If you've ever paid too much for a small pack of crumpets and thought, wait, how is this not cheaper, this one's for you. These budget friendly homemade crumpets use plain flour and a quick yeast batter, then they cook right in a frying pan with rings. No oven, no weird steps, no fancy ingredients.
The best part is the texture, that classic chewy bite with all the little holes that drink up butter like it's their full-time job. Also, the whole batch comes out to 45p in the original cost breakdown, so it's one of those recipes that feels almost silly not to try at least once.
Alt Text: The ingredients for homemade crumpets are laid out on the counter, including flour, yeast, baking powder, sugar, butter, and water.
Ingredients you need for these budget-friendly crumpets
This recipe stays basic on purpose. It's flour, yeast, a little lift from baking powder, and enough butter to keep the rings from sticking (although you won't actually use all of it).
Here's the full list with the costs exactly as given:
- 180 g plain flour 9p
- 1 teaspoon yeast 8p
- 1 teaspoon baking powder 3p
- 1 teaspoon sugar 6p
- 30 g butter 23p (mainly for greasing the rings, and less was actually used, cooking oil also works)
- 235 ml lukewarm water 0p
Total cost: 45p for the batch.
The plan was about 6 crumpets at roughly 7p each, but the batch shown made 5 crumpets. The per-crumpet price stayed about the same because the butter cost was counted high (more butter was priced than used).
That's a tiny detail, but it's also a real-life detail, right? Costs on paper are neat, kitchens aren't.
If you're on a "make the basics at home" kick, the same money-first mindset shows up in this budget homemade burger buns recipe, different shape, same idea, cheap ingredients, big payoff.
Cost breakdown (and why the math still works out)
Before cooking even starts, it helps to see where the money goes, because butter is doing most of the heavy lifting cost-wise here. Water is free, and the rest is pantry stuff in tiny amounts.
Here's the exact cost breakdown used:
| Ingredient | Cost |
|---|---|
| Plain flour (180 g) | 9p |
| Yeast (1 tsp) | 8p |
| Baking powder (1 tsp) | 3p |
| Sugar (1 tsp) | 6p |
| Butter (30 g) | 23p |
| Water (235 ml) | 0p |
| Total | 45p |
So even if you get 5 crumpets instead of 6, you're still in that "why would I not do this again" price zone. And if you swap butter for cooking oil just to grease the rings, it can dip lower.
Also, there's a freshness angle here that's hard to price. A crumpet straight out of the pan hits different. It's like the difference between day-old fries and fries right out of the fryer, same food, totally different experience.
If you want a more classic, detailed comparison recipe (more like the "traditional method" many people reference), America's Test Kitchen crumpets recipe is a solid benchmark for what "textbook crumpets" look like.
Step-by-step: how to make homemade crumpets in a frying pan
This method is basically three phases: wake up the yeast, make a loose batter, then cook it in rings. That's it. The batter looks sloppy on purpose, it's not a kneadable dough, so don't expect it to behave like bread.
Bloom the yeast (don't skip this part)
Start with the lukewarm water (the full 235 ml), then mix in the 1 teaspoon sugar and 1 teaspoon yeast. Stir it and cover it, then leave it alone for about 10 minutes.
You're watching for froth. Not a huge foam mountain, just that clear "okay, it's alive" activity on top.
Once it starts to froth, you're good. If you're using a packet of yeast, you're only using a teaspoon here, so the rest gets saved for another bake.
Mix the dry ingredients, then build the batter
In a mixing bowl, add the 180 g plain flour (not bread flour), then add 1 teaspoon baking powder and a generous pinch of salt. Whisk it so the baking powder and salt don't clump in one spot.
Now pour the bloomed yeast mixture into the flour bowl and start mixing. A spatula works fine for the first few stirs, just to bring it together.
After that, whisk it for about 1 to 2 minutes. An electric whisk makes this fast, but it can be done by hand too, you just need a little energy and a bit of patience.
What you want at the end is a batter that looks like a slurry. It's not dough, it's not elastic, it's more like a thick pancake batter that's decided to be slightly more serious.
Scrape down the sides of the bowl, cover it with a tea towel, then leave it in a warm place for 45 minutes to 1 hour.
