Shetland Bannocks
Warm, fluffy Shetland bannocks cooked on a dry girdle with buttermilk and soda. Serve freshly split and spread thickly with melting salted butter.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 15 min
- Total
- 30 min
- Servings
- 4
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Calories
- 340 kcal
Equipment
- •Girdle (a flat, heavy griddle pan) or heavy cast-iron frying pan
- •Large mixing bowl
- •Sifter
- •Wooden spoon
- •Fish slice or metal spatula
- •Clean tea towel
Nutrition
Per serving, approximate
- Calories
- 340 kcal
- fat
- 10 g
- carbs
- 56 g
- fibre
- 3 g
- protein
- 8 g
- calories
- 340 kcal
Instructions
- 1
Place a girdle (a flat, heavy griddle pan) or heavy cast-iron frying pan over low-medium heat on the hob.
- 2
Sift the plain flour, self-raising flour, bicarbonate of soda, cream of tartar, salt, and caster sugar into a large bowl.
- 3
Stir in the fine oatmeal until evenly distributed throughout the dry mixture.
- 4
Rub the chilled butter into the flour mixture with your fingertips until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.
- 5
Pour in the buttermilk and milk, stirring quickly with a wooden spoon to form a soft, sticky dough.
- 6
Turn the dough out onto a well-floured work surface and pat it together very gently without kneading.
- 7
Divide the dough into two equal portions and pat each into a round roughly two centimetres thick.
- 8
Cut each round into four triangular quarters, known as farls, using a floured knife.
- 9
Dust the hot, dry girdle lightly with flour and lay the bannocks on it in batches.
- 10
Cook for seven to eight minutes over moderate heat until well-risen and golden-brown underneath.
- 11
Flip the bannocks with a spatula and cook for another six to seven minutes until cooked through.
- 12
Transfer to a wire rack and wrap immediately in a clean tea towel to keep the crust soft.
Chef's tips
Handle the dough as lightly as possible to avoid a dense texture. Keep the hob heat moderate so the bannocks cook through to the centre before the exterior browns too deeply. Wrapping the warm bannocks in a clean tea towel traps the steam and ensures their signature tender crust.
Ingredient substitutions
- buttermilk → 230 ml whole milk mixed with 20 ml fresh lemon juice or white vinegar, rested for 10 minutes
- fine oatmeal → wholemeal flour or additional plain flour
Storage
Best eaten fresh on the day of baking, but leftovers can be wrapped in paper for up to one day.
Reheating
Split in half and warm gently in a toaster or on a dry hot girdle for two minutes.
Common mistakes to avoid
- •Kneading the dough too much, which develops gluten and results in tough bannocks.
- •Cooking on high heat, which chars the crust while leaving the interior raw and doughy.
- •Rolling the dough too thin, preventing the bannocks from achieving their traditional thick, fluffy rise.
Serving suggestions
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