A Stottie is a regional bread from Northern England, specifically Tyneside where it is traditionally enjoyed slathered with pease pudding and a slice of ham. I have been enjoying it by splitting it in half and spreading it generously with garlic and parsley butter a few minutes after it comes out of the oven whilst it is still hot. It reminds me of the bolo do caco we have enjoyed on our holidays in Madeira.
It is a flat, round oven baked bread with a distinctive indent in the centre. The name stottie originates from the regional word ‘stot’ which means bounce. The Stottie was the last piece of dough remaining in the baker’s batch and would be cooked in the dying embers of the wood oven. The long, slow, cooling bake produced a heavy, chewy bread. Stotties are rarely baked in the dying embers of a wood oven now, but you can recreate the process by heating your oven to 220C, Gas mark7, 425F and heating a baking tray or solid shelf in the oven as it preheats. Place the shaped dough onto the hot tray, close the oven door, bake for 10 minutes and then turn the oven off and leave the bread in the cooling oven for a further 30 minutes. The Stottie will then be more like a traditional Stottie – heavy, dense and a bit doughy.
This bread only has one rise, once it is shaped it is baked straight away. This also contributes to the flatter shape and denser crumb.
Ground white pepper is a key ingredient in a traditional Scottie, giving a savoury edge to the bread. Freshly milled pepper can be used if you don’t have ground white pepper but it will give a slightly different taste.
Ingredients
340g strong white flour
5g fine sea salt
2g ground white pepper
3-5g instant/ easy bake yeast
220g warm water
Method
Place the flour, salt, pepper and yeast in a large bowl and mix well. Add the water and mix with A clawed hand until it makes a smooth dough. Leave to rest for at least 10 minutes. Carry out the stretch and fold routine, with rests in between. Allow the dough to rise.
Preheat the oven to 220C, gas mark 7, 425F, with a solid tray placed in the centre of the oven to heat up.
When the dough is light and airy, turn onto a lightly floured work surface and roll to a circle about 1 inch (2.5 cm) thick. The end of a wooden spoon handle into the centre of the dough to make an indentation. This bread does not need a second rise so it can go straight into the oven. If possible place the shaped dough directly on the hot tray that is heating in the oven. If this is difficult then place onto a floured tray and place this tray onto the hot solid tray in the oven. You can now either bake for 20-25 minutes at this heat until fully baked or you can bake for 10 minutes, turn the oven off and leave the bread to bake in the residual heat of the oven.
When it comes out of the oven place onto a cooling rack and cover with tea towels to trap the steam. This gives the stottie a soft crust.
I made this Stottie after a request from one of my Bread Made Easy Members. I had demoed Barm Cakes ( another regional bread from Northern England) at one of our Bread Socials and she had asked if I had a Scottie recipe. I love it when my Bread Made Easy Members ask e for a recipe and I am always happy to oblige.
