BANNOCK BREAD
A bannock is a traditional Scottish bread, made from simple ingredients and cooked on a girdle.
They are lovely served warm for breakfast, with soup at lunch time, or at any time of day with butter and jam.
You will need:
350g oat flour
330ml buttermilk
75g plain flour
1 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp salt
If you are unable to find oat flour or want to make your own, simply blitz porridge oats in a blender until they reach a flour-like consistency.
How to make:
Add the plain flour, oat flour, salt and cream of tartar to a large bowl and mix to combine.
Pour the buttermilk into a measuring jug and stir in the bicarbonate of soda until it becomes frothy.
Add into the bowl of dry ingredients and mix with a wooden spoon or by hand until it becomes a soft dough.
Tip the dough onto a worktop lightly dusted with flour and divide the dough into two equal pieces. Then roughly shape each piece into a ball and flatten to approximately 1cm thick either by pressing down with your hands or rolling it with a rolling pin.
Take each round and cut each round into four quarters, known as farls.
Place a girdle (or frying pan/skillet) on a medium heat and when it is hot, add a little butter or oil and grease with a paper towel.
Take the quarters and place together in the hot girdle using a spatula or palette knife. They will bake together as a batch but then you can easily tear them apart when ready.
Allow the batch to cook for 4 – 6 minutes and then flip the whole thing over, and cook for another 4 – 6 minutes.
Place a clean tea towel on top of a wire rack near the girdle and lift the bannocks onto it, wrapping them to keep warm.
Enjoy! They are best eaten on the day that they are made.