Drop Bannocks (Scottish Pancakes)
(The following proportions will serve about four people.)
1 1/2 cups old fashioned rolled oats or Scottish porridge oats
2 cups wholemilk buttermilk (”Bulgarian style”), or whole sweet milk soured with the juice of a
lemon
1 tablespoon golden syrup*
1 level teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
2 eggs, beaten
2 tablespoons oil
Preheat lightly greased electric griddle (or as the Scots say, girdle) to 350 degrees. (Or heat a lightly greased skillet on the stove to medium heat.) Heat milk to lukewarm and add beaten eggs. Stir in oats, golden syrup, and oil and let stand for 30 minutes to soften oats. Combine dry ingredients and stir into the oat mixture until blended. Spoon onto griddle. Brown first side and then flip once only. Remove from griddle when golden brown.
To serve, sprinkle lemon juice and sugar on bannocks, or serve with butter and jam, golden syrup or maple syrup, or warm applesauce.
Variation: If you use quick oats (not instant oatmeal) instead of the old-fashioned (rolled) oats or the Scottish porridge oats, you can cut the time the oats have to soak in the buttermilk from 30 minutes to only 5 minutes. But, you sacrifice the texture. You make the call.
*Golden Syrup is readily available in the UK but not in the US. If you are in the Southern US, a table syrup (such as Yellow Label, Golden Eagle, or Blackburn-Made) is a reasonable substitute. Southern table syrup is also delicious as a topping for these bannocks, but our favorite way to eat them is with the lemon juice and sugar.
2 responses so far ↓
1 Know Tea - This is what I have to say. » Concerning Mardi Gras // Feb 21, 2006 at 21:56
[...] 1) Yes, Mardi Gras is a big deal in New Orleans and Mobile, but it’s also a big deal in South Mississippi and many other places too. Furthermore, whether you call it Mardi Gras, Carnaval, Shrove Tuesday, Bannock Night, Fasching, or one of the many other names by which it is known, the day is celebrated by millions of people the world over. [...]
2 Know Tea - This is what I have to say. » The Walmark Effect // Feb 27, 2006 at 12:41
[...] We have been looking for an electric griddle for some time (or as they say in Scotland, a girdle). Several months ago, we looked at a Wal-Mart to get an idea of brands and prices. (It was a Wal-Mart and not a Walmark because it was in a place that had several nearby Target stores and large grocery chains, thus real competition. Competition in a market tends to keep Wal-Mart stores from becoming Walmarks.) We looked at many different brands with many different features. So the other day, with Bannock Night fast approaching, we began to look in earnest for a girdle on which we could cook lots and lots o’ bannocks, not just for us but for the whole church. During the aforementioned trip in which we had to buy the brand and size of dog food that Walmark forced us to buy because we’re cattle, Buster and I steered our excessively bumpy cart (oh yeah, at Walmark all the carts have bad wheels) down the small appliance aisle, assuming we’d find the same selection we found several months ago. After all, this may be a Walmark, but it is a Super Walmark, right? [...]
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