How to make your own gluten free crumpets from scratch; an incredibly simple, basic and delicious British classic.
What you’ll need:
Crumpet rings or a substitute like egg rings, cookie cutters or even mason jar lids do the job surprisingly well.
Tips:
1. Don’t skip the resting time. Crumpet batter is yeast risen and therefore needs to sit in a warm place for at least an hour, skipping it is not an option. Plus, it allows the flour to absorb the liquid Β which makes the texture much better.
2. Make sure the yeast you’re using isn’t too old as it can prevent the batter from rising fully or even stop it from rising at all.
3. Start by cooking just one as a test. It can take a bit of practice to get the temperature, cooking time and batter consistency right. For example if the batter is too thick, it won’t bubble enough and produce those little crumpet holes. If this happens, add a bit of warm water (a tablespoon at a time) until you get it right.
4. If using a plain flour blend, don’t forget to add extra baking powder (and xanthan gum if possible).
Gluten Free Crumpets Recipe:
- 200g gluten free self-raising flour blend (I used Doves Farm)
- 1 tsp dried active yeast (I used Allinson)
- 1 tsp caster sugar
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp baking powder
- 250ml whole milk
- Water
- Cooking oil
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp xanthan gum
Cooking temperature: low
Cooking time (per crumpet): 5-6 minutes
Directions
PREPARE THE BATTER:
- Warm up the milk in the microwave (in 10 seconds increments) until lukewarm, then stir in the sugar and yeast and let it sit for a few minutes until frothy.
- Combine the flour, salt and baking powder in a bowl, add the frothy milk mixture and stir until you reach a smooth lump free batter.
- Cover the bowl with cling film and let the batter rise in a warm place for at least an hour. The best way to do this, especially on cold days, is to turn on the oven on to low (about 100C) and place the bowl on the opened door. Note: don’t skip this step, this is necessary for the yeast to take action.
- Once risen, stir the batter gently and add a bit of warm water (one tablespoon at a time) if the batter has gotten too thick. Just enough to make it a bit runny again. This is important in order to get all these little crumpet holes. In fact, in between each batch of crumpets, keep adding a tablespoon or two of warm water to the rest of the batter.
Β
COOK THE CRUMPETS:
- Heat up a non stick frying pan on low heat with a bit of cooking oil of your choice.
- Dip the crumpet rings in oil and place them on the hot pan. Note: if you don’t have crumpet rings, you can use egg rings, cookie cutters or even mason jar lids (this is what I did and it worked great), but you’ll need something circular (and preferably as non stick as possible) to shape up the crumpets.
- Pour two or three tablespoons of batter in each ring, start your timer and cook for about 5 minutes without touching, moving or disturbing the crumpets at any point during the process. The batter will bubble up, then when the surface of the crumpets is no longer wet and the bubbles pop leaving little holes, it’s time to flip the crumpets.
- Flip the crumpets and cook for up to one minute extra, until the tops are fully cooked and a light golden colour.
Enjoy!
Kimi!
These look sooo good!!! I’m going to have to give them a try. I used to be a crumpet-addict before I got diagnosed with CD.
Thanks for the recipe π
Thank you so much, hope you like them!! π
These did not turn out sr all for me. My batter was thick like biscuit dough. Is the ratio of flour to milk correct?
Hi Abby! It definitely shouldn’t be thick like biscuit dough. I’m sorry this happened, that doesn’t sound right at all. I’ve made this recipe many times (including this morning) and the ratio of flour to milk is correct. What flour did you use? Some flours absorb liquid more so it’s important to use a standard gluten free flour blend like the one I used (but even then some small adjustments may be needed if using a different one). This is the only thing I can think of that could have gone wrong.
Can I use other milk as I canβt have diary
Hi Coleen, I’ve never actually tried it with a dairy free milk myself so it’s hard to say. My guess is it should work, but the texture probably won’t be as good with just a one for one substitution. I’ll have to give it a shot at some point! Sorry I can’t be more helpful.
I’ve just made these on a very wet morning in lockdown and they were very good. I started out with a slightly thicker batter with fewer holes then gradually added more liquid to get more holes, but my crumpets ended up flatter … I think we preferred the thick ones, so that’s how I’ll make them next time. Really enjoyed them, thanks for the recipe.
These are delicious, the batter was thicker than yours and I noticed how much they grow in the pan, I am so used to recipes being for a larger amount that can be made, I managed to make 11 out of the recipe after I realised I put too much in the first batch π
Your site is great, as someone with CD, this is a fantastic resource.
this dough did not turn out AT ALL. I followed the recipe exact and it was incredibly thick so never bubbled. I had to thin it out so much that it didn’t even form a dough when cooked.
I’m sorry this didn’t work for you. After reading a lot of different blogs, it seems crumpets are notoriously tricky to make, whether gluten free or not. Getting them to bubble up and have holes can take a bit of trial and error with getting the consistency and cooking temperature exactly right.
The batter should not be incredibly thick though? Can I ask what flour blend you used? I’ve made this recipe many times, including a few days ago, and the batter is runny (at least when using Freee Foods flour). I can only think that something might have gone wrong when you measured the ingredients or perhaps the flour blend you used requires more liquid (unfortunately all GF flour blends behave differently).
Have you tried freezing them after youβve cooked them ?
Hi, sorry I’ve never tried freezing them yet. We always end up eating them all so quickly! haha I’ll have to try that next time.
Was wondering: will this work if I substitute oat milk or almond milk instead of whole milk?? These look sooo good, but I canβt have dairy. π
Aww I’m sorry to hear that! I always feel a bit uncomfortable advising people on this as I don’t have enough experience with dairy free alternatives. I often get this question regarding other recipes as well so when I get a bit of free time I’m thinking of buying some dairy free milk and doing some experiments to see what works. π
Overall these turned out really well – better than expected – lovely and crisp and holey but were a tad slimy inside. Cooked them really slowly and longer than the instruction so not sure how to improve that?
The flour mix I use sucks up a lot of moisture. Most starches in gluten free mixes do. I added at least as much water to my batter as there was milk before putting it in the oven to rise.