Staffordshire Oatcakes

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Large non-stick frying pan or flat griddle
• •Ladle
• •Fish slice or thin spatula
• •Second frying pan for bacon and eggs

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the batter

   Put the oatmeal, flour, yeast, and salt in a large bowl and stir them together. Make a well in the centre and pour in the warm milk and water. The liquid should be blood-warm, comfortable on the inside of your wrist, not hot. Whisk it all together until you have a smooth, thin batter, like single cream. It will feel too runny. That's right. Cover the bowl with a tea towel and leave it somewhere warm for an hour. The yeast needs time to work. When you come back, the surface should be frothy and alive, smelling faintly of bread.

   Fine oatmeal, not porridge oats, not rolled oats. You want the fine-ground sort, sometimes labelled oatmeal flour. It makes the batter smooth and gives the oatcakes their particular soft, slightly lacy texture. Medium oatmeal will do if fine is hard to find, but the result will be a touch grainier.
2. 2

   Check and adjust the batter

   After an hour, give the batter a good stir. It should pour like thin cream. If it has thickened (oatmeal can absorb liquid as it sits), add a splash more warm water until the consistency is right. The batter should coat a spoon but run off it freely. Too thick and the oatcakes will be stodgy. Too thin and they'll tear when you flip them. You'll know after the first one.

3. 3

   Cook the oatcakes

   Heat a large non-stick frying pan or flat griddle over a medium heat. Rub it with a little butter or oil, just a thin film. Pour in a ladleful of batter and tilt the pan to spread it out thinly, the way you would a crêpe. It should cover the base of the pan in a thin, even layer. Cook for two to three minutes until the underside is golden and lightly speckled, and the surface has lost its shine and set. Flip it with a fish slice and cook the other side for another minute or so. The first oatcake is almost always imperfect. Eat it while you cook the rest. Stack the finished oatcakes on a warm plate under a tea towel.

   The heat matters. Too high and they scorch before they set. Too low and they dry out without developing colour. Medium is the word. Adjust as you go. By the third oatcake, you'll have the feel of it.
4. 4

   Prepare the fillings

   While you're cooking the oatcakes, get the bacon on in a separate pan. No oil needed, just lay the rashers in a cold pan and let the heat come up gradually. They'll render their own fat and crisp without curling. If you're doing eggs, fry them in the bacon fat once the rashers are done. There's no better fat for a fried egg. Have the grated cheese ready in a bowl.

5. 5

   Fill and fold

   Take a warm oatcake and lay it flat. Scatter a generous handful of cheese across one half, let the warmth of the oatcake start to soften it. Add a rasher or two of bacon, an egg if you're having one. Fold it in half, or roll it loosely. The cheese should be melting into the warm oatcake, going soft and stringy where it meets the hot bacon. Put it on a plate. Put the plate in front of someone. That's the whole point.

   If the oatcakes have cooled while you were dealing with the fillings, lay them back in the pan for thirty seconds to warm through before filling. A cold oatcake won't melt the cheese, and the cheese is non-negotiable.

Chef Tips

• •The batter improves with time. An hour is the minimum, but if you mix it the night before and leave it in the fridge, the flavour deepens and the oatcakes develop a subtle sourness that is very good indeed. Give it a stir and let it come to room temperature before cooking.
• •Use mature Cheddar, the kind that crumbles a bit when you grate it. Something with real bite. A mild Cheddar melts well enough but tastes of nothing in particular, and the filling needs character to stand up to the oatcake.
• •Leftover oatcakes keep well. Stack them between sheets of baking parchment and refrigerate for two days, or freeze for up to a month. Reheat in a dry pan for thirty seconds each side. They come back to life remarkably well.
• •If you want to go without the bacon, don't apologise for it. A Staffordshire oatcake with just melting cheese and a grind of black pepper is a quietly splendid thing. Mushrooms fried in butter with a little thyme make a fine filling too.

Advance Preparation

• •The batter can be made up to twelve hours ahead and refrigerated. It develops a more complex, slightly tangy flavour overnight. Stir well and allow to come to room temperature before cooking.
• •Cooked oatcakes can be stacked between parchment and frozen for up to a month. Reheat from frozen in a dry pan.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 150g)