Stottie cakes

A Stottie cake or Stotty is a large, round, dense white loaf that was traditionally about 30 cm (12 inches) in diameter and baked on both the top and bottom sides. It is a working-class staple, particularly in Newcastle as my friend Emma noted. She never encountered them until she moved to Newcastle in the 1980s.

The first published reference to a Stottie cake dates from the Daily Mirror of 9 December 1949. The article notes that there is no recipe and, ‘To make it you simply