Staffordshire Oatcakes
Oatcakes take various forms depending on which side of the Anglo-Scottish border you call home. The Scots make theirs as baked, savoury biscuits which can be served on a cheeseboard or with smoked salmon, but the English have a very different take on the oatcake. Even these vary from region-to-region but the ones I’ve taken on hail from Staffordshire in the English West Midlands.
Staffordshire Oatcakes are very much like English pancakes, except they contain oatmeal and some use wholemeal flour either instead of plain flour or a combination of the two, and they’re no eggs in there, oh and they’ve got yeast in. But apart from this they are very much like English pancakes. Okay, so they look a bit like English pancakes… if you’re standing quite far away. Sheesh!
My good friend DrMike, who resides only a stone’s throw from North Staffordshire, gave me a fascinating bit of insight into the Staffy Oatcake. For many folks around there, oatcakes have replaced (or more likely were never displaced by) today’s fashionable fast food items; grilled paninis, deli wraps and the like. Why have your lunch-on-the-fly filling stuffed into a corn tortilla when you can have it rolled up in an oaty pancake? The traditional filling would be practically any combination of ingredients from an ‘all-day breakfast’ but anything goes these days. Chicken tikka, chilli con carne and coronation chicken are now quite the norm amongst the oatcake avant-garde.
As for my filling, well I had a bit of an epiphany. There’s a breakfast dish from Southern India called Masala Dosa which consists of pancakes made from ground daal or rice and stuffed with mildly spiced potatoes. Why not bring the taste of Chennai to The Potteries? So I fried some finely chopped onion, garlic and ginger in oil with cumin and mustard seeds for a few minutes before adding some chopped, deseeded green chillis. I mixed a spoonful of tamarind paste with a little hot water and added this to the pan along with turmeric and brown sugar. Finally, I stirred in plenty of cooked, diced potatoes coating them well with the spices and aromatics before finishing with chopped coriander leaves.
I rolled up a good portion of the spicy potatoes in my Staffy Oatcake, sat back and enjoyed my tasty, East-meets-West Midlands lunch. Here’s an oatcake recipe…
- For Staffordshire Oatcakes
- 150g fine oatmeal
- 150g wholemeal flour
- 300ml milk
- 300ml water
- 7g sachet of quick yeast
- 1tsp sugar
- Salt
Pour the milk and water in a saucepan and warm gently on the hob. This is just to create good conditions for the yeast when the batter is mixed so, as always, keep it below 30°C.
Add all of the dry ingredients to a bowl and mix together before starting to whisk in all of the warm milk and water. I was looking to get a reasonably thin batter and 600ml did the trick on this occasion. Of course, add less or more milk and water as the situation dictates. Once the batter is mixed, cover with plastic wrap and leave in a warm room for about an hour, allowing the yeast to make the batter nice and bubbly.
When it’s ready, give the batter a gentle stir, smear a little butter or oil on a hot, non-stick skillet and add enough of the batter to thinly coat the bottom. Cook on one side until golden (about 3 minutes) and gently flip over and cook the other side for another couple of minutes.
Note: As oatcakes contain less flour, and wholemeal flour at that, they contain less gluten and will be more prone to tear. I’m guessing this is why people bulk them up with plain flour, but it’s by no means a problem, it just means a gentler hand is required. No vigorous skillet-shaking.
This batter will yield about 6 large oatcakes, after which you really do have carte blanche with the filling. Don’t just stick to savoury fillings, either. Fruit, berries, crème fraîche, syrup, ice cream. The sky’s the limit!
GDave
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Aaah, GDave, you’re understanding my no gluten baking challenges. It’s not easy when you eliminate the elastic, stretchy component. I have a supplier in NW Montana who keeps me in pure, uncontaminated oats, so I do have some rolled oats and some oat flour. Oats do not contain gluten, but are contaminated with gluten from other sources. Long story on that, but they are not safe for people with celiac disease (coeliac for you Brits). I love oats and think I could tweak and make this recipe of yours fairly easily. It sounds wonderful.
I have to admit though, I’m almost more interested in your Masala Dosa recipe. I’ve never heard of that, but it sounds delicious. I make chana dal every once in awhile and love it. If you know anyone with diabetes, chana dal is a great way to balance blood sugar levels. My mom has diabetes and I make it for her on occasion. It works great.
Oatcakes and pure maple syrup?! Count me in and pass the jug!
Another fun and informative post, as always!
Melissa
Comment by Melissa − on Nov 6, 2009 at 3:56 pm
GDave,
Thanks, mate — now I’m on a mission to make your masala dosa recipe, although you have no recipe. And no time.
But you’ve sparked my interest. I just did some google searches and this sounds fascinating to me. But what is tamarind? I read the wikipedia description, but wonder if it might be called something else over here. I’m not a spice/seasoning guru by any means and if it wasn’t for all you Brits from this blog and Miles’ blog, I’d be in a fog on these exotic spices. Tell me more when you have a minute.
Off to the Indian spice store. Well, after I work for a few hours.
Melissa
Comment by Melissa − on Nov 6, 2009 at 4:10 pm
GDave,
I too like the sound of these oatcakes and would be happy with a savoury or sweet filling…. better stick to the savoury or I could go wild with syrup like Melissa
As a matter of fact I haven’t cooked with yeast for quite a while but this recipe could change all that and will make a pleasant change from bread and crackers…. the way you display these oatcakes looks wonderful, who could resist?
