Scottish Oatcakes--Traditional Oatcake Recipe

Scottish oatcakes are a favorite in our family. They are wonderful served fresh from the oven with butter and hot syrup. Oatcakes make a great lunch item or can be enjoyed cold, served along with afternoon tea.

Tired of the same-old, same-old for breakfast? When you are looking for something a little different, why not serve up a batch of oatcakes?

Warm oatcakes, slathered with butter and served with hot syrup are satisfying and filling. What a way to put "hearty" back into breakfast! Serving oatcakes is a good idea if you are trying to make oats a part of your diet.

While they are delicious eaten warm, oatcakes can also be served cold. You can make them thick so they are soft and wholesome or roll them thin so that they are slightly crispy and flavor them with maple flavoring, but however you serve them, Scottish oatcakes are a welcome addition to the menu.

Before we get to the recipe, though, let's learn a little more about Scottish Oatcakes.

Historical Look at Scottish Oatcakes

While not as common in North America, oatcakes have for centuries been considered Scotland's national bread. They can be served in different ways but one of the main ingredients is, of course, oats. The oatcakes were and are usually prepared either on a griddle or baked in the oven. Much depends on preference. Oatcakes could be round and sliced into pie-shaped pieces as shown below or, as I've done and shown in the photos in this Hub, oatcakes can be cooked in a rectangular pan and sliced into squares.

Why Scotland and why oatcakes? Oats were one of the few grain crops that grew well in Scotland, so it is not surprising that oats formed the mainstay of many traditional Scottish dishes and became part of the diet. In a country that loves its oatmeal, it is not surprising that the enterprising Scots came up with ways to incorporate oats into their daily diet.

How Were Oatcakes Served?

Oatcakes were a staple food and were traditionally eaten with every meal, much like we in the Americas ate bread as our staple food. Oatcakes delivered carbohydrates and were eaten with soup or served with meat or fish.

Whether served for dinner or for lunch, they make a good breakfast food and in modern times are eaten as such. It is said that Queen Elizabeth eats oatcakes for her breakfast.

Scottish immigrants to the New World brought their recipes for their beloved oatcakes with them and thus introduced this food to others. Canadians and Americans have benefited from this exchange.

Oatcakes are still enjoyed today either as a round cake with butter (more like a bread) or eaten as a sweet tea wafer, depending on the recipe.

This recipe makes a good-sized batch of Scottish oatcakes.

• 5 cups of oatmeal
• 1 cup of flour
• 1/2-1 cup brown sugar (depending on your sweet tooth)
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2-1 cup butter or lard (use smaller amount for a fat-reduced diet)
• 1/2-1 cup water

Stir first 6 ingredients until crumbly.

Sprinkle water over and work mixture with hands until a ball forms.

Press into a buttered cake pan until mixture is 1/2-1" thick. bake in a 325 degree oven until golden brown. Slice into generous-sized rectangles.

Hot Syrup:

• 2 cups brown sugar

• 1 cup water

• 1/4 tsp. maple flavoring

Boil 5 minutes, add 2 tbsp. butter and 1/2-1 capfull vanilla.

Remove oatcakes from oven and spread with butter. Pour hot syrup over.

Maple flavored oatcakes are a perfect accompaniment to tea!

1. Prepare oat cake recipe and add 1-2 capfuls of maple flavoring
2. Roll out very thin on a buttered cookie sheet
3. These will bake up crispy
4. (Optional: add chopped walnuts)

Spread with butter and serve with coffee or tea.

Serving Suggestion for Oatcakes:

• If you have to pack a lunch, wrap thick slices of Scottish oatcakes and pack in with a thermos of hot tea.
• Oatcakes are especially nice served this way if you have to travel in the car.
• Scottish oatcakes make a good picnic item.

• The Low Cholesterol Oat Plan: 300 Delicious and Innovative Recipes for the New Miracle Food
• Oat Cuisine: Over 200 Delicious Recipes to Lower Your Cholesterol Level
• Homegrown Whole Grains: Grow Harvest and Cook Wheat, Barley, Oats, Rice, Corn and More
• The Oat and Wheat Bran Health Plan: the Delicious Way to Lower Cholesterol
• The Scotch and Their Oats
• The Oat Bran Baking Book
• The The Oat Bran Guide
• The Tale of Oat Cake Crag
• The Oats, Peas, Beans and Barley Cookbook

Whether you like your oatcakes thick and hearty or crispy and thin, whether served hot with warm syrup poured over top or sampled cold with butter or jam, Scottish oatcakes stick to the ribs and taste good anytime.