A Northumberland Cottage Kitchen Recipe: Stotty Cake (Stottie Cake) (2024)

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Stottie Cake is made from ordinary white bread dough, but due to the one rise and a slow bake, it creates a chewy bread reminiscent of sour dough, which makes a fabulous vehicle for butter, jam, treacle and cheese.

A Northumberland Cottage Kitchen Recipe: Stotty Cake (Stottie Cake) (1)

AD – This article and recipe was previously shared on the Kenwood site, where I shared an old family recipe that used their Kenwood Titanium Chef mixer.

What Are Stotty Cakes?

A rather plain and flat looking disc of bread, and yet to many people in the North East of England the Stotty Bread is an important and potent symbol of their identity and region.

It’s the bread of my childhood, linked forever in my memory to my grandmother’s old stone cottage and warm, happy days sitting around a big old kitchen table with a flickering fire and the wind howling outside.

A Northumberland Cottage Kitchen Recipe: Stotty Cake (Stottie Cake) (2)

Stotties, as they are called in the plural, are born of thrift and frugality; at the end of a long day of baking, as most bread was made at home until fairly recently.

Any excess white bread dough that was left over was simply shaped and rolled into a large disc, and thrown on to the bottom of the oven, where it baked in an initial burst of heat before continuing to cook as the oven cooled.

This baking method is what gives the Stotty Cake it’s crusty but soft exterior and yet a rather pleasant chewy crumb, and that unique “Stotty” taste too. A cake it is not, but a simple and homely regional loaf of bread.

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My Stotty Cake Recipe

My mother still talks about my grandmother’s Stotty Cakes……she remembers sitting at the kitchen table as a child and tearing chunks from the freshly baked loaf, then spreading butter on to the warm pieces of bread before adding crumbly Cheshire cheese.

My grandmother’s recipe remained a secret for many years after her death, and then one day my mum found an old hand-written recipe in the back of a Be-Ro cookbook, where she had written down the basic principals of how to make a Stotty, and so the secret family recipe was released.

She and I are regular bakers of this secret family recipe now, much to the delight of our families.

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How to Serve Stottie Cake

Once you have tasted one of these flat loaves of bread, you will wonder how you managed to live without them.

They maybe be plain to look at with none of the fancy decorations, glazes and cuts that other bread loaves have, but as soon as you tear off a piece of bread, all warm and crusty, and then spread some butter on so it melts into golden pools of saltiness, you will understand the alchemy of this slow-baked bread, as how it is inextricably linked to happy childhood days and simple suppers at an old cottage table.

A Northumberland Cottage Kitchen Recipe: Stotty Cake (Stottie Cake) (5)

Also GREAT with French cheese too.

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As well as cheese, and jam and treacle (golden syrup), a Stotty Bread is the perfect bread for sandwiches, and if you have ever visited the North East of England, or if you live there, you will know that the classic sandwich of choice made with Stotty Cake is ham and pease pudding.

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My grandmother was an excellent pease pudding maker, as is my mum, but I have to admit to resorting to the ready-made tinned version sometimes, when time is short, although it is still delicious when spread onto warm bread with a slice of home-cooked ham.

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Baking The Stotty Cake

Our family recipe is always better if made with the remnants of some basic white bread dough, and cooked on the bottom of a hot oven that has been turned off to cool, but you can replicate the method for today with the recipe I am about to share below.

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Don’t forget to serve it on a wooden bread board in the middle of the table, with salted butter, cheese, pease pudding and ham too, if you like. Although this bread is perfect all year around, it always seems to taste better when eaten on a cold winter’s evening with the hiss of a log fire and the warm glow of oil lights flickering……or is that just in my memory, maybe.

