Stottie or Flat cake

How to make Stottie or Flat cakes, Northeast UK bread, at its very best. Easy step by step instructions from start to finish.

Ingredients

Method

  • 425g / 15oz White Bread Flour
  • 130ml Water (lukewarm 40°C / 104°F)
  • 130ml Milk (lukewarm 40°C / 104°F)
  • 6g / 1tsp Sugar
  • 8g / 1tsp Salt
  • 15g / 1tbls Any cooking Oil
  • 7g / 2tsp Dried Yeast (Instant or Active)
  • Add the sugar and yeast to the lukewarm water and milk, mix well and allow the yeast to activate for 10 minutes until it foams up.
  • Once activated, add the yeast mixture to the stand mixer bowl.
  • Add the oil, followed by the flour and salt.
  • Using the dough hook, knead the dough for 10 minutes.
  • For hand kneading, add the yeast mixture, flour, oil, and salt, to a bowl, roughly mix all these ingredients together, tip the contents of the bowl out onto your bench, bring it all together, then hand knead for 10 minutes.
  • Once done, form the now kneaded dough into a ball, get it a lightly oiled bowl, cover it, allow it to proof for 60 minutes, in a warm draft-free spot.
  • After the 60-minute proof, turn out the dough onto your work top, and knock it back, that simply means force all of the built-up gas out of it, then form it into a ball.
  • Divide the doughball into 2 equal pieces, form those into a balls then a flat disc shape.
  • Place them on a floured surface, cover with a light-weight dry cloth, and allow them to rest for 5 minutes.
  • Grease a large baking sheet with a little lard, butter or a solid vegetable fat.
  • Once rested, roll out your 2 dough balls into 2 9-inch circles, once rolled place them on the baking sheet.
  • Cover with a cloth, and let them proof for 30 minutes.
  • When there’s only 10 minutes left on the proof, preheat your oven to 170°C / 340°F / Gas mark 3.
  • Once proofed, an optional traditional step you can do, is poke a hole with your finger in the centre of each stottie, this will prevent them from rising as much.
  • Get them into the preheated oven and bake for 20 minutes.
  • Remove from the oven and allow to cool before slicing and serving.
  • Enjoy.

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