Oatcake in the West Riding

The techniques of making oatcake in Yorkshrre during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries have already been thoroughyy dealt with in two major articles, but a recent study of archival sources within the county has thrown considerable light on the earlier practices, and it is additional informaiion that forms the basis of the present paper.Due to their poor soil and damp climate, the hills of the West Riding were unsuitable for the successful production of wheat, but oats were hardy enough, having formed the major cereal crop of this region from the medieval period at least. Unlike wheat, oats could not be made up into bread in the usual way, for the ground meal would not form a satisfactory dough. An alternative method of baking was therefore devised in which a thin layer of oatmeal batter or paste was cooked over a hot slab of either stone or iron

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