Stotties are a traditional bread from the Newcastle area in the North-East of England. The word “stottie” comes from the term “stott,” which is Geordie for “bounce.” (I’m not sure if they’re supposed to bounce, I haven’t given that a try)
Traditionally they should have a small amount of white pepper in the mix, but when I first made them I didn’t have any so I used English mustard powder instead and was really pleased with the result. I might even put more in next time. You can decide which you choose.
I also took the opportunity to use 200g/7oz of my sourdough starter in the mix, rather than discard it. If you don’t have any sourdough starter, don’t worry, just increase the flour by 100g/3½oz and the water/milk by 100ml/3½fl oz.
Apparently Stotties should have quite a heavy, dough-like texture, but I was pleasantly surprised at how soft and light these came out – maybe I did something wrong – or right.
Time: about 2 hours
Level: quite easy
Equipment: Nothing special is essential, but a stand mixer & dough hook make life easier
Ingredients
- 500g/16oz strong white flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 15g/½oz instant yeast
- 12g/¼oz sugar
- 1 tsp English mustard powder or white pepper or both
- 75ml/2½fl oz warm milk
- 125ml/4½fl oz warm water
- 200ml/7oz sourdough starter (or replace with flour & water/milk)
Method
1. Mix flour, salt, yeast, sugar and pepper/mustard powder.
2. Add water, milk (& starter) Mix well
3. Knead 10 – 15 minutes by hand or about 7 – 8 minutes in a stand mixer + dough hook.
4. Turn it over a few times in a lightly oiled bowl and cover. Leave for about an hour.
5. Towards the end of this time turn the oven on to heat up to 200°C / fan 180°C / 400°F / Gas 6.
6. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knock it back. Divide into two or three pieces and form into balls.
7. Roll the balls into flat rounds about 25mm/1” thick.
8. Cover and leave for 10 – 15 minutes. During this time put couple of trays in the oven to heat up then lay out two similar sized pieces of parchment and dust with flour.
9. Place the rounds onto the parchment then prick all over with a fork and push an indent with your finger into the middle of each piece.
10. Lift the parchment paper and stotties onto the heated trays and bake for 20 minutes, until beginning to brown.
Stotties make great sandwiches, so have the ham and cheese ready, or maybe some cold chicken and pickle or….. your choice again.
If you want to see more of my bread recipes click this link. Here are some quite different breads that I hope you’ll try:
Rye & Wholemeal Apricot English Muffins
Ridiculously easy No-knead bread
If you’d like to make a comment or ask a question please do, via the contact page.
Retired Bloke on Food n stuff 