Appears in
Oxford Companion to Food

By Alan Davidson

Published 2014

  • About

pikelet nowadays, in England, a yeasted pancake with a holey surface, like a thin crumpet cooked without a containing ring. This has probably always been the main use of the word; but in some parts of England, it is applied to other yeast-raised, griddle-baked products (including muffins).

The name pikelet, which only appeared in print at the end of the 18th century, is thought to have come from a W. Midlands corruption of the Welsh term bara pyglyd, ‘pitchy bread’, breadcakes formed from a leavened batter of flour and milk and baked on the griddle.