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Griddle Cakes
Rub together a pound of flour, three ounces of butter, a little salt and make it into a paste with some sweet buttermilk; roll it out and cut with a biscuit-cutter into cakes which are baked on a griddle. Oatmeal Cakes (Small).
Mix a little bicarbonate of soda and salt in with a little oatmeal and rub it in four ounces of lard. Add one teacupful of water to make it into a dough, turn onto a board sprinkled with meal, and knead it slightly. Roll it out, cut it into rounds, put them on the griddle and when they are done on one side, turn them over to brown on the other. They are then ready for use or may be put away in tin boxes and kept in a dry place; in the latter case they should again be made crisp by holding them in front of the fire before serving.
Two related recipes run together here, and neither is a pancake in the American sense: both are stiff doughs rolled, cut and dry-baked on a griddle. The hinge is the griddle itself — no fat, moderate steady heat, and enough patience to cook the cakes through without scorching.
- Not batterDespite the title, this is a rolled dough, closer to a Scottish girdle scone. If your mixture is pourable you have added far too much liquid; it should be soft but hold a shape under the rolling pin.
- Pound of flourA pound of flour is roughly 3 1/2 cups scooped and levelled; three ounces of butter is 6 tablespoons. Four ounces of lard is 1/2 cup.