9. Januar 2007

oh behave! and bring me the crumpets!

after a couple of lazy days without grocery shopping this morning i unfortunatley had to discover that i was all out of bread! oh god! there is not a single slice of toast left in the freezer and with all my no knead creations consumed ... what is a girl supposed to do on her lazy morning without anything for breakfast?! now i am not a big breakfast person, but if i have to starve on my lazy tuesdays (probably the only lazy mornings left, including weekends) i get totally cranky. sure, i could eat weetabix with milk and honey, but i am so not in the mood for a dusty brick when i want to indulge in a gorgeous toast and jam orgy before i head to university.

trying to find my zen again and trying to chase away that terrible mood of mine (because i just can't stand myself when i am totally pissed!) i remembered something: i've always wanted to make crumpets ever since i found a recipe over at the real epicurean.

so there you go. i am no longer angry, i am british now. or at least in my little make-believe kitchen i am recreating an authentic (and perfect!) au-pair 1996/1997 breakfast. minus the baked beans and the saussage, of course!

lacking the fresh yeast to try the recipe mentioned above i googled "crumpets instant yeast" and found a lovely little recipe. i adapted my version from here.

1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon instant yeast
2/3 cup water

1 cup of flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup lukewarm milk

butter
  1. mix 1/2 cup of flour and 1 teaspoon of instant yeast
  2. add 2/3 cup of water and mix together until smooth
  3. cover and leave to stand in a warm place for about 15 minutes
  4. sift a cup of flour and 1/2 tsp of salt into a large bowl and make a well in the centre
  5. pour in the yeast mixture and 1/2 cup of lukewarm milk
  6. beat the batter for 5 minutes to incorporate air
  7. cover and leave in a warm place for about 1 hour
  8. melt a tiny knob of butter in a frying pan over medium heat
  9. grease the inside of cookie cutters (or crumpet rings, if you are lucky enough to have some!)
  10. ladle the batter into the cookie cutters filling them about 2/3
  11. cook the crumpets for about 5-10 minutes until the are nicely browned underneath
  12. turn once and continue cooking until browned
crumpets!
crumpets!
crumpets!
oh, i just love the spongy texture of those lovely little things! i have missed them dearly because you just can't get crumpets here in austria ... it is good to know that i can recreate them at home :) why haven't i tried that before?

now, i definitely need to make another batch, freeze it and thaw the crumpets whenever i am hungry for british breakfast. that's probably gonna be every day from now on.

9 Kommentare:

Trig hat gesagt…

There have to be some good reasons for living in Britain and you've found one of them. If my eyes don't deceive me you've topped your last crumpet with something very British, or should I say Scottish, which by amazing coincidence I am in the middle of writing a posting about. My article is entitled voulez-vouz manger avec moi (ce soir)? See if you can get the link before I publish later in the week.

Cerebrum hat gesagt…

They look gorgeous, those crumpets Gerda - now you've got me craving them :-)

Rosa's Yummy Yums hat gesagt…

Very scrumptious looking! I love crumpets! It was my favorite breakfast speciality every time I stayed in England at my grandparents. They are fabulously delicious with peanut butter and honey...

cavacavien hat gesagt…

☆☆☆☆☆5 michelinstars!! yey :D

burekaboy — hat gesagt…

gorgeola!! LOL. those look perfect. i use tins from tuna cans that i took the top and bottom off of (well scrubbed of course) as moulds to form them. yours look better. will you be serving them for valentines day like that?! LOL :))

burekaboy — hat gesagt…

forgot to say .... "i want your crumpet" LOL :)))

tschoerda hat gesagt…

what a great idea with the tuna cans! just brilliant!

there's no need for me to celebrate valentines day (i'm single, you know) - i could fill a tupperware box with those lovely crumpets and have 'em shipped to canada though :) LOL :)

Anonym hat gesagt…

Très joli!!

burekaboy — hat gesagt…

awwwww :))) i'll be sending off an address for express post! LOL.

you'll just have to pamper YOURSELF with bounty, belgian chocolate and crumpets on the 14th. oooh, a don't forget a mini bottle of moët chandon or better yet, a rosé bubbly by laurent perrier