sourdough discard crumpets

Adaptation of the King Author Flour Baking Company’s recipe for sourdough discard crumpets. This version mellows out the sourdough punch by doubling the recipe but substituting in AP and water for the doubling of the sourdough discard.

Ingredients

• 227 gr starter discard (100% hydration)
• 114 gr AP
• 113 gr water ( additional 25gr in reserve)
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 3/4 tsp baking soda

Hardware

• 3 round 4” metal cookie cutters or english muffin forms ¹
• 10-12” skillet
• nonstick spray oil
• timer

Instructions

1. Mix starter, water, and sugar into a medium bowl.
2. In a separate bowl, mix in AP, salt, and baking powder.
3. Mix dry ingredients into wet. The longer stirred, the chewier the crumpets become so keep the mixing as brief as possible. This batter will be thicker than pancake but will still be pourable. Add in additional water if needed. Allow to stand to 5-10 minutes. The baking soda will react to the acidity in the starter and start to puff the crumpet batter.
4. Preheat skillet to 300F or medium low on the stove top dial.
5. Place the crumpet forms onto skillet and then lightly spray inside of them with nonstick spray. Butter can be used for a richer flavor.
6. Into each form, ladle in 1/4c of the crumpet batter. It will spread itself out evenly before the top starts to cook.
7. Cook
   • 5 1/2 minutes on the 1st side, spinning them at about 3 minutes so the bottoms cook evenly. The top should have popped bubble crevasses across the top.
   • Remove the forms and then flip to cook 3 1/2 minutes on other side.
   • If needed, cook an additional minute on each side to finish to a slightly browned finish.
8. Enjoy hot or bring to room temperature before freezing.² Crumpets are popularly known as a vessel for sweet toppings such as jelly or honey but I like them as a base for eggs over hard.

Footnotes

1. Alternatively, you can make adequate crumpet forms with aluminum foil, tape, and larger vegetable can (or some other vertical cylinder roughly 4” across). Do all steps neatly to ensure that the form sits as flatly as possible on the pan. Any waves or deviations along the edge that interface with the pan will allow the batter to ooze out from underneath. While it should not ooze out very far, neat is neat.

   Tear off a sheet of aluminum foil about 16”. Fold in half down center along the long axis, trying to keep the edge as straight as possible. Fold again 2 more times, dividing the foil longways. You will end up with a foil strip about 1 1/2” and 16”. Get a 3-4” strip of tape ready. Wrap the aluminum foil strip around the large can, lining up the folded edge as evenly as possible. Leave it loose enough so that the form can slide over any lip on the can. With the overlapped folded edge aligned, tape the strip.

   I have made a group of 3 forms that have lasted through 4 cooking sessions thus far and can take more. However they are not super durable, your mileage may vary. ↩

2. If freezing, you may want to skip the additional minute on each side. This will decrease the risk of overcooking them during reheating. Mine have never made it long enough to freezing but here is how I would reheat: Wrap crumpet in aluminum foil and then place in a 400F oven for 10 minutes. Unwrap and then toast. ↩