THE HAVERCAKE LADS VISIT THE MUSEUM

The Havercake Lads ie His Majesty's 33rd of Regiment of Foot visited the museum on Saturday 25 February.  The womenfolk were baking Havercakes which are traditional flatbreads and once the staple food in the Pennines.  They were made from oats or haver, from hafre old Norse for oats, which was the only cereal that grew well on the poor soils of the Pennine uplands.

Havercakes were made from fine oatmeal. It was mixed with water, or blue milk (skimmed milk), to make a batter and left to ‘sour’ overnight. The following morning the batter was ladled onto a wooden board dusted with oatmeal and either ‘thrown’ directly onto a hot bakestone (griddle) or transferred onto a second board covered by a piece of linen and then flipped over onto the bakestone. When cooked on one side it was turned over with a long knife.

The process produced a floppy, elongated, flat bread that was then hung over the slats or strings of a bread creel suspended from the ceiling and left to dry (see photo below). Once dry it became crisp and could be stored for months.