The Cookbook Challenge Week 28 - Breakfast - Crumpets & Dead Man Espresso - 3 - V

I was thrilled to open the latest issue of delicious magazine to see my old colleague Luke Mutton smiling up at me from within its pages. Luke and his gorgeous wife Kylie opened their cafe Dead Man Espresso last year and have been the talk of the town ever since. Congrats you guys and keep up the good work!

The article included a recipe for crumpets and strawberry and rosella jam so what better way to catch up on my Cookbook Challenge-ing than by making them? I didn't do the jam but I did take a certain pride in being able to say I made crumpets and tack "from scratch" on the end of it!

The method is very easy but I had to wait a little longer than an hour for the batter to double because it's been really cold lately and my kitchen was pretty icy. I ended up putting the bowl next to the oven so it could warm up a bit and let the yeast do its thing.

The batter is very thick and it kind of snaps when you spoon it into the egg rings. I realised after cooking two rounds that once you flip the crumpets you can get the rings off and cook two lots of crumpets at time. You'd be at the stove for about a year otherwise!
Make sure you grease the rings too and be very careful when flipping and taking them off because they are HOT.


Ingredients - makes 18

3 cups plain flour, sifted
7gm sachet dry active yeast
300ml milk
250ml hot water
Melted unsalted butter

In a very large bowl mix the yeast and flour together. Mix the milk in a jug with the water and then pour into the bowl in a steady stream, mixing well to combine all the ingredients. Cover the bowl with a damp tea towel or cloth and stand in a warm, draft-free place for about an hour or until the batter doubles in size.
In a non-stick pan brush on some melted butter, put your greased egg rings into the pan on a medium heat and then spoon two tablespoons of batter into each ring. Cook for 6-7 minutes on each side until they are golden and cooked through.
To serve cut the crumpets in half (this is where the holes live) and toast. Smother in lashings of butter and jam and eat immediately.
The crumpets can be wrapped in foil and frozen.

Enjoy!

Eggy Crumpets - 2 - $ - (V)

Happy New Year everyone!

A new decade awaits and possibly a sore head has arrived after the festivities. The first day of the year heralds the first fry-up because there's no point fighting a hangover - just feed it and send it on its way.

These crumpets are based on a Jamie Oliver recipe that I've tweaked, thanks geezer!

The following serves 2.

Ingredients

2 eggs
4 crumpets
4 rashers of bacon
2 tomatoes, halved
150gm button mushrooms, sliced
1 clove garlic, crushed
1tbsp flat leaf parsley, chopped
1tbsp basil, chopped
butter
salt and pepper

Pop a little knob of butter in a pot over a medium heat. Add the crushed garlic, stir for 30 seconds and then add the mushrooms and basil, stirring well to coat all the mushrooms in butter. Let them cook away slowly, reducing the heat if need be while you prepare the rest of the meal.

Put the bacon in a large fry pan over a medium-high heat.

Meanwhile, beat the eggs in a bowl, season with salt and pepper, and stir in the parsley. Dip the crumpets in the egg mix and let them soak it all up. Fry them in the same pan as the bacon. If you're omitting the bacon from this meal, melt some butter in the pan to cook the crumpets in.
It will only take around a minute on each side for the egg to cook and become lovely and golden.
When you flip the crumpets to cook the second side, add the tomatoes to the pan flesh side down and cook for as long as it takes to finish off the crumpets.
Serve immediately.

Enjoy!