How to Make Traditional Stotties (North East England's Famous Bread)

Learn how to make traditional North East England stotties (or stottie cakes), the iconic working-class bread that helped feed generations of miners, shipbuilders and factory workers. In this post I'll show you how to make authentic homemade stotties from scratch, with their characteristic soft, dense texture and classic flour-dusted finish.

Watch The Recipe Video Below

How to Make Traditional Stotties (North East England's Famous Bread)

Ingredients

250ml milk

260ml water

10g sugar (optional)

14g fast-action yeast (instant yeast)

900g strong white bread flour

10g salt

30ml olive oil

Method

Pour the milk and water into a saucepan and gently warm until lukewarm. The liquid should feel neither warm nor cold when you dip your finger into it.

Stir in the sugar (if using) and the yeast. Leave for 5–10 minutes until the mixture becomes foamy on the surface.

Place the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl and stir together. Make a well in the centre.

Pour in the activated yeast mixture and olive oil. Mix until a dough begins to form, then use your hands to bring everything together. Continue mixing until there are no dry patches of flour remaining. The dough should feel firm and fairly tight rather than wet and sticky.

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead for around 10 minutes until smooth, elastic and pliable. Place the dough back into the bowl, cover with a damp cloth and leave somewhere warm for approximately 1 hour, or until doubled in size.

Turn the risen dough onto the work surface and press out all of the trapped air. For four large stotties, divide the dough into four equal pieces. For a mixture of large and smaller stotties, divide as desired. Shape each piece into a smooth ball.

Using a rolling pin, roll each ball into a round disc approximately 2cm thick. Transfer to lightly floured baking trays, leaving space between each one. Cover with a damp cloth and leave to rise again for 20–30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 170°C fan (190°C conventional).

Lightly dust the tops with flour. Using your finger, press a deep dimple into the centre of each stottie. This helps prevent them from puffing up excessively during baking. For larger stotties, you can also prick around the edges with a fork. Bake for 20-25 minutes until lightly golden and cooked through.

Transfer the baked stotties to a wire rack and leave to cool completely. They may appear quite puffed when first removed from the oven but will settle slightly as they cool, creating their traditional flatter shape.

Slice a stottie horizontally and fill it generously with:

Ham and pease pudding

Bacon and sausage

Cheese and pickle

Roast beef

Corned beef