What Is a Crumpet?

Time for tea and crumpets. This is a scene you might be familiar with from your episodes of Downton Abbey or British comedies like Keeping Up Appearances, where Hyacinth Bucket serves crumpets and tea in her china of "Royal Doulton with the hand-painted periwinkles."

The British are known for their tradition of tea and crumpets, but are crumpets the same as the English muffins that pop up from the toaster of American kitchens?

What Is a Crumpet?

A crumpet is a small griddle bread made from an unsweetened batter of water or milk, flour, and yeast. It is a popular choice for breakfast or afternoon tea in the United Kingdom. They are also enjoyed in Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, and Australia.

Crumpets are a small, round bread with a spongy interior texture. You can find crumpets in some grocery stores, along specialty aisles or international sections, in the United States. English muffins are the closest equivalent to the British treat widely available in the bread sections of markets or grocery stores in the U.S.

History of the Crumpet

The word for crumpet refers to a crumpled or curled-up cake, based on a 14th century reference to a "crompid cake" and the Old English word for “crumpled.”

Crumpets are a spongy type of griddle cake, made from a batter and cooked in a hot, flat pan. The batter is typically made with yeast, sugar, flour, baking soda, and milk. Crumpets are shaped on a hot griddle or pan with a designated ring to hold the shape. The batter is poured into the rings and cooked until it rises to form a spongy top. A traditional crumpet is crisp on the bottom with a soft and chewy exterior.

This British food item is first mentioned in 1382 in the work of theologian John Wycliffe, where they are described as a kind of flat cake and cooked on a hot stone. Early recipes for crumpets were often made with buckwheat flour. A fluffier leavened version appeared during the Victorian era when the specific ring molds were first introduced to give the crumpet its signature round, biscuit-like shape. The crumpet is often associated as a food item served by the characters of the higher class in British movies and television with tea in fine bone china. Pinkies up!

That said, crumpets have actually always been enjoyed by people of all social classes for breakfast and afternoon tea.

Crumpet vs. English Muffin: What's the Difference?

Crumpets and English muffins are both part of many breakfast menus. Is there really a difference?

The English muffin is widely recognized in its package with the horse-drawn carriage.

According to the Thomas' Breads website, Samuel Bath Thomas created the Original "Nooks & Crannies®" English Muffin in 1880 after moving from England to the United States. It states, "He used a top secret process that included griddle baking to create a muffin that was crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. He later opened his own bakery in New York City. Soon after, Thomas' English Muffins became a popular part of the American breakfast."

These days, we recognize the English muffin as an all-American classic used by restaurants, chefs, and fast food chains.

Both English muffins and crumpets incorporate air bubbles which give them their unique structure that’s perfect to hold a spread of butter, jam, preserves, eggs, melted cheese and other combinations of ingredients.

The key difference in preparation is that crumpets are made out of batter poured into ring molds, while English muffins are made from a dough. The crumpets are also only cooked on one side to give them their familiar texture of an all-over crusty exterior, while English muffins are cooked on both sides.

Then there is the advertised trait of English muffins being "fork split" to easily cut in half before being toasted. This is what makes them ideal for breakfast sandwiches. Crumpets, however, are kept whole with butter and jams spread on top, no splitting. The contrast between using a batter and dough is what creates the difference in taste and texture. Crumpets have a light and chewy structure, while an English muffin is more doughy and crispy with its signature nooks and crannies.

Crumpets can be served slathered with warm butter and jam, golden syrup, lemon curd, preserves or clotted cream.