Iron Age Chef: Battle Oatcake!
Aug. 12th, 2007 10:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lwoodWe just had the release party for Ravens of Avalon, for which I brought:
Yes, oatcakes, one of that fine family of flat crackery breads that are variants on a several-millenia-old theme that one can turn vaguely-ground grain into food with a bit of fat, a bit of water, a bit of grain, and a hot surface of any sort. If it were made outta maize, it woulda been a johnnycake. Oatcakes feature in a couple scenes of RoA, so I thought it would be fun to work out how to make them.
Primitive cookery, like any primitive skill, Ain't for Sissies. I did my research, found a few promising recipes, and set to hack something together therefrom.
First, gentles, understand that any oatmeal of which we speak here is emphatically not the rolled flat ovals of proto-papier-mâche sold under the hat of the jolly Quaker. No, we're starting with steel-cut oatmeal, aka Irish oats, which is what happens when the whole groats are broken up a bit with steel cutters. For more information, I refer you to the appropriate episode of Good Eats. Anyway, imagine something more like fine gravel or coarse sand than fake snow.
Several recipes suggested that wheat flour be employed, as much as 1:1, with the oatmeal. I wanted to avoid this as much as possible, especially as all-oat examples existed.
Fat was involved, either as butter, bacon grease, or equal parts butter and bacon grease. I decided to experiment with butter until I hit on a working recipe, reserving the bacon grease until I knew what I was doing. If kicking it back vegan (or, hey, Romano-Celt) style, one might substitute olive oil without difficulty.
It took me several batches to realise that just throwing medium-grind steel-cut oats into it just wouldn't hold together. I sniffled my pride, and tried to find my wheat flour, wondering if gluten might help...except I had no whole wheat flour to hand, and only a scant handful of white!
But I did have bulgur--would passing it through the coffee mill help things hold together?
...well, no, not particularly.
I went back to the three sample recipes tossed up by the Wikipedia entry on oatcakes. Boiling water helped coax goop from the grains faster, but one other thing came up that made it all hang together:
At least one recipe asked for fine oatmeal. I had noted this, but hadn't paid much attention. What if I ran the oats through the coffee mill?
Success! I didn't have to pulverize all the way to flour, but I neither could nor wanted to: a coffee grinder isn't a grain mill, and a fairly random texture is what you're getting out of primitive mills and querns in any case. Still, every grain had been cut down, and rather a few pulverized, which meant that there was enough oat flour around to bind up the bigger bits.
The oatcakes now held together.
Time to get to work in earnest.
And here's the completed recipe:
Oatcakes
by Lorrie Wood
Makes 6 3" diameter x 1/4" height cakes (75 x 5 mm)
Hardware:
one baking sheet
parchment paper to cover baking sheet
pancake turner
rolling pin
coffee grinder
board for rolling
mixing bowl
small bowl
spoon
cooling rack
biscuit cutter, or a tuna or similar can with both ends removed
Software:
Method:
Preheat oven to 375° F/190 ° C/Gas mark 5 and line the baking sheet with the parchment paper. Alternately, you may cook in a cast-iron skillet, but I didn't personally test that so it's not explained here in detail.
Working in three rough batches, pulse the 4 ounces/115 g oats in a coffee grinder until consistency resembles fine sand with some powder then place in mixing bowl. Grind the extra oats for a bit longer, until a more floury texture is achieved, and set aside in another small bowl. Add baking soda and salt, stir to combine. Add fat and stir again: mixture should darken and clump slightly. Mix in the boiling water. Once combined, allow mixture to rest and thicken until cool enough to work.
Scatter some of the reserved oats onto the cutting board, the rolling pin, and your hands. Working with a rough handful, pat the dough out with your hands, then roll to roughly 1/4" (5 mm) thickness with the pin. Sprinkle dough with some of the reserved oats if it is too moist. Firmly press the cutter into the dough as many times as it will fit, and remove the rounds to the paper-lined sheet pan with the pancake turner. Repeat using all remaining dough, re-rolling all leftover dough bits. The oatcakes will not rise, so they can be put quite close together.
Bake the oatcakes at 375/190/5 for 15 minutes (the oatcakes will not brown) and remove to rack to cool. Yes, they will look like Styrofoam; this is a feature. They taste better than Styrofoam, and are better for you than the average storebought saltine.
May be eaten hot or cold, with savory or sweet toppings, as any cracker.
Enjoy!
-- Lorrie
- 1 lb of skirt steak, cut as for fajitas, served raw with a bowl of kosher salt. What? It's Ravens of Avalon, one needs Raven Chow--served on ice.
- Oatcakes.
Yes, oatcakes, one of that fine family of flat crackery breads that are variants on a several-millenia-old theme that one can turn vaguely-ground grain into food with a bit of fat, a bit of water, a bit of grain, and a hot surface of any sort. If it were made outta maize, it woulda been a johnnycake. Oatcakes feature in a couple scenes of RoA, so I thought it would be fun to work out how to make them.
Primitive cookery, like any primitive skill, Ain't for Sissies. I did my research, found a few promising recipes, and set to hack something together therefrom.
First, gentles, understand that any oatmeal of which we speak here is emphatically not the rolled flat ovals of proto-papier-mâche sold under the hat of the jolly Quaker. No, we're starting with steel-cut oatmeal, aka Irish oats, which is what happens when the whole groats are broken up a bit with steel cutters. For more information, I refer you to the appropriate episode of Good Eats. Anyway, imagine something more like fine gravel or coarse sand than fake snow.
