Where I live in Canada, I have not been able to find any gluten-free crumpets and recently on instagram many people in the UK have been sharing their gluten-free crumpet photos! The photos looked so delicious. They made me want crumpets even more!
Then I remembered when I was little we used to make crumpets. When I say 'we' I really mean 'Mom'! ^_^ Well, I went searching through the old recipe cards for the old recipe and decided to try and make it using gluten-free flour.
The resulting research has been a lot of fun and my family and I have been feasting on my experiments. Now store bought crumpets have little holes in them and mine sometimes do and sometimes don't. Have no idea why this is hit and miss. Think maybe it might have something to do with the thickness of the batter which may be affected by different gluten-free flours and how much liquid they do or do not absorb! One of my British Aunties said I should try adding baking soda and I gave it a go with no luck and we didn't like the taste so I went back to baking powder. I have decided that I must settle for tasty gluten-free crumpets with or without holes.
After mixing put the batter in a clean bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a tea towel to rise.
This is what it should look like after 2 hours.
Heat and grease the grill and the crumpet rings.
Add about 2 tablespoons of the batter to the rings.
After about 5 minutes you should be able to remove the rings. I use tongs to do it. Then let the crumpets cook an additional 4 minutes before very gently flipping.
If you don't have or can't find crumpet rings you can make them out of a tuna tin with both the top and bottom cut out. Or you could use a small mandarin orange tin or even shape round rings with tin foil.
My Family's Version of Gluten-Free Crumpets
Makes about 6 crumpets
Ingredients
1 cup of your favorite gluten-free flour
pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon instant powdered yeast
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon of oil or melted butter
1 cup warm rice milk (or milk of your choice)
Directions
Mix all ingredients together in a stand mixer or using a hand mixer for about 4 minutes.
Scrap down the sides of the bowl.
Cover the bowl with a tea towel or plastic wrap and put in a warm place to rise for 2 hours. I like to heat up my oven then turn it off and put the bowl on top of the stove in the winter time.
After two hours check. The mixture should have about doubled in size and should have a few bubbles.
Then give it a stir.
Heat up a griddle or large frying pan. If using a griddle heat to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray or wipe the pan and crumpet rings with oil. If you don't have crumpet rings you can make them out of old tuna or mandarin orange tins by cutting both lids off or fashioning ones with tin foil. Prior to finding my rings I did make my own and they worked fine.
When the griddle or pan is warm pour about two large tablespoons of batter to each ring, you want each ring to be just over half full.
Cook for 5 minutes then using tongs slowly remove the rings. The crumpets should hold their shape.
Cook for another 4 to 6 minutes, until tops look dry. Should look similar to a pancake before you flip it. Then gently flip the crumpets over and cook for an additional 4 to 6 minutes. You may need to turn down the heat if they are browning to fast.
Then remove from the griddle and let sit for about 5 minutes before eating.This allows the inside to become chewy.
