The hedgehog gnawed her lip. “Well, they ain’t slept in their beds last night. Asides that, there’s two oatfarls, a good wedge o’ cheese and some of my best blackcurrant cordial missin’ from the larder.”
Martin could not help smiling at the thought of the two little would-be warriors. “All that for breakfast! They’ll go bang one of these days. I wouldn’t worry too much, Mrs. Stickle. Knowing those two rascals, they’ll be back by lunchtime for more food.”
-Brian Jacques, Mossflower p. 117
What, exactly, is an oatfarl? Put simply, it’s a small quadrant shaped cake fitting somewhere on a Venn diagram where scones, soda bread, and bakestones (picau ar y maen, in Welsh) meet. The word “Farl” comes from a word once used in Lowland Scotland, “Fardel,” to describe a three cornered cake, usually oatcake. The word farl is most commonly used in Northern Ireland in the present, to describe what is often called “North Irish Soda Bread,” a key component of the Ulster Fry. Based on these explanations of a farl, an Oatfarl is more closely related to the Scottish Fardel than the Ulster Farl. A small dense oatcake, perfect for eating with cheese or alongside a hearty vegetable soup, and easy to prepare on the stove without ever flipping your oven on. My oatfarl recipe is perfect for anyone trying to add a simple bread to their evening meal without a great deal of effort, or anyone blessed with a tiny oven-less apartment.
Begin by gathering your ingredients. You’ll need 1 cup of all purpose flour, 1 cup of oat flour, 1/4 cup of old fashioned oats, 1 cup of buttermilk, 1 teaspoon of baking soda, and 1/2 teaspoon coarse kosher salt. If you don’t have kosher salt, use 1/4 teaspoon of table salt. If you don’t have buttermilk, you can 1 tablespoon of white vinegar to a measuring cup and fill the rest of the way to the one cup line with whole milk. Allow it to sit for about ten minutes and it will add the same flavors as buttermilk to the recipe.
If you’re using a cast iron skillet, you can set it to preheat on the stove over medium-low heat. If you’re using a non-stick or aluminum skillet it won’t need to preheat. Whisk the dry ingredients together thoroughly.
Add the buttermilk and mix with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon until a thick and sticky dough forms.
Generously flour your countertop or working space with oat flour and tip out your dough onto the counter. Dust the top of the dough with oat flour and then knead the dough until it comes together in a soft ball. It will still be sticky, but not nearly as sticky as it was before. You can continue to add additional oat flour a dusting at a time until you are able to achieve this ball.
Flatten the ball with your hands until it is about one or one and a half inches thick. No need to use a rolling pin. Use a sharp knife to cut the round into four equal quadrants. Flatten each quarter separately into half inch thick wedges and set aside.
If you have not preheated your skillet, heat it now over medium-low heat. When the skillet is hot, place the farls in the skillet with a little space in between each one. Make sure your skillet is not too hot, or else the bottoms will brown before the inside has had time to cook. Cook for about 15 minutes until the bottoms are a deep golden brown, and then flip the farls, cooking on the opposite side for an additional 15 minutes. Check the bottoms of the farls halfway through each cooking period, turning down the heat a little if they are browning too quickly. Cool the oatfarls on a wire rack and serve with wedges of cheese, jam, honey, or alongside vegetable soup.
Goody Stickle's Oatfarls
Warm, hearty Oatfarls perfect for wee little warriors on an adventure.
Ingredients
-1 Cup All Purpose Flour-1 Cup Oat Flour
-1/4 Cup Old Fashioned Oats
-1 Cup Buttermilk
-1 tsp Baking Soda
-1/2 tsp Coarse Kosher Salt
Directions
- Gather your ingredients. Preheat skillet on medium-low if using cast iron.
- Whisk dry ingredients to combine.
- Add buttermilk to dry ingredients and mix with a spatula until a rough sticky dough forms.
- Generously flour your workspace with oat flour and turn out dough onto the flour. Dust the top of the dough with more oat flour and knead until a soft ball forms.
- Flatten the ball with your hands and cut into four quadrants with a sharp knife. Flatten each quadrant to about half an inch thick.
- Place farls in hot skillet and cook over medium low heat for 15 minutes on each side, checking halfway through and turning down heat if they seem to be browning too quickly.
- Cool on a wire rack and serve warm.
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