A friend of mine mentioned the idea of lemon and poppyseed crumpets, and I had to try to make my own! I love crumpets. They’re relatively simple to make, but it does take time to prove the dough. If you don’t have crumpet rings, large metal round cookie cutters also do the job. Don’t be tempted to add lemon juice to the recipe – the acidity will interfere with the rising agent used in the final steps. I also start cooking with one tester crumpet – much like pancakes, it does take time to fine-tune the temperature and cooking times. These are great served warm, or cooled and reheated later. Delicious!

Makes 12 crumpets

Ingredients

Method

1. Add the flours and yeast to a bowl. Dissolve 1tsp of sugar into the milk, and add to the bowl of flour.
2. Beat with a wooden spoon for 4-5 minutes; this step is important to develop the gluten in the dough, to ensure the crumpets have an open, cavernous texture.
3. Cover the bowl and leave to rise for 1 hour. Meanwhile, add the salt, 1tsp sugar, and lemon zest to the water to infuse.
4. Once the dough has proved, add the bicarbonate of soda into the water and stir to dissolve. Add the water and poppy seeds into the dough, and mix until incorporated. Leave to stand for a further 20 minutes.
5. Grease four 8cm (3inch) crumpet rings and pre-heat your pan at a medium heat. Start with a tester crumpet – fill with batter until just below the rim. After 6 minutes, the top should be set and have large, open holes. Flip over and allow to cook for another 1-2 minutes. Leave to cool on a wire rack.
6. Now you have fine-tuned the heat and temperature, repeat but with 4 crumpets at a time.
7. Serve immediately or allow to cool and reheat later.

The base crumpet recipe used is from Paul Hollywood’s ‘Bread’.