Bakewell – Local Produce – Derbyshire Oatcakes

Bakewell is justly famous for its delicious Bakewell puddings, but while you are drooling over the displays of these in the many bakers’ shops, keep an eye open for a visually less appealing, but equally traditional local product: The Derbyshire Oatcake.

Forget all notions of its crunchy Scottish cousin; this is more like a hot wrap – the sort of thing that has become so trendy of late in bistros, deli’s and M&S food counters – but it’s better for you, being made of at least 50% oatmeal, does not come with an M&S price tag and, best of all, seems to render what ever you stuff it with absolutely delicious.  Individual oatcakes are around 30 pence a throw, but most places will sell you a dozen for an equivalent of 25 pence each.  “What am I going to do with 12 oatcakes?” I hear you ask; well, if you’ve got a freezer, bung them in there, (put a sheet of cling film between each one so they are easy to prize apart again). 

Derbyshire oatcakes make a great, healthy, frozen standby.  They cook straight from solid in a matter of minutes and you really can wrap them around almost anything – very handy, for instance, if you have any saucy left-overs, such as last night’s curry and especially when you are trying to make something stretch.  All but the most faddy kids seem to like them too.

 

Whatever you are planning to do with them, the cooking method could not be more simple; put them under a medium grill for about four minutes, turning them until they are heated through and the surface is starting to lose its softness, but not to the point of crispness.  Perhaps, if you prefer, the surface that is to end up on the outside of the roll can be slightly crispy, while the inner surface is more like a hot sponge for the filling to ooze into.  Experiment!

The simplest dish of all is to grate some cheese onto one surface after the final turn and let it melt into the oatcake, pull it out and roll it up, et voila!  (You can sometimes buy these “Cheesey Oatcakes”  in local takeaway cafes or bakeries).  Or do the same and add some fried onions and mushrooms…or how about some spinach, peppers?…You get the idea.  If you are vegetarian, or vegan, they are an ideal basis for a meal and you’ll wonder how you ever did without them. 

Whatever your tastes, the biggest mystery, you will agree, is how they managed to die out from the diets of so many regions in the North of England, where oatcakes were once widespread – even in parts of Derbyshire they are more or less unheard of these days.  At this point, it should be said, that Staffordshire maintains a fine tradition of its own and there is a subtle difference between the two versions, which you can discover for yourselves.

If you visit the village of Longnor, right on the border between the two counties, you can buy oatcakes from both the general store and the post office – the former selling the Staffordshire version and the latter, being about 100 metres nearer to Derbyshire, the variety from that county.  (They also sell cheese from the Hartington factory just down the Dove Valley, the perfect local stuffing for your oatcake).

If you become a fan of the oatcake, you’ll start to wonder if such a simple-looking thing can be made at home from scratch.  The answer is, “Yes, but it is not quite as easy as you might imagine.”  It’s basically half fine oatmeal (not very easy to get hold of) and half plain flour with half an ounce of yeast; water; a little sugar and a pinch of salt.

The mixture is leavened for about half an hour before being poured onto a hot griddle.  Exact recipes vary, but can be found in small publications such as Ann Wall’s “Favourite Peak District Recipes”, available at many outlets in Bakewell and beyond.  If you like to have fun in the kitchen, have a go; otherwise, at 30 pence a shot, you might just want to leave it to the experts, who certainly know what they are doing.