The Staffordshire Oatcake: A History
by Pamela Sambrook
Buy on AmazonIf made with yeast or sourdough starter, and without additives, absolutely, yes. The ‘Tunstall tortilla,’ as it’s sometimes known, is a traditional flatbread of Britain. I’d love to see more of them being made, instead of vacuum-packed tortillas laced with all sorts of preservatives and other additives that you find on supermarket shelves. It’s delicious and very healthy. Staffordshire oatcakes are made using oatmeal, typically mixed with some flour, often wholemeal flour, and then either water or milk. It was originally leavened/raised with yeast in some form or other, be that a live starter culture/sourdough starter or balm from brewing or baker’s yeast. You make a thick batter of it, let it ferment and bubble up and then you spread it on a griddle or a baxton (a bakestone) and you make a pancake that’s roughly eight to nine inches across. Then you can eat it with anything or fill it with anything. I’m an evangelist for oatcakes. They’re from my home county, which is probably why I love them so much, because I’ve got fond childhood memories. Before you could buy them in supermarkets, anytime my dad happened to be in north Staffordshire, he’d bring some home for me. These days it’s just with butter, but as a kid I would wrap them up with bacon and eggs or put a sausage inside or I’d have them with jam and cream. You can use them in the same way you’d use a crumpet or the same way you use a tortilla or lavash for something savoury.