Hebridean Barley Bannocks

Name: Hebridean Barley Bannocks
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Scottish
Ingredients: 200 g barley meal; 100 g Plain flour; 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda; 1 tsp Cream of tartar; 0.5 tsp Fine sea salt; 30 g Unsalted butter; 200 ml Buttermilk; 2 tbsp extra barley meal

Dense, nutty, and traditional Scottish flatbreads made with rustic barley meal, quickly cooked on a hot girdle and served warm with salted butter.

🇬🇧United Kingdom· Hebrides and the Western Isles

Prep: 15 min
Cook: 20 min
Total: 35 min
Servings: 4
Difficulty: Easy
Calories: 260 kcal

Ingredients

0 of 8 gathered

Servings

200 g barley meal — or bere meal
100 g Plain flour — plus extra for dusting
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda — level spoon
1 tsp Cream of tartar — level spoon
½ tsp Fine sea salt — to taste
30 g Unsalted butter — chilled and cubed
200 ml Buttermilk — or whole milk soured with 1 tsp lemon juice
2 tbsp extra barley meal — for dusting the board and pan

Equipment

•heavy girdle (a flat, heavy griddle pan) or cast-iron frying pan
•large mixing bowl
•sieve
•rolling pin
•palette knife
•clean tea towel

Nutrition

Per serving, approximate

Calories: 260 kcal
fat: 7 g
carbs: 44 g
fibre: 5 g
protein: 6 g
calories: 260 kcal

Instructions

1
Place a heavy girdle over medium-low heat to warm through slowly.
2
Sift the barley meal, plain flour, bicarbonate of soda, cream of tartar, and salt into a large bowl.
3
Rub the chilled butter into the dry ingredients using your fingertips until fine crumbs form.
4
Pour in three-quarters of the buttermilk and stir quickly with a round-bladed knife.
5
Add the remaining buttermilk gradually to bring the mixture together into a soft, slightly sticky dough.
6
Turn the dough out onto a work surface well dusted with extra barley meal.
7
Gently pat the dough into a flat, neat circle about 1.5 cm thick without kneading.
8
Cut the round into four equal triangular wedges, known as farls.
9
Dust the hot, dry girdle lightly with a pinch of barley meal.
10
Cook the farls over medium-low heat for 8 to 10 minutes until the undersides are golden brown.
11
Turn carefully with a palette knife and cook the other side for another 8 to 10 minutes.
12
Wrap the cooked bannocks in a clean tea towel to keep the crusts tender while cooling.

Chef's tips

Barley meal contains very little gluten, so handle the dough as gently and minimally as possible to avoid heavy bannocks. Keep the heat on the girdle moderate; if the pan is too hot, the outside will scorch before the dense middle cooks through.

Ingredient substitutions

barley meal → bere meal (traditional Orkney landrace barley) or fine wholemeal flour
buttermilk → whole milk mixed with 1 teaspoon of lemon juice or plain natural yoghurt thinned with milk

Storage

Store completely cooled bannocks in an airtight tin or bread bin for up to 2 days.

Reheating

Toast lightly under a hot grill or in a dry frying pan for 2 minutes on each side until warm.

Common mistakes to avoid

•Overworking or kneading the dough, which makes the barley bannocks tough and heavy.
•Cooking over high heat, which chars the crust while leaving the center raw and doughy.
•Letting the wet dough sit before cooking, which exhausts the leavening power of the bicarbonate.

Serving suggestions

Serve warm split open and spread thickly with salted Scottish butter and heather honey.Eat alongside a bowl of hot mutton broth or cullen skink.Top with mature Scottish cheddar cheese for a savoury island lunch.