On 6/10/2012 3:24 PM, sf wrote:
> On Sun, 10 Jun 2012 17:06:03 +0200, >
(snippage)

>> 7g sachet dry yeast
>> ¼ teaspoon castor sugar
>> 1 ¼ cups lukewarm water
>> 130g ‘00’flour
>> ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
>> 1 ½ teaspoons coarse sea salt
>> ¼ teaspoon bi-carb soda
>> ½ cup lukewarm milk
>> Butter for cooking
>>
>>
> I haven't made crumpets very often, but it has never occurred to me
> that they could be anything less than delicious. I have several
> recipes, but have only used one or two of them. Comparing yours to
> what I have the only real difference I can see is your cream of
> tartar. I have one recipe that calls for it, but I have no idea what
> purpose it's supposed to serve and I'm sure I used a straight forward
> recipe, like the Helen Graves site.
>
The cream of tartar is acid, and reacts with the bicarb/baking soda. You
could use buttermilk, vinegar, lemon juice - but it's the reaction
between the two that creates the bubbles.