A Northumberland Cottage Kitchen Recipe: Stotty Cake (Stottie Cake) (10)

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More Traditional Bread Recipes:

A Northumberland Cottage Kitchen Recipe: Stotty Cake (Stottie Cake) (12)

Dutch Tiger Bread

A Northumberland Cottage Kitchen Recipe: Stotty Cake (Stottie Cake) (13)

Italian Ciabatta Bread

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Banana Bread

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No Yeast Fadge Bread

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Stotty Cake Recipe

A Northumberland Cottage Kitchen Recipe: Stotty Cake (Stottie Cake) (18)

Stotty Cake (Stottie Cake)

Yield: 2 Stotties

Prep Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Total Time: 2 hours 15 minutes

My Grandmother's recipe for authentic "Stotty Cakes", my grandmother’s recipe remained a secret for many years after her death, and then one day my mum found an old hand-written recipe in the back of a Be-Ro cookbook, where she had written down the principals of how to make a Stotty, and so the secret family recipe was released.

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ lbs strong white bread flour (680g)
  • 1 ½ teaspoons salt
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • ½ ounce (15g) fresh yeast (quick action dried yeast can be used, 1 x 7g sachet)
  • White pepper, about ¼ of a teaspoon
  • ¾ pint (450mls) tepid water

Instructions

    1. If using fresh yeast crumble it into a jug and then add the white pepper, sugar and a little tepid water to mix. Place somewhere warm for 10 to 15 minutes so it can start to “work” it is ready to use when it becomes frothy.

    2. Put the bread flour and salt into a large mixing bowl and make a well in the centre, pour in the yeast mixture and the remaining water. If using dried yeast, just sprinkle the yeast in to the flour at this stage, with the sugar and white pepper and add the water as before.

    3. Mix and then knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic. (The word stotty is believed to be derived from the local word of “stotting” which means to bounce, and I remember my grandmother “bouncing” her bread on the kitchen table for ages! So, don’t be shy when kneading.) This bread needs to be well kneaded for at least ten minutes.

    4. Cover the bowl with a clean tea towel and set to one side, somewhere warm, to allow the dough to rise. This will take about an hour, and the dough should have doubled in size before you can use it.

    5. Pre-heat oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6. Butter or grease some large baking sheets.

    6. Put the dough onto a floured board and divide it into two equal pieces; roll the dough out to make two large flat discs, about 1” (2/5cm) thick and then stick the end of a rolling pin in the middle of the dough to make an indentation. You can also prick the top of the bread with a fork too.

    7. Place the Stotty Cakes onto the prepared baking sheets and bake in the pre-heated oven for 15 minutes, before turning the oven off and leaving them in there for up to half an hour to continue to bake.

    8. Serve warm with butter, jam, treacle, honey or cheese, ham and Pease pudding.

Notes

Our family recipe is always better if made with the remnants of some basic white bread dough, and cooked on the bottom of a hot oven that has been turned off to cool.

Nutrition Information

Yield 2 Stotty CakesServing Size 1
Amount Per ServingCalories 1240Total Fat 6gSaturated Fat 1gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 3gCholesterol 0mgSodium 1597mgCarbohydrates 249gFiber 9gSugar 3gProtein 41g

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A Northumberland Cottage Kitchen Recipe: Stotty Cake (Stottie Cake) (2024)

FAQs

Why is Stottie cake so called? ›

Baking Traditions:

It's said that the name "stottie" comes from the Geordie word "stot," meaning to bounce, reflecting the bread's unique texture.

What is a stottie in Scotland? ›

A stottie cake or stotty is a type of bread that originated in North East England. It is a flat and round loaf, usually about 30 centimetres (12 inches) in diameter and 4 centimetres (1.6 inches) deep, with an indent in the middle produced by the baker.

What does a stottie taste like? ›

Unsure of what it was but having no other choice I tried one. I found that the stotty cake is a disc of bread, rather like an extra-large bap. They have a distinctive taste, crusty and soft with a chewy texture.

What to do with a stottie? ›

Popular fillings include pease pudding and thick ham, breakfast items (eg the classic bacon and egg combo) and they're also very good simply spread with butter. My old man suggests trying stottie with corned beef and beetroot, which he claims is “reet canny, like” (see the translations below).

