Do you own a Welsh Bake Stone? Have you ever cooked anything else other than Welsh cakes on it?
Did you know that there are so many recipes you can make on a Welsh Bake Stone? One of our favourites is crumpets.
Happy World Baking Day
World Baking Day is celebrated every May 17th (even though we think we celebrate it every day. Seriously, I need to put down this chocolate muffins whilst I type. Who doesn’t love the smell of freshly baked bread? So, we wanted to share with you another recipe you can use on your Welsh bake stone.
What is a Welsh Bake Stone?
Bake stones are traditionally associated with Wales and the cooking of Welsh cakes. They are basically a type of griddle and are heated up and used to cook food.
The old fashioned bake stone was made of cast iron. These days the Welsh bake stone has improved. Slate House’s Welsh Bake Stone is 10mm thick high quality pickled steel which is harder, stronger and has a better heat retention than the old fashioned wrought iron bake stones, whilst keeping the same rustic look.
Paul Hollywood’s Amazing Crumpet Recipe
This recipe comes from the Great British Bake Off legend Paul Hollywood and every time we’ve made his crumpets they’ve turned out perfect.
Ingredients
175g strong white flour
175g plain flour
2 x 7g sachets instant yeast
1 tsp caster sugar
350ml warm milk
150-200ml warm water
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp salt
Sunflower oil for cooking
Method
Weigh the flours in to a bowl. Add the yeast and stir through the flour.
Dissolve the sugar in the warm milk and pour onto the flour. Using a wooden spoon beat until you have a smooth batter. This will take 3-4 minutes and is hard work, but is essential to produce the holes in the crumpets.
Cover and leave for at least 20 minutes and up to an hour. The batter will rise and then begin to fall. You will see marks on the side of the bowl where the batter was before it dropped.
Mix the bicarbonate of soda and salt with the warm water and beat it into the batter. Add about ¾ of the water and keep adding it until you get a double cream consistency. Cover and rest for 20 minutes.
Heat your Welsh Bake Stone griddle. Lightly grease the inside of four metal crumpet rings. Lightly grease the bake stone. Sit the rings on the bake stone over a medium heat.
Drop two dessert spoons of mixture into each ring. After 4-5 minutes bubbles should appear and the surface should be set. Carefully turn the crumpets in their rings and cook for a further three minutes.
Serve immediately or leave to cool and then toast before eating with plenty of butter.
How NOT to Make Crumpets
We had to include this video because it really is the funniest. Paul Hollywood shows us how NOT to make crumpets.
Want to make Welsh Cakes?
Check out our Lockdown Baking article for this fantastic recipe.
Seasoning and caring for a bake stone
We often get people visiting our stores who have inherited a bakestone from a family member but have no idea how to use it. An important step before using one is seasoning it, which means to add a natural non-stick coating. It also protects the surface of your bakestone and prevents rusting.
Seasoning instructions
- There is a protective oil coating on our bakestones, which needs to be removed before use. To do this, use an abrasive cleaning pad and washing up liquid to clean the cooking surface.
- Heat up your bakestone. We recommend doing this outside on a portable stove or barbecue. If this isn’t possible, make sure your kitchen is well ventilated as the bakestone will smoke.
- Protect your hands with an oven glove and carefully rub a mixture of fat or vegetable oil and salt onto the cooking surface, using a thick cotton cloth.
- Continue to add fat and salt, a tablespoon at a time, allowing it to burn and blacken. After around 20 minutes the bakestone should have gained a smooth black surface.
- Turn off the heat and allow your bakestone to cool naturally.
- Wash your bakestone with warm water, removing any remaining loose salt.
Your bakestone is now ready to be used!
Care Instructions
- After use, wipe your bakestone with warm, soapy water.
- Dry and store in a dry place.
- Never use abrasive cleaners.
- If , after a long storage, rusting appears, simply clean it off and re-season.
If you’ve got any recipes you wish us to include or maybe YOU have a recipe you want to share with us then please drop us an email HERE.
