A weekend breakfast maybe, but not difficult by any measure. Whether you go for bacon and maple syrup or poached eggs and dukkah – they are almost as revered as pancakes in my house (which is really saying something). I hope you give this recipe a go and you enjoy them as much as we do.

I found this recipe in ‘Delicious’ magazine and believe it to belongs to Bill Granger.

Ingredients Makes about 14 crumpets

• 375ml milk
• 1 ½ tsp caster sugar
• 7g sachet of dried yeast
• 375g plain flour
• ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
• Melted unsalted butter to brush and serve
• Whatever you choose to compliment the crumpets

Method

Warm the milk in a saucepan (this can’t be hot as it will kill the yeast). Remove from heat, transfer to a bowl and mix in the caster sugar and yeast. Allow to stand for about 10 minutes, the milk will bubble at the top.

Sift the flour and a pinch of salt into a large bowl and make a well in the middle. Gradually add the milk mixture, mixing with electric beaters until completely smooth. Be careful here, as the mixture always rises to the top of the beater and I have to stop a few times to bring it back down into the bowl.

Cover with cling film and leave in a warm place for 1 – 1 ½ hours, until the batter has doubled in size and is full of bubbles. Mix the bicarbonate of soda with 200ml of water, then add to the batter, mixing with electric beaters.

Heat a heavy based frying pan over a low heat and brush with melted butter. Put the metal rings in the pan and spoon in 2 tbsp of batter to each ring. Cook over a very low heat for roughly 5 minutes, until the surfaces are full of air bubbles and a skin has started to form. Loosen the rings and flip the crumpets over to cook for 1-2 minutes on the other sides.

Stand on a wire rack and cover with a tea towel whilst you cook the rest. Serve with whatever you fancy, I highly recommend bacon and maple syrup.