Griddled Oat Bannocks with Buttermilk
Soft-centered Scottish oat bannocks cooked on a dry griddle for a fast, fiber-rich breakfast bread.
Best for A quick whole-grain breakfast bread with beta-glucan oat fiber for lasting fullness
These are the everyday bannocks a Scottish cook makes when the oven feels like too much: mixed in one bowl, rolled into a round, and cooked on a hot dry griddle until freckled and steaming. Oat flour and buttermilk do the heavy lifting, giving you real oat fiber, a tender crumb, and a faint tang, while a little wholemeal flour keeps them from falling apart. Split one hot, add butter or a smear of marmalade, and you have a breakfast that actually holds you until lunch.
Ingredients
- 200 g oat flour , fine; or blitz rolled oats to a flour
- 100 g Wholemeal flour , plus extra for dusting
- 5 g baking soda , about 1 tsp
- 4 g fine sea salt
- 240 ml buttermilk , cold, well shaken
- 20 g Unsalted butter , melted, plus more to serve
- 10 g honey (optional – can be omitted)
Instructions
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1
In a large bowl, whisk together the oat flour, wholemeal flour, baking soda and salt until evenly combined and no lumps of soda remain. Oat flour absorbs liquid slowly, so a thorough mix now keeps the dough even.
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2
Make a well in the center and pour in the buttermilk, melted butter and honey if using. Stir with a fork just until the mixture comes together into a soft, slightly sticky dough; do not knead, or the bannocks will toughen. Let it rest 5 minutes so the oat flour hydrates and the dough firms up enough to handle.
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3
Tip the dough onto a wholemeal-dusted surface and gently pat into a round about 2 cm thick. Cut into 8 wedges (or stamp into rounds). Handle lightly and re-dust if it sticks.
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4
Heat a dry cast-iron griddle or heavy skillet over medium-low until a pinch of flour turns golden in about 20 seconds. Cook the bannocks, in batches, for 6-8 minutes per side until deep golden and freckled and a skewer comes out clean; the low, patient heat cooks the centers through without scorching. Cool a few minutes on a rack, then split and serve warm with butter.