Let the batter prove until it turns bubbly
After the prove, the batter should look active, with bubbles forming on top. That's the sign you're after, because those bubbles translate into the crumpet holes later.
At this point, it's cooking time, and the pan setup matters more than people think, because the rings need heat, and the batter needs a steady sizzle, not a burn.
Cooking crumpets in rings (the part that makes them look real)
Crumpet rings are doing two jobs at once here. They hold the batter in place, and they help you get that thick, round shape with a flat top and all the holes.
Grease the rings and heat the pan
Grease the inside of each ring with butter. You don't need to drown them, just a thin coating so the crumpet releases cleanly.
Heat a fairly heavy frying pan on the stove, and once it's warm, set the rings in the pan. In the setup shown, only two rings fit at a time, so the batch runs in a few rounds.
As the rings hit the pan, the butter should start to sizzle lightly.
Fill the rings halfway, then cook 5 minutes per side
Spoon batter into each ring until it's about halfway full. It will rise as it cooks, and you want room for the bubbles to form and open up.
Cook for about 5 minutes on the first side. While it cooks, you'll see bubbles coming up through the surface, and this is the whole point, those bubbles are building the honeycomb texture.
If the pan feels too hot, turn the heat down a bit. You want cooking, not scorching.
After 5 minutes, flip the crumpets. Once flipped, the rings should loosen, and you can remove them. If a ring sticks, loosen it gently around the edge with a knife.
Cook the second side for another 5 minutes, then lift them out onto a cooling rack.
Re-butter the rings between rounds, set them back in the pan, and repeat until the batter is gone. The batch shown made 5 crumpets.
What "done" looks like
The outside should look cooked and set, and when you tear one open you should see that classic interior, chewy, steamy, and full of holes.
If you want another budget bake that hits the same "warm with tea" feeling, this budget Belgian buns recipe is a totally different vibe (sweet, iced, bakery-style), but it scratches that same homemade comfort itch.
Serving them warm (because butter needs a landing zone)
These crumpets don't need a fancy topping to prove the point. Warm crumpet, big smear of butter, done. The butter sinks into the holes and you get that rich, salty bite with the chew.
In the batch shown, the crumpet gets torn open while it's still warm, then butter goes on immediately. That's the move. The texture comes through right away, chewy, airy, and just sturdy enough to hold the butter without collapsing.
Tea or coffee makes perfect sense here, because crumpets are basically built for a hot drink break. Also, since this is a quick pan cook, you can do a couple, eat them fresh, then cook the next ones, kind of like pancakes, but thicker and more bready.
For another crumpet method to compare (different ratios, lots of step photos), RecipeTin Eats crumpet recipe is a useful reference, especially if you like seeing how close you can get to the store-bought style.
What I learned making this (and what I'd change next time)
I'll be honest, the first thing that surprised me was how "wrong" the batter looks before the prove. It's not dough, it's not pourable like a thin crepe batter either, it's this sloppy slurry that makes you pause and think, is this really going to turn into a crumpet? Then you come back after 45 minutes and the bubbles show up, and suddenly it clicks.
The second thing, heat control is the whole game. When the pan runs hot, the bottom cooks too fast and you start rushing. Once I backed the heat down, the bubbles had time to form and the surface looked way more crumpet-like. It's a small adjustment, but it changes the final texture a lot.
Also, the rings. Greasing them well matters, but it's easy to overthink it. A light butter coat did the job, and since the butter amount was over-priced anyway, it felt like a nice little bonus. If I were doing it again, I'd probably measure the batter into each ring a bit more evenly, because my "halfway" kept drifting (some were a little taller).
Last thing, eating one straight from the rack, tearing it open, and watching butter melt into the holes, yeah, that's the moment. That's why you make these.
Conclusion
These homemade crumpets come down to a simple rhythm: bloom the yeast, whisk a loose batter, prove until bubbly, then fry in rings for 5 minutes per side. The result is warm, chewy, full of holes, and honestly hard to stop eating once the butter hits.
If you try it, keep the method simple and focus on the bubbles and the heat, that's where the magic is. And if you're on a roll with budget baking, this budget friendly style of cooking adds up fast, one cheap batch at a time.
If you end up making a batch, what did you top yours with, just butter, or did you go savory?
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