Oatcakes (a journey)

Oatcakes – the bread of Scotland, or at least they were once. Ther range of oatcakes available in the shops (in Scotland, were I live) is huge – some are like brown crumbly pastry, some hard dry crunchy oat blocks. I’m trying to find a recipe I like and this is the start of the journey.

Oatcakes – first take

225g oatmeal (course ground oat flour)
60g plain white flour
60g butter
1 tsp salt
4 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
60ml (upto 90ml) hot water

Mix the oatmeal, flour, salt, sugar and bicarb together and rub the butter in to make a breadcrumb mix. Add hot water little by little to make a dough – it will thinken with work, so dont worry if its a bit sticky at first.

Flour a worktop and rollout the dough to about 1/2cm thick (pastry thick). cut into rounds (using a tumbler) and bake at 170c for about 20mins until golden.

Taste notes – I wanted a sightly sweeter oatcake, so I will add a little extra sugar next time. This recipe works well for an oatcake. Next attempt – I’ll try to grind the oatmeal a little finer, or add a bit more flour. I’ll add a bit more sugar for a sweeter biscuit. I’m looking for something between a digestive and a trad oatcake, and something a little less rough!

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