In our search to cut more wheat out of our lives (while the kids and I can eat it fine, it’s less to buy if we all eat the same thing. And no, I haven’t decided if I want to read Grain Brain!). Sadly, rice crackers have become an all too familiar trade off in our household as we’ve compromised a wheat free diet with accessible snacks. Thankfully, I discovered how easy oatcakes are to make and how delicious they can be, especially when you include the satisfying crunch of seeds in the mixture. As an added bonus, they’re super easy to make and quite fun for the kids to help with… there’s no egg in the dough/batter so sneaky munching of the raw ingredients by Adventure Girl and Dash is ok.

I’ve been  a fan of Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall ever since my mother and I watched The River Cottage on telly before he/it became famous (i.e the late ’90s!). I loved the idea of a smallholding that, with the help of neighbours and surrounding people, can be self-sufficient… I guess it’s community-sufficiency. Grow what you can, swap/sell what you have too much of and all help each other out. A romantic ideal that grabbed me from a young age and still does. Within his book, River Cottage Everyday, this recipe, along with many other gems, is found… true confession though… when Mr Incredible went to eat them today there was only one left! The rest may have been consumed by me even though I really did make them for him 🙂

BILL’S RONA OATCAKES

Ingredients

• 300gr Oats : 150gr blended to oatmeal and 150gr blended to porridge oats (or 150r of each)
• 1/2 tsp sea/Himalayan salt
• A few twists of freshly ground pepper
• A small handful of seeds (I like pumpkin or sunflower)
• 75mL extra virgin olive oil
• 150mL boiling water

Method

1. Heat oven to 180 degrees C
2. Mix all the dried ingredients together in a bowl and make a well in the centre
3. Pour the oil in the well and stir
4. Pour in the water to bind it into a firm dough
5. Work the dough quickly and if too watery add more oatmeal
6. Shape the dough into a ball and rest it for a couple of minutes
7. Roll out the dough on a non-stick surface until about 5mm thick.
8. Cut into rounds and place onto a baking tray
9. Combine and work the remaining dough to roll it out again and repeat the process until all the dough is gone. Try not to work the dough too much though as the more you handle it the crumblier it will become
10. Bake for 20min and then turn the cakes over and bake for another 10 minutes.
11. Leave to cool on a wire rack and enjoy! (I love to eat these with cheese and pickles)

Cooking notes

• The oatcakes will keep for a week in an airtight container.