Oatcakes

An oatcake may take a number of different forms. It can be an oven-baked, manufactured biscuit containing a proportion of wheat flour. Or it can be a girdle-baked version, containing no flour, which takes on a life of its own as a thin curling triangle as it dries out. A hybrid of this is the toasted oatcake, which has not only been dried-out on a girdle, but also gently toasted before a live fire, or other source of heat, to sharpen up the oatmeal flavour and increase crispness. They are rarely found for sale commercially, though farmer’s wives who bake for rural shows and Highland games sometimes produce a batch for sale. Wafer-thin, girdle-curled, dusky-coloured, crunchy-textured, nutty-flavoured — they are a distinctive product of the home-baker’s art. A method which requires both skill and care, which accounts for their rarity.