Sourdough Crumpets

I had my last day of year 11 on Friday, but now I'm on study leave where all you do is revise for some of the most important exams ever. My first one is on Thursday - English, and after that I only have 17 more left!

For some strange reason though, I decided to restart my sourdough starter - *made with equal quantities of all purpose flour and water and left to ferment for 3 days before using it. Rather than just make a bread loaf, I thought it would be interesting to try making some crumpets instead which usually have a slightly sour taste.

Anyways, I had better get back to revising - ahhhhhhhh

Sourdough Crumpets

1/2 cup (125 ml) milk

1/2 cup (125 ml) boiling water

2 tsp active dry yeast

1 tbsp honey

1 cup (250 ml) sourdough starter*

1 cup (4.6 oz / 130g) all purpose flour

3/4 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1 tbsp boiling water

Mix the milk and water in a medium bowl, let it cool to lukewarm then stir in the yeast and honey - set aside for 5 minutes. Stir in the sourdough starter. Add the flour and salt and beat the mixture for 5 minutes, the dough should have a slightly thicker texture than the sourdough starter; If it seems too thin, beat in 1/4 cup (60 ml) more of all purpose flour. Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel, and leave the dough to rise for 1 1/2 hours in a warm place.

Grease a few chef rings or metal cookie cutters well with butter. 

Stir the baking powder, baking soda and water together in a small bowl, then add immediately to the dough and beat it together well. 

Lightly grease a large frying pan with oil and set it over a medium-low heat. Put the chef rings / cookie cutters on the frying pan and pour in some dough so that it fills them about half way. 

Let them cook until the surface of the crumpet looks dry and cooked with some small holes in it, 8-15 minutes depending on the size. Run a butter knife around the inside of the chef ring / cookie cutter to loosen the crumpet, then remove the ring and flip the crumpet over. Cook for a further 3-5 minutes, until dark golden-brown and crisp. 

Eat the crumpets hot from the pan or let them cool on a wire rack to toast later. Serve with butter and honey.