Scottish Bannocks

Name: Scottish Bannocks
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Scottish
Ingredients: 150 g fine oatmeal; 150 g Plain flour; 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda; 0.5 tsp Cream of tartar; 0.5 tsp Fine sea salt; 30 g Unsalted butter; 200 ml Buttermilk; 20 g medium oatmeal

Hearty Scottish griddle bread made with oatmeal and buttermilk, cooked on a hot girdle until golden, crisp on the outside, and tender within.

🇬🇧United Kingdom· Highlands

Prep: 15 min
Cook: 15 min
Total: 30 min
Servings: 4
Difficulty: Easy
Calories: 260 kcal

Ingredients

0 of 8 gathered

Servings

150 g fine oatmeal — Scottish fine ground oats
150 g Plain flour — plus extra for dusting
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda — level spoon
½ tsp Cream of tartar — for leavening
½ tsp Fine sea salt — fine grain
30 g Unsalted butter — chilled and diced
200 ml Buttermilk — or whole milk soured with lemon juice
20 g medium oatmeal — for dusting the worktop

Equipment

•Girdle (or heavy-based frying pan)
•Mixing bowl
•Sieve
•Palette knife
•Pastry brush

Nutrition

Per serving, approximate

Calories: 260 kcal
fat: 9 g
carbs: 38 g
fibre: 3 g
protein: 6 g
calories: 260 kcal

Instructions

1
Heat a heavy girdle (a flat, heavy griddle pan) over a medium-low hob heat.
2
Sift the plain flour, bicarbonate of soda, cream of tartar, and salt into a large bowl.
3
Add the fine oatmeal and stir the dry ingredients until evenly blended.
4
Rub the chilled butter into the flour using fingertips until it looks like fine breadcrumbs.
5
Pour the buttermilk into the centre of the dry mixture.
6
Mix swiftly with a palette knife to create a soft, slightly sticky dough.
7
Dust a clean worktop generously with the medium oatmeal.
8
Turn out the dough and gently press it into a round roughly 1.5 cm thick.
9
Cut the dough circle into four equal triangular farls (quarter wedges).
10
Dust the hot girdle with a pinch of oatmeal to test the heat.
11
Place the farls on the dry girdle and cook for 7 minutes until risen.
12
Turn each farl carefully and cook for another 6 minutes until cooked through.

Chef's tips

Handle the dough very lightly, as overworking it results in a dense and tough bannock. Test the heat of your dry girdle with a dusting of oatmeal; if the meal browns in one minute without burning, the temperature is right. Wrap hot cooked farls in a clean tea towel to keep the crust soft while cooling.

Ingredient substitutions

plain flour → beremeal (traditional Scottish barley flour) for authentic Highland Bere Bannocks
buttermilk → 200 ml whole milk mixed with 1 tsp fresh lemon juice, rested for 5 minutes
unsalted butter → traditional beef dripping or lard

Storage

Keep cooled bannocks in an airtight tin at room temperature for up to two days.

Reheating

Warm gently under a moderate grill or in a dry frying pan for two minutes per side.

Common mistakes to avoid

•Overheating the girdle, which chars the exterior while leaving the centre sticky and raw.
•Kneading the dough like bread rather than lightly pressing it together.
•Greasing the girdle with fat, which fries rather than dry-bakes the farls.

Serving suggestions

Split open warm and spread thickly with salted Scottish butter and heather honey.Serve alongside a hot bowl of Cullen skink or Highland broth.Top with sharp mature Scottish cheddar and a spoonful of rowan jelly.