Crumpets and Afternoon Tea

I'm am thinking about England today and a lovely little thing called Afternoon Tea. Along with tea, there would be small pastries with clotted cream or preserves, delicate sandwiches, and scones. I like crumpets. Below is a nice little recipe for crumpets. Serve them with jam, or a nice lemon curd.

Ingredients
1 package active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water
1 teaspoon sugar
1 1/2 cups warm milk
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup warm water

Preparation
Sprinkle the yeast over the warm water in a large mixing bowl. Add the sugar, stir and let the yeast dissolve for about 5 minutes. Add the milk, flour and salt and beat until smooth. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let stand for 1 hour (If you want, you can make the batter the night before, cover and refrigerate over night). Stir down. Dissolve the baking soda in the remaining 1/4 cup of warm water and stir into the batter. Cover again and let rest for 30 minutes.

Heat a griddle or cast iron pan and grease some 3-inch rings. When the cast iron is medium-hot, grease it and place the rings on it. Spoon about 3 tablespoons of batter into each ring, just enough to cover the bottom. Lower heat and cook slowly for about 8 minutes, or until the tops of the crumpets have lost their shine and are dull and holey. Remove the rings and set aside the crumpets. When you've finished the batch, toast the crumpets, butter them generously and serve with your favorite jam or lemon curd. Don't forget your English Tea to drink! Delicious!