Cassell's dictionary of cookery

Oat-cake. — Oat-cakes, or oatmeal cakes, are very common in the North of England. They are eaten with butter or cheese, either toasted or plain. When first made they are quite soft, but after they have been dried before the fire for a few minutes they become crisp and hard. When made in perfection they are as thin as wafers, and are certainly very good eating, though not of a very satisfying nature. They are baked on a bakestone, or backstone, which is a kind of thick fryingpan, made of iron or stone. Oat-cake. — Mix two or three table-spoonfuls of oatmeal with a pinch of salt and a little cold water. Knead it well round and round with the hands for some minutes, then spread it on a pastry-board as thin as possible, and strew meal under and over it. Move it by means of a baking spittle to the bakestone, and bake it on both sides over a clear fire. It is well to mix sufficient oatmeal and water for one cake at a time, as the batter soon dries. Time, two or three minutes to bake the cakes. Probable cost, 3d. per dozen. Oat-cake, Lancashire. — In Lancashire oat- cakes are partially made either with buttermilk or with meal which has been mixed and left for a few days to turn sour. They are baked very much in the same way as in the preceding recipe. It is necessary, however, to see these cakes made by some one accustomed to the work before attempting their manufacture Oat-cake, made with Yeast.— Put a quart of water into a bowl, and mix with it one ounce of dissolved German yeast. Sprinkle three and a half pounds of fine oatmeal into it, stirring it briskly all the time, and when the mixture is smooth and thick, place the bowl in a warm place, cover it with a cloth, and leave it half an hour to rise. Stir it well, spread it out very thin, sprinkle a little oatmeal under and over it, and throw it upon the bakestone, which should be placed over a bright fire ; when lightly OAT (463) OIL browned on ono side, turn it on the other. The Cakes may either he eaten soft, or hung to crisp upon a cord which has been stretched across the kitchen. While the cakes are baking, the dust of the oatmeal should be swept off with a small brush. Time to bake, two minutes. Probable cost, 4d. per dozen. Oatmeal. — Oats, in the form of oatmeal, are rich in flesh-formers and heat-givers, and serve as a nutritious and excellent diet when the occupation is not sedentary. The outer husk of oats, unlike wheat, is poor in albumenoid matters, so that oatmeal is better than the whole oat as food. In making oatmeal, one quarter of oats (328 lbs.) yields 188 lbs. of meal and 74 lbs. of husks, the rest being water. Oatmeal is remarkable for its large amount of fat. 100 parts contain : — Water 13-6 Albumenoid Matters . . . 17-0 Starch 39-7 Sugar 5-4 Gum 30 Fat 5-7 Fibre 12-6 Mineral Matter . .3-0 Or, Water 13-6