I’m quite fond of crumpets.
Well, to be more precise, I was quite fond of crumpets, now they are more of an unrequited love.
Unfortunately, while part of the rise of a crumpet is due to chemical leavening (the only real option if you are avoiding grains), part is also due to a traditional yeast rise. So, no crumpets.
But you can get something in the same gastronomic niche using a good pan, eggs, and almond flour. What you get is richer than a crumpet, because of the necessary addition of the eggs.
In a traditional wheat flour crumpet, the flour serves three purposes. It is obviously the bulk of the material of the crumpet, but it also serves as the food for the yeasts, and the gluten in it provides the structure. We don’t have flour, we need to replace all three of those purposes with alternatives.
In this recipe, the almond flour serves as the bulk material. Any nut-flour could be substituted here, but almond flour gives a nice neutral flavor. The double-acting baking powder (make sure to get aluminum free) serves as the leavening agent, and the eggs form the structure that will expand and hold the whole thing together.
Note also that I’m using good butter here (Kerrygold, salted). If you are avoiding milk solids, you could substitute a good grass fed Ghee. If you are avoiding anything dairy, substitute another oil. With that, the recipe.
Ingredients
160g Almond Flour
1 TBS Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Yeast (optional) or to taste
2 large eggs
120g Almond Milk (Unsweetened, unflavored)
56g Butter (melted)
Instructions
Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.
Spray olive oil on the inside of the muffin pan.
Combine the dry ingredients, and mix well. Add the eggs, and mix them thoroughly into the dry ingredients. Add the almond milk, and continue to mix thoroughly. You should have a thick but liquid batter. Add the melted butter, and again blend it thoroughly into the batter.
Using a spatula, divide the batter equally into the six chambers of the muffin pan, and spread it smoothly and evenly in each.
Bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees, or until the edges are becoming a dark brown. The top will likely stay a light brown. The brioche should be soft to the touch on the top, but cooked through, and browned on the sides and bottoms.
As with all nut-flour breads, refrigerate what you do not eat immediately.
