Baking · Air fryer adaptation

Air Fryer Crumpets: The Best Base for Canapés

Crumpets aren't just for breakfast, they're the secret weapon for Michelin-star canapés. Adam Byatt's formula swaps fussy pan-frying for a simple batter you pipe into moulds, then tops them with whatever festive fillings you fancy. Perfect for impressing neighbours this Christmas.

R By Richard · Adapted from Adam Byatt · Published 10 June 2026
👁 24.7k source views ❤️ 968 source likes
⏱Prep 15 min
🌡Temp 170°C
⏲Air fry 8 min
🍽Serves 12
How to make: Crumpets the BEST base for canapés

Source video by Adam Byatt on YouTube. This recipe was adapted with strict source-fidelity rules and is marked for human review.

Adam Byatt shares the crumpet recipe used at Trinity restaurant as a base for canapés. A simple yeasted batter of white and wholemeal flours is piped into oval moulds, proved until risen, then baked rather than pan-fried. The finished crumpets are topped with things like smoked salmon and chives, trout roe with crème fraîche, or chicken liver parfait. Note: the original recipe uses a conventional oven, so this version has been adapted for the air fryer.

Air fryer notes: Source bakes the crumpets in a conventional oven at 190°C for 7-8 minutes. Adapted to 170°C for 7-9 minutes in the air fryer (roughly 20°C lower to account for the more direct fan heat) so the tops do not brown before the batter cooks through. Use silicone flexi moulds that fit the basket, and cook in batches if necessary.

Ingredients

Crumpet batter
  • 5 gfresh yeast
  • 5 gcaster sugar
  • 5 gfine salt
  • 125 gwholemeal flour
  • 125 gstrong white flour
  • 300 mlcold water
  • bicarbonate of soda
To cook
  • spray oil
Suggested toppings
  • crème fraîche, chopped chives and trout roe (add late)
  • smoked salmon bound with mayonnaise and chives (add late)
  • tuna tartare, taramasalata or fresh curds (add late)

Method

  1. Crumble the fresh yeast into a bowl with the cold water and whisk briefly to dissolve.

    ~1 min

  2. Add the wholemeal flour, strong white flour, sugar and a pinch of bicarbonate of soda. Sprinkle the salt over the top of the flour, keeping it away from direct contact with the yeast.

  3. Whisk the mixture for a couple of minutes until you have a smooth, lump-free batter.

    ~2 min

  4. Transfer the batter into a piping bag, twist the end and seal.

  5. Lightly spray small oval silicone (flexi) moulds with oil. Snip the end off the piping bag and pipe the batter into each cavity, filling only halfway to leave room for the rise.

  6. Cover the moulds with cling film and leave to prove in a warm spot for around 30 minutes, until the batter has doubled and risen to the top of each cavity.

    ~30 min

  7. Preheat the air fryer to 170°C.

    ~3 min

  8. Place the moulds in the air fryer basket and bake for 7-9 minutes, until the crumpets are risen, set and lightly golden on top. Check at 6 minutes.

    ~8 min

  9. Let them sit for a minute, then pop the crumpets out of the flexi moulds. Trim the rounded top off each one with a knife to give a flat surface for topping.

  10. Top each crumpet with your chosen filling, such as crème fraîche with chives and trout roe, smoked salmon mayonnaise, tuna tartare or taramasalata, and finish with a small herb leaf to match.

Frequently asked

Do I need to preheat my air fryer?
Yes. A 2-3 minute preheat at 170°C helps the crumpets set and rise as soon as they go in, which gives that classic light, aerated texture.
Can I use dried yeast instead of fresh?
Yes. Use half the quantity of dried yeast in place of fresh, so 2.5g instead of 5g. Whisk it into the cold water as you would the fresh yeast.
What if I don't have silicone flexi moulds?
Small metal moulds, mini muffin tins or individual tartlet tins will all work. Grease them well so the crumpets release cleanly, and check that they fit your air fryer basket with a little air gap around the sides.
Can I make the crumpets ahead of time?
Yes. The batter keeps in the piping bag in the fridge for a few hours, and the baked crumpets can be made earlier in the day and warmed through in the air fryer for 1-2 minutes at 160°C before topping and serving.
Why is my batter not rising?
Usually it's because the water was too warm and killed the yeast, the room is too cold to prove, or the salt was added directly onto the yeast. Use cold water, keep salt over the flour, and prove somewhere genuinely warm.
Extraction notes (transparency): Source is an oven recipe (190°C, 7-8 min) adapted to the air fryer; bake temperature and time are inferred from standard oven-to-air-fryer conversions. The transcript does not give a final yield, so servings (12) is estimated from typical mini-crumpet mould counts. Bicarbonate of soda quantity is described only as 'a little pinch' in the transcript. | Second-pass critique flagged 4 fabricated and 2 quantified issues. See critique.issues for detail.