Cid
Comment by Cid − on Nov 6, 2009 at 9:57 pm
Melissa,
I always feels rather guilty about cooking with flours and breads, knowing that you are so generous to stop by regularly. It’s just that cooking/baking with wheat is so ingrained (pardon the pun!) in our culture.
You and me both with Masala Dosa. I deliberately held back the recipe for the spiced potatoes because I fully intend to blog the real thing in detail in the near future. I’ve seen the pancake (or dosa) deep-fried into a perfect crispy tube ready to be stuffed with all manner of fillings and I would love to learn the skill to make this. In real terms though, it was just a teaspoon of each spice with about 1½ pounds of cooked potatoes.
Tamarind is quite a curious one. It hasn’t been widely available in the UK for so long. Now we can buy it in paste or block form quite easily, though I’ve never seen it on sale as beans, its natural state. I had a check with WhatamIeating and it doesn’t seem to have an American nom de plume so I guess it’s an ingredient that you guys are yet to do amazing things with… if Wylie Dufresne hasn’t already!
Thanks so much for your input, Melissa. Maybe we can start a trend for eating chillis for breakfast, like they do in the subcontinent.
GDave
Comment by greedydave − on Nov 6, 2009 at 11:17 pm
Cid,
I’ve got to admit it was the first time I’ve bought yeast in ages, if you discount brewer’s yeast
. I think I’m trying to get out of the rut of us Brits only eating pancakes one day a year. A complete coincidence but I came upon a recipe for Welsh pancakes today, though for variety’s sake I think I should sit on it for a while.
Meanwhile, can you think of any way to gloss things over with Melissa that I’m blogging a bread pudding next???
GDave
Comment by greedydave − on Nov 6, 2009 at 11:25 pm
GDave,
Not bread pudding…. how cruel when I’m trying to be good and avoid temptation and the inevitable neck to knee elastane control-wear
As for Melissa…. do not concern yourself, I’ll create a smoke screen which could take the form of absolutely anything (so what’s new you cry 
) and promise her lots of macaron when she visits this shore.
Wonder what shelled hemp seed sprinkled on bread pudding would be like…. I’ve taken a real shine to hemp seed and am starting to worry that a habit may be forming?
Cid
Comment by Cid − on Nov 7, 2009 at 12:07 pm
GDave,
If you have oatmeal remaining from the above recipe, hopefully you’ll have been incorporating them into Parkin this weekend. I don’t know how it got associated with Guy Fawkes, but it is a tastily spicy thing to eat round a bonfire…
Comment by Bowlhead2000 − on Nov 7, 2009 at 8:45 pm
Cid,
I had to run ‘elastane control-wear’ through Google Images. I started the day a boy and I’m finishing it a man!
I’m still pretty much in the dark regarding hemp seeds. I’m imagining a very earthy flavour which would just have to work with bread pudding. I’ve got to warn you though, it’s not the bread (and butter) pudding that you might be thinking of. But rest assured, there will be real custard!!
GDave
Comment by greedydave − on Nov 7, 2009 at 9:45 pm
Bowlhead,
Yeah, I missed a trick there. When I started all of this I did intend to loosely stick to seasons and occasions. I’m a massive fan of parkin too! I trust you’ll already be by the Thames watching the Millenium Wheel go up like the world’s biggest Catherine Wheel. As for me, early start tomorrow so I’m hitting the hay reasonably soon, though I’m still intruiged to find out what this very sectarian part of the world makes of a celebration marking the foiling of a Catholic uprising. I suspect essentially they’re not that bothered and just enjoy setting fire to stuff!
GDave
Comment by greedydave − on Nov 7, 2009 at 9:45 pm
GDave,
Shelled hemp seeds have a nutty flavour and texture, they’d be perfect for sprinkling over breakfast cereals or yoghurt, even savoury dishes… lots of omegas.
I’m simmering a pan of quinces at the moment…. now there’s a strange fruit but some folks have this for breakfast too. Bread pudding is a favourite of mine GD, in fact I prefer it to Christmas cake, can’t wait to read about yours… I’ll allow myself a ‘virtual’ slice. Real custard is one of life’s luxuries and I love that too. As for parkin, I’m fighting the urge to bake one right now… even bought the ginger but alas it’s going to have to wait until I can justify it
My plan is to eat a spoonful of hemp seeds immediately before reading your next seductive recipe…. bit like never go food shopping on an empty stomach!
Cid
Comment by Cid − on Nov 7, 2009 at 10:44 pm
GDave,
Just checking in on you. I hate to be a nosey blog reader, but I’m starting to wonder if all is well with you. I’m missing your feisty blog posts.
Melissa
Comment by Melissa − on Nov 28, 2009 at 9:36 pm
GDave,
I had much the same thought as Melissa…. it’s been all quiet on the northern front of late. No doubt you must be brewing Christmassy ales and bottling up exotic preserves, preparing your own haggis etc. If Santa asks me, I’ll say GD wants an Italian haggis drying rack…. not something one encounters every day
Bread pudding where art thou?
Cid
p.s. If it’s flu then I’ll brew a noxious smelling potion… fear not, it won’t be quite as noxious as Stinking Bishop on a warm day, close though
Comment by Cid − on Dec 3, 2009 at 5:55 pm