adds milk solids that aid browning on the hot plate and contribute flavour.
Sugar
Feeds the yeast and adds a little sweetness and browning.

The step that matters

Dissolving the baking soda in warm water. Baking soda must be fully dissolved before mixing so it disperses evenly. Uneven distribution creates patchy gas release, leaving some crumpets dense and others with large holes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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