Some time ago, there was a recipe in your column for crumpets made using buttermilk - the best I have ever eaten. I have misplaced the recipe. May I have a copy? - Susan Marais

This is the recipe we originally printed. A crumpet is a thicker pancake style with a doughier texture.

It is cooked on a hot surface in a circle till it bubbles and is then turned. Usually served hot, they are delicious with butter and real maple syrup (if the budget allows. If not, golden syrup will suffice).

CRUMPETS (Makes 24-36)

Ingredients:

• 500ml cake flour
• 15ml baking powder
• 2ml salt
• 60ml castor sugar
• 30ml oil
• 2 eggs
• 125ml buttermilk
• 250ml milk
• Oil for frying

Method:

Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and castor sugar. Lightly mix together the oil, eggs, buttermilk and milk and mix into the dry ingredients to form a smooth batter. Rest in fridge for 30 minutes.

Pour oil for frying in a small jug. Preheat a non-stick frying pan. Pour in a little oil, swirl and pour excess back into the jug. Drop spoonfuls of the batter into the pan and cook until they are golden and surface bubbles. Flip over and cook the other side. Drain on kitchen paper and continue. Before frying the next batch, pour a little oil in the pan, swirl around and pour excess back into the jug. Do this every time you start cooking a new batch.

Rye to me

I have been trying to bake my own 100% rye bread for some time now using stoneground pure rye flour and various other ingredients. I have tried using both ordinary yeast and instant yeast and still I get the same problem: the outside of the bread bakes beautifully crispy but the inside remains doughy. Please help. - Lawrence Ashworth

A: I've consulted my two bibles of bread baking, The Bread Book by Linda Collister and Anthony Blake and Breads in the Time Life series. Most of the recipes for rye bread, including traditional German rye, use a mixture of rye flour and white or wholewheat flour. The reason is that rye flour contains very little gluten. I suspect that is why your loaf is so doughy. The only recipe in the Time Life book that uses rye flour alone uses a rye-flour sourdough starter, which you need to start making a few days before the loaf. Both recipes follow.

GERMAN SOURDOUGH RYE LOAF (Makes 1 large loaf)

Ingredients:

• 2,5kg rye flour
• 125g rye sourdough starter (see recipe below)
• 1 litre tepid water
• 30ml (2tbsp) salt

Method:

On the evening before baking day, make the yeast sponge. Mix 250g of the flour with the sourdough starter and ¼ litre of the water. Sprinkle on 2 tablespoons flour and leave the yeast sponge to stand in a warm place until the next morning. If the sponge has not risen enough by the next morning, add another 15g fresh yeast or 2 tsp dried yeast dissolved in 85ml tepid water. Mix the salt with the remaining flour, add the yeast sponge and the rest of the water and knead thoroughly for about 15 minutes. Shape the dough into a long loaf, place on a floured baking sheet and leave in a warm place to rise for 2-3 hours, or until a finger pressed lightly into the dough leaves a dent. Bake the loaf in a preheated 200°C oven for 2 hours or until it sounds hollow when rapped.

RYE SOURDOUGH STARTER

(Makes enough for a 2,5kg dough)

Ingredients:

• 30g fresh yeast or 15ml (1 tbsp) dried yeast
• 750ml tepid water
• 500g rye flour
• 1 small onion, peeled and halved

In a bowl, dissolve the yeast in 500ml water then whisk in half the flour, beating until no lumps remain. Add the onion, cover the mixture loosely with a cloth and let it stand at room temperature for 24 hours. Remove the onion. Whisk in the remaining water and flour. Cover the mixture again and let it stand for three days. The starter should be bubbly and have a sour smell. If it is flat or has changed colour, it must be discarded.