Several recipes suggested that wheat flour be employed, as much as 1:1, with the oatmeal. I wanted to avoid this as much as possible, especially as all-oat examples existed.
Fat was involved, either as butter, bacon grease, or equal parts butter and bacon grease. I decided to experiment with butter until I hit on a working recipe, reserving the bacon grease until I knew what I was doing. If kicking it back vegan (or, hey, Romano-Celt) style, one might substitute olive oil without difficulty.
It took me several batches to realise that just throwing medium-grind steel-cut oats into it just wouldn't hold together. I sniffled my pride, and tried to find my wheat flour, wondering if gluten might help...except I had no whole wheat flour to hand, and only a scant handful of white!
But I did have bulgur--would passing it through the coffee mill help things hold together?
...well, no, not particularly.
I went back to the three sample recipes tossed up by the Wikipedia entry on oatcakes. Boiling water helped coax goop from the grains faster, but one other thing came up that made it all hang together:
At least one recipe asked for fine oatmeal. I had noted this, but hadn't paid much attention. What if I ran the oats through the coffee mill?
Success! I didn't have to pulverize all the way to flour, but I neither could nor wanted to: a coffee grinder isn't a grain mill, and a fairly random texture is what you're getting out of primitive mills and querns in any case. Still, every grain had been cut down, and rather a few pulverized, which meant that there was enough oat flour around to bind up the bigger bits.
The oatcakes now held together.
Time to get to work in earnest.
And here's the completed recipe:
Oatcakes
by Lorrie Wood
Makes 6 3" diameter x 1/4" height cakes (75 x 5 mm)
Hardware:
one baking sheet
parchment paper to cover baking sheet
pancake turner
rolling pin
coffee grinder
board for rolling
mixing bowl
small bowl
spoon
cooling rack
biscuit cutter, or a tuna or similar can with both ends removed
Software:
| 4 oz (115 g) | steel-cut oats + some for rolling |
| 1/2 tsp (2.5 mL) | baking soda (bicarbonate of soda) |
| pinch | kosher salt |
| 1 Tbsp (15 mL) | fat (bacon grease, butter, oil, etc) |
| 5 Tbsp (75 mL) | boiling water |
Method:
Preheat oven to 375° F/190 ° C/Gas mark 5 and line the baking sheet with the parchment paper. Alternately, you may cook in a cast-iron skillet, but I didn't personally test that so it's not explained here in detail.
Working in three rough batches, pulse the 4 ounces/115 g oats in a coffee grinder until consistency resembles fine sand with some powder then place in mixing bowl. Grind the extra oats for a bit longer, until a more floury texture is achieved, and set aside in another small bowl. Add baking soda and salt, stir to combine. Add fat and stir again: mixture should darken and clump slightly. Mix in the boiling water. Once combined, allow mixture to rest and thicken until cool enough to work.
Scatter some of the reserved oats onto the cutting board, the rolling pin, and your hands. Working with a rough handful, pat the dough out with your hands, then roll to roughly 1/4" (5 mm) thickness with the pin. Sprinkle dough with some of the reserved oats if it is too moist. Firmly press the cutter into the dough as many times as it will fit, and remove the rounds to the paper-lined sheet pan with the pancake turner. Repeat using all remaining dough, re-rolling all leftover dough bits. The oatcakes will not rise, so they can be put quite close together.
Bake the oatcakes at 375/190/5 for 15 minutes (the oatcakes will not brown) and remove to rack to cool. Yes, they will look like Styrofoam; this is a feature. They taste better than Styrofoam, and are better for you than the average storebought saltine.
May be eaten hot or cold, with savory or sweet toppings, as any cracker.
Enjoy!
-- Lorrie
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no subject
Date: 2007-08-13 12:55 pm (UTC)I've never tried making oatcakes with steel cut oats before, hmm. I usually used rolled oats for baking, and save the steel cut ones for porridge.
no subject
Date: 2007-08-13 06:47 pm (UTC)Not at all if one cuts across the grain: this makes the muscle fibers short and easy to handle. Now, you will chew a bit (I mean, hello, it's still raw meat), but not overlong.
I've never tried making oatcakes with steel cut oats before, hmm. I usually used rolled oats for baking, and save the steel cut ones for porridge.
Over and above my usual aversion to rolled (let alone instant!) oats, I was aiming for as authentic a texture as could be managed within time and budget constraints (e.g., no, not getting a quern, thanks): giant steel rollers weren't in it.
-- Lorrie
no subject
Date: 2007-08-14 01:59 am (UTC)But in my home, rolled oats become oatmeal cookies and granola.
Steel cut oats become oatmeal, probably with butter on top, mmmmmm.
no subject
Date: 2007-08-14 04:22 pm (UTC)-- Lorrie
A perfect opportunity to use this icon
Date: 2007-08-13 02:21 pm (UTC)Re: A perfect opportunity to use this icon
Date: 2007-08-13 06:51 pm (UTC)You will find some continuity hiccups, which one may alternately blame on:
Diana and I hope you enjoy it; please let us know what you think--letting Amazon and B&N know what you think would also be nice. 8-)
-- Lorrie
no subject
Date: 2007-08-13 04:04 pm (UTC)You bring the haggis, Angus,
I'll bring the oatmeal bannocks,
We'll have a Scottish picnic,
Won't it be grand?
(long as you're payin'). . . .
no subject
Date: 2007-08-13 06:52 pm (UTC)-- Lorrie