Recently in a facebook group, someone mentioned crumpets. It was something I hadn’t ever heard of before, and upon googling it, I realised it was something I just had to make. Crumpets are a British thing, something in between pancakes and British muffins. Since I am allergic to gluten, I had to make a version that avoided plain flour. Was it worth the experiment? Absolutely.

I’ve thrown in psyllium husk and banana for added fluffiness but really it works just fine without them too. You can use guar gum or ground chia or flax seeds as well if you like.

Makes about 10 crumpets

Ingredients:

• 1.5 cups gluten free flour (I used 50% buckwheat and 50% jowar flour)
• 2 tbsp psyllium husk (optional)
• 1 cup milk
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp instant yeast (or 1.25tsp dried yeast and remember to proof it)
• 1 large egg, separated
• 1 ripe banana, can also be over ripe (optional, will need to add a little water and 2 tbsp of melted butter if skipping)
• 1 tsp each salt and sugar

For the Jam

• 1 cup blueberries
• 2 tbsp chia seeds
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• 1/2 tsp lemon juice

Method:

• Heat the milk to just above body temperature, add the lemon juice, let stand for a minute.
• Whisk the flours, psyllium husk, yeast, salt and sugar together and stir in the milk. Let sit for 30-60 min.
• Add the egg yolk and mashed banana
• Whip the egg white until stiff and gently fold it in. If the consistency looks too thick, add milk until it is a smooth batter.
• Wait 10 min and spoon into crumpet rings over a hot iron skillet. You can either cook this over the stove or bake it in an oven at 180C for 5 minutes. Flip the crumpet over and cook again until done.
• Serve with butter and jam, or like in this case whipped cream and blueberry-chia jam. I also like to serve it sometimes with mushroom and broccoli in Bechamel sauce.

The Blueberry Chia Jam

• Cook the blueberries (or any other berries) in a saucepan on low heat for about 5-10 min and then mash until the desired consistency is reached.
• Take it off the heat, add maple syrup, lemon juice and chia seeds.
• Let cool completely and then transfer to a glass jar for storage.