nanrobbo   12 #1 Posted August 8, 2005 Does anyone remember the Oatcakes o' pikelets man that used to come around the estates? Anyway he came round Shirecliffe Estate. I have mastered Eccles cakes- Pork pies- Great Yorkshire puddings but I cannot seem to get the knack of oatcakes- cannot even find a recipe for 'em. Anyone can help? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
deecee   10 #2 Posted August 8, 2005 This is courtesy of google http://www.geocities.com/NapaValley/2333/ hope it helps Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
Internetowl   10 #3 Posted August 8, 2005 You can buy oatcakes from the bakers in the Castle Market - bottom of the ramp - 42p a pack not worth trying to make them at that price... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
janjan21   10 #4 Posted August 8, 2005 Yummy Yummy i bought oatcakes today in Chesterfield you can seem to buy them more in Derbyshire Bakewell etc i have add the ones from castle market and also Kings Dixon lane but but they are rather small. Mine are the LARGE ones £1 for 5 and taist just like the man used to sell years ago on his bike. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
RoyalRegular   10 #5 Posted August 8, 2005 Originally posted by nanrobbo Does anyone remember the Oatcakes o' pikelets man that used to come around the estates?  Would that be Mr Dawson who lived on the corner of Lofthouse and Beulah Road?  He used to go out selling his oatcakes from a pushbike with a basket on the front. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
PopT   10 #6 Posted August 9, 2005 DeeCee  The website may make good reading to the folks in Stafford concerning Oatcakes but they are much older than that.  see below  HAVERCAKES (Oatcakes)    In this part of the world one of our traditional foods is Oatcakes which we usually toast and apply liberally with best butter and they are magic. They are a sort of pancake made from Oats. In the old days these were called Havercakes and in the remoter parts of North Yorkshire they are still called that. ‘Haver’ being the Norse for Oats. Mind you some of the older farmers still count their sheep, counting in the old Norse (Viking) up in those parts. The way they count is in a rythmic way using the Norse numbers in a musical rhyming way, which is an easy way to remember.  The way the Havercakes used to be made was to mix Oats with water and milk in a bowl and leave to ferment overnight. The next day this mixture was stirred until it became a kind of mortar consistency and then was poured out onto a Baxter board until it formed a round pancake about the size of a dinner plate.  The Baxter board was a piece of flat board criss-crossed with grooves cut equi-distant in a square pattern, these grooves encouraged the mixture to spread evenly and yet not to run all over the place. The thin mixture would set into a flat round shape and then it was transferred to a large thin flat mud stone that was placed over a peat fire. The Havercake would bake in a matter of minutes on this stone. Of course today these cakes are made on a cast iron griddle on the gas or electric cooker.  If the cakes were to be eaten for breakfast they would be served up by rolling them into tubes with a heavy fruit jam filling, such as Rhubarb, Quince or Plum jam.. If the Haver cakes were to be stored they would be suspended over a length of pole near the fire and allowed to dry until they were hard, they say these cakes lasted for ever once they dried out. When required the half moon shaped folded cakes would be placed in canvas bags to be eaten later in the fields or at work etc. these bags became known as Haversacks.  The old Duke of Wellington's Regiment in Yorkshire were known as the 'Havercake Boys' as these cakes formed a major part of their rations. On recruitment days the recruiting Sergeants would tour the inns with a Havercake pierced on the end of his sword held in place with a ribbon of the regimental colours. To take up a soldier's life with this regiment was a real case of 'Having your cake and Eating it'!!!   Happy Days! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
owdlad   10 #7 Posted August 9, 2005 Originally posted by Internetowl You can buy oatcakes from the bakers in the Castle Market - bottom of the ramp - 42p a pack not worth trying to make them at that price...  I think the air fare from Australia (that big island on't other side of the lump) would make nanrobbo's oatcakes a tad expensive......and old before she got em home Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
nanrobbo   12 #8 Posted August 10, 2005 You are right owdlad it would be quite a long trip but worth it. Altho' we were over in Woodhouse about 8 yrs ago and the local shops didn't sell 'em. We hogged out on potted meat- pork dripping - pork pie etc all the goodies we missed. Thanks all for your input- still like a recipe. Regards all. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
nanrobbo   12 #9 Posted August 10, 2005 Oh dear sorry deecee, having tried the web site you mentioned - there was the recipe. Put it down to reading messages too fast. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
deecee   10 #10 Posted August 10, 2005 Originally posted by nanrobbo Oh dear sorry deecee, having tried the web site you mentioned - there was the recipe. Put it down to reading messages too fast.  you're welcome nanrobbo, hope you like them deecee  Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
oldpomona   10 #11 Posted August 18, 2005 Middlewood Road 1960s an old guy called Moule ?? well over 70 lit his baking oven at 4 a.m. every morning and baked the finest oatcakes on this earth. I never could persuade him to part with the recipe but his shop was always my first calling spot. Oh how I could manage a proper oat cake here in N.Z right now. I have managed to import some Hendos though. O.P. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
RoyalRegular   10 #12 Posted August 19, 2005 An old Dungworth recipe for Oatcakes.......  6 Heaped tablespoons fine oatmeal 3 heaped tablespoons plain flour 2 teaspoons salt 1/2 pint water 1/2 pint milk 1oz yeast  Mix dry ingredients. Warm milk and water. Mix in dry ingredients. Sprinkle yeast over the top. Leave to stand for 20 minutes. Cook in greased frying pan each side.    And the best of luck! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...