What is the difference between a bun and a stottie? ›

A stottie is bigger and much flatter... that's a bap.. That's not a stottie though. Stotties are specific- flatter, denser with coarse flour on the top. What you've got here is a bread bun!

What is cake called in Scotland? ›

kaka, Dan. kage, a cake (O.N. has it in kokukorn (Torp)).]

What is a sandwich called in Scotland? ›

Piece: a piece of bread and butter, jam, or the like, a snack, usually of bread, scone or oatcake, a sandwich. Jeelie piece: bread and jam; the most common kind of piece in Scotland, often provided as a snack between meals. By extension, a piece came to mean the sandwich lunch carried to work by the working man.

What is a bun called in Scotland? ›

North of the border in Scotland, evidence is scattered, with the majority of respondents choosing “roll.” In Northern Ireland, the most popular name seems to be “bap.” On the Isle of Man, “bun” purists can't stave off the popularity of “bap.” In Wales, “roll” appears to be the champion English term, although “bap” and ...

What is the end of bread called in Scotland? ›

Norway and Sweden call it the “skalk.” That one might be my favorite. It's referred to as the “dupka” in Poland, the “knust” or “knerzel” in Germany and the “kapje” in the Netherlands. Scotland has been known to call theirs “outsiders.” Fitting and to the point!

Can you freeze stottie cakes? ›

Here at Botham's, our family bakers enjoy a Stottie filled with Beef Paste and real butter. * Suitable for home-freezing.

What is Scotty cake? ›

Scotti Cake is a hybrid weed strain made from a genetic cross between Biscotti and Gelato 41 x Animal Mints BX1. This strain is a creation of 7 Leaf OK, a brand known for producing small-batch cannabis with exceptional quality.

Do Greggs still sell stottie? ›

Fruit Scone - The humble fruit scone may be a very British cake, but is only available in Greggs bakeries in the north east and Scotland. Stotties - A round flat loaf with an indent in the middle. Greggs used to fill them with ham and pease pudding, but now only sell plain stotties.

What is a stottie in Newcastle called? ›

Stottie may be the name for such cakes in Newcastle, but similar bread cakes are made in other parts of the United Kingdom. Rather than stotties, they are typically referred to as oven cakes, oven bottom cakes, or bread cakes.

What is a fadgie? ›

Fadgies are a bread buns that are peculiar to Teesside. They are made with lard and are a simple (single prove) bread. They're ideal for a beginner bread maker.

What is a flatcake? ›

"flat cake") or flatbrauð ( Icelandic pronunciation: [-ˌprœyːθ], lit. "flat bread") is an Icelandic unleavened rye flatbread. Flatkaka is soft, round, thin and dark with a characteristic pattern from the pan.

Why is it called miserable cake? ›

Le Miserable cake is a traditional dessert in Belgium. It is said that at that time, the life of the middle and lower class people was very difficult and they could not afford expensive dairy products. But life was so miserable, how could we not eat some desserts to supplement our sugar?

Why is it called Devil cake? ›

Finally, devil's food cake came about during a time when food that was spicy, rich, or dark was described as deviled, like deviled ham and deviled eggs. Devil's food cake differs from a standard chocolate cake in two ways. First, it uses more baking soda than typical chocolate cake.

Why is Russian cake called Russian cake? ›

There is an interesting legend of how the Russian cake got its name. The story goes that a New Orleans baker made it because he ran out of ingredients to bake a proper cake for the visit of the Russian Grand Duke Alexis when he visited the city in 1872 for Mardi Gras.

Why are Welsh cakes called Welsh cakes? ›

They were usually cooked on a bakestone and the Welsh names given to these cakes were usually based on the different regional Welsh name for the bakestone. These included pice bach, tishan lechwan or tishan ar y mân (bakestone cakes), but in English they became known generally as Welsh Cakes.

References

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