Stotties are flat round buns of slightly dense and chewy bread, very popular in the North East.
I had never even heard of Stottie Cakes until I met my husband. But then again, I hadn't had pease pudding hot or pease pudding cold either. He is a Geordie, though you would scarcely know it these days. His accent only comes out when he gets together with his three brothers.
2lbs Strong Flour
3 teaspoons salt
3 oz fat
1 sachet quick action yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
half a pint tepid milk
half a pint tepid water
Mix the salt into the flour, rub in the fat. Stir in the sachet of yeast and the sugar. Make a hole in the centre of the flour and pour in the liquid. Draw it all together and knead until the mixture is smooth and elastic, approx 10 minutes.
Leave to rise until doubled in size, approximately 1-1.5 hours.
Gently knock back, then divide into the number of cakes you want to make. I made ten out of the dough, but next time I will make them a little smaller. Either roll them out and cut them or shape them into rounds and flatten them. Press a wooden spoon handle in the middle, almost all the way through. Prick the top a few times with a fork and bake for approximately 15 minutes at 220 C.
They don't look anything special, and I haven't eaten enough Stotties to know whether they tasted authentic. I made Max a ham salad sandwich (alas, no pease pudding) and waited for the verdict.
He loved it and said it was just as he remembered them from boyhood.
To me they taste just like the bread rolls which my mother used to make. We were both happy. Some have gone into the freezer for another day, the rest have been enjoyed fresh.
Definitely a dough I will be making again.
