stafffordshire oatcakes

[flaming]

Just did a long screed, waxing lyrical about these, which I sampled at a hot oatcake shop in the late 70s, at Hanley, near Stoke-on-Trent.  I was told it was local fare but the shops (they were like chippies) were becoming scarce.  Lo, there was a thread 25/11/04 - the only name I recognised was andy hughes.  I am glad to see all the news and that I can order some. Thanks.  I did try making some according to a recipe I got from a local-to-there newspaper, but they weren't a patch.  Maybe the shops 'came back' when people realised what they were losing?  The ones I brought home with me from the shop I treated as a breakfast dish, in place of fried bread. Truly a regional item and delicious too.  All this has made me hungry so I'll go and have potato farls, which were also mentioned on the thread.  I toast or fry those, by Rankin of Ireland.  They do nice soda bread too.

[Sammy Snake]

I come from Hanley and have to agree, oatcakes are yummy!!  Best served with 'breakfast' items such as bacon & cheese, sausage, tomatos etc.

I don't remember oatcake shops becoming 'scarce' although there are fewer of them.  Mainly because most of the decent ones were family businesses with recipes handed down through the centuries and tended to be in back street terraces which have been slowly demolished.

My local one is also under threat of demolition (along with my house) - see www.oatcakes.net .  The ones from Tesco are just not the same, although they are 'proper' North Staffs oatcakes, there is nothing like fresh ones cooked in front of your eyes in the local shop!

[flaming]

Sammy Snake: I recognise you as a poster from last year's thread.  I have put the 'order some oatcakes' info. into My Favourites. I am very sorry to learn about the demolition threat because any new development squeezes out by price/value those who were there previously.  I hope you get good compensation if the demolition/redevelopment occurs. 

andy hughes:  I see from the link 'the secret  ingredient' is wittheld - that's probably why mine were lacking.  I did notice in the shop there were eggs used as they were all standing in big piles ready for use. There is no mention of eggs in the recipe given.  There were also pikelets and some sort of sweet thing like a Scotch pancake, with dried fruit in them, on sale.

General info: In the days of BR the used to organise Merrymaker' trips as a way of filling their trains in the off-peak weekdays I guess.  For an incredibly low fare one could get a ticket to some interesting part of UK and that ticket included coach links to the place concerned.  The Stoke-on-Trent one included a visit to the bottle ovens/pottery museum with the coach stopping at the oatcakes shop on the way back to the station.  I loved those day outings as they put in reach getting to places one wouldn't go to otherwise .  I remember the Wedgewood factory outing and the Ironbridge gorge one.  Marvellous.