Crumpets

Back when my now young adult children were flaxen-haired wee tots, I bought a box of English Muffin/Crumpet Rings at a yard sale. I used them a few times soon after buying them to make English muffins for the kids -and they were a big hit with them- but I haven't used them since. I recently have been pondering the different possible ways for making breads without an oven. On the heels of my (relative) success with cooking pita breads on a griddle, and remembering my dusty box o' rings, I decided to take a bash at making crumpets. If anyone reading this KNOWS HOW TO DO IT PROPER, if you learned to make crumpets from a mother or grandmother, I'd sincerely love to hear from you. As it was, armed only with my good intentions, a box of rings, and a crumpet recipe in James Beard's Beard on Bread, but lacking grandmotherly guidance or ANY actual experience in the crumpet arena, I forged/fumbled ahead. What does a proper crumpet really look like? Well, I actually don't know. These may or may not be real crumpets, but they were real good, and they disappeared in a flash.

James Beard's Crumpets

Mix:

1/2 c. boiling water

1/2 c. milk

Add:

1 T. yeast

1 t. sugar

Allow to get bubbly. Add:

1 3/4 c. all purpose flour

1 1/2 t. salt
Beat several minutes with a spoon, then allow to rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk -about an hour.

Mix and beat into dough:

1/4 t. baking soda

1 T. warm water

Allow again to rise until doubled.

Butter rings, place on medium hot griddle (350 degrees) and ladle in batter to 1/2 inch thickness. Cook until bubbly and dryish. Remove ring, turn and cook on second side until browned.

Lacking genuine yard sale crumpet rings, tuna cans with both ends cut out will work perfectly instead. I either did something a bit WRONG or my rings are a bit oversized, as I only got six crumpets when James' recipe said it should make 8-10. I used bread flour instead of AP (oops!), which may have changed the texture of the batter a bit and explain the difference.

Even if these weren't proper crumpets, they were pretty 'yummy little griddle cooked bread things' and next time I make them I'll be more careful about which flour jar I scoop from, and I'll double the recipe.

Secrets

"The secret of good cooking is, first, having a love of it." -James Beard

"One of the secrets of cooking is to learn to correct something if you can, and bear with it if you cannot." -Julia Child

"Here are my secrets for cooking without recipes. Know what you want to eat. Keep it simple. Enjoy yourself. Come to think of it, those are my secrets for having a good life, too." -Tod Davies

And the secret to cooking WITH recipes, is to read them all the way through to the end BEFORE beginning to cook. There are few things I find more nerve-wracking and hysteria-inducing than happily cooking along with a new recipe and discovering, when I'm three-quarters done at five-thirty PM with half a dozen famished persons expecting by six PM a satisfying home cooked meal, depressing phrases such as, "must be cooked over low heat for at least three to four hours more," or "leave refrigerated overnight." Or instructions to add towards the end of cooking some ingredient that is NOT in my kitchen (or available at the local grocery store) and "it is essential to the success of this dish and there is no acceptable substitute." In all these cases, it helps to remember Julia's secret. And if that doesn't help, remember waffles: with syrup and/or homemade jams, maybe some scrambled eggs (if the hens are producing) and bacon (if there is some in the freezer); or chocolate waffles with strawberries or other canned or frozen fruits, and if possible a bit of whipped cream or yogurt (or not); even if served simply with maple or brown sugar syrup, waffles for dinner is almost always cheering. Waffles can be made in half an hour for any number of people and most are quite pleased to be served waffles, with whatever you have to put on them, anytime of the day.

My husband and I both remember our mother's making brown sugar syrup during our childhood. My husband says his mother simply boiled brown sugar and water, mine added corn syrup and maple flavoring. It is less expensive than buying real maple syrup, which my youngest loves (I don't remember my mother ever buying real maple syrup), but not necessarily cheaper than commercial syrups. It is though, a whole lot easier to make, than bundling a handful of kids into a car before breakfast in the morning, when you realize you are out of syrup just after announcing you will make them waffles (or pancakes) and they are all happily chanting, "Waffles, waffles, waffles" (or "Pancakes, pancakes, pancakes") riot-mob-style.

Brown Sugar Syrup
In a small saucepan over high heat bring to a boil:
1 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. water

Remove from heat. Add:
1/2 c. corn syrup
1/2 t. Mapleine, imitation maple flavoring
1/2 c. real maple syrup (optional, or instead of corn syrup and Mapleine)

Makes about 1 1/2 cups