Oatcakes by MollyDunlop

Here is the oatcake recipe I use. It's from Dan Lepard's book The Art of Handmade Bread, which you must all go out and buy now, to make up for my stealing his recipe.

Oatcakes

1.5 cups (250 g) fine oatmeal
1/2 tsp fine sea salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1.25 tbsp (20 g) unsalted butter or lard
6 tbsp (100 g) water at room temperature
additional oatmeal for rolling

In a bowl, combine the oatmeal, salt and baking soda then rub in the butter until all the lumps disappear. Add the water and mix to a soft dough.

Sprinkle a little oatmeal on the work surface, place the dough on top, and sprinkle more oatmeal over the dough. Use the heel of your hand to flatten the dough, then sprinkle again, over and under, with oatmeal. Roll it out to a scant 1/4" thickness. You may need to run a spatula under the dough to make user it doesn't stick. Cut out disks with a 3" cutter, and place on a baking sheet that has been sprinkled with oatmeal. You can rework this dough without destroying the structure, so re-roll it as needed to get as many cakes as you can.

Bake at 400 F (200 C) for 30-40 minutes, until crisp and beginning to brown at the edges. Cool on a rack, then store in an airtight tin.

You don't so much bake oatcakes as dry them; the oven will fill with steam as they cook. It is almost impossible to screw them up unless you actually burn them. They're excellent with butter and a sharpish berry jam or good marmalade, and very good with cheese or smoked fish.