The Official Downton Abbey Cookbook

[Kerry Beal]

Over on the Crazy Good e-Book Bargains there was discussion of the Official Downton Abbey Cookbook - here.

 

My interest was the discussion of pikelets so this afternoon I went searching for the recipe from the book (without getting the book). Found a YouTube version without much trouble. 

 

Guided by @Anna N's memories of the pikelets from the market in Derby - I added a fair bit more milk to the recipe than called for in order to make thinner pikelets more in line which what Anna recalled. 

 

 

After just an hour on the counter - I had a very bubbly yeast batter.

 

 

 

And here are the finished results - bit of butter and jam - very nice!

 

[liuzhou]

Hmmm. I've always known pikelets to use a non-yeast batter. My mother made them regularly, although we didn't use that name, not being from Yorkshire.

But hey! Downton Abbey is fictional, isn't it?

[Anna N]

Kerry also found this . The very place from which my childhood memories emerge. The  magical Market Hall filled with stalls selling everything from knickers to knockwurst. I believe it has all gone now replaced by a. modern, characterless shopping mall called The Eagle Centre. Haven’t been back for years so even that Centre may have disappeared by now.  
Hoping to see other people perhaps cooking from this book. There were certainly plenty of fans when the series first aired. 

[Anna N]

Just now, liuzhou said:

Hmmm. I've always known pikelets to use a non-yeast batter. My mother made them regularly, although we didn't use that name, not being from Yorkshire.

But hey! Downton Abbey is fictional, isn't it?

There are certainly varieties of pikelets  that differ an ingredients and in size.  The ones I recall were considerably larger in diameter than a crumpet and much thinner.

There seems to be some suggestion that those made in the Midlands used buttermilk and that in other parts of the country they were made with milk. 
One could probably write a doctoral thesis on the history of griddlecakes!

[liuzhou]

2 minutes ago, Anna N said:

There are certainly varieties of pikelets  that differ an ingredients and in size.  The ones I recall were considerably larger in diameter than a crumpet and much thinner.

There seems to be some suggestion that those made in the Midlands used buttermilk and that in other parts of the country they were made with milk. 
One could probably write a doctoral thesis on the history of griddlecakes!

 

It is indeed a complex subject, both in terms of recipe and terminology. My mother used self-raising flour  and milk. I don't think she ever saw or used yeast in her life. Or buttermilk - I guess that was used to activate the baking soda, often used before the advent of self-raising flour.

 

I do like Annie Gray's writing, though.

[Anna N]

7 minutes ago, liuzhou said:

It is indeed a complex subject, both in terms of recipe and terminology.

Apparently the Aussies have claimed them as their own!

”It wasn’t until I was in my 20’s that I learned that pikelets are actually a very Aussie thing.”

 

 

Here.

[liuzhou]

 

 

1 minute ago, Anna N said:

Apparently the Aussies have claimed them as their own!

”It wasn’t until I was in my 20’s that I learned that pikelets are actually a very Aussie thing.”

 

 

Here.

 

Haha! That is easily to refute. They existed before Australia was colonised (unless the aboriginals invented the same thing. Unlikely.)

Anyway, those pictures are what are known in Scotland as pancakes or Scotch pancakes.
 

[Kerry Beal]

In my research there were clearly a few different options - self raising flour, yeast, both - thin or thick, Scottish, aussie… 

 

What thickness were your moms version?

[liuzhou]

1 hour ago, Kerry Beal said:

In my research there were clearly a few different options - self raising flour, yeast, both - thin or thick, Scottish, aussie… 

 

What thickness were your moms version?

 

2-3 cm max. More towards the thinner end.

[Kerry Beal]

1 hour ago, liuzhou said:

 

2-3 cm max. More towards the thinner end.

Got recipe?

[liuzhou]

5 minutes ago, Kerry Beal said:

Got recipe?

 

Nope, but I'm pretty sure it was just self raising flour, egg, sugar and cow juice.

 

Something like this.

[Anna N]

Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall:

 

“Tea time, that most soothing of British institutions, can be a rather heated affair depending on who you have around the table. Those from the Midlands and north will say that what I call a crumpet is a pikelet. Antipodeans argue that a pikelet is a drop scone. And Americans gaze disappointedly at my muffins, yearning for a cakier offering filled with fruit, nuts, even chocolate. But whatever you call them, they're all vehicles for butter (a dollop or two of jam wouldn't go amiss, either). The bolding is mine. 

this

 

Something is just not right here! I know what a crumpet is. It is NOT a pikelet. 70+ years is plenty of time for a memory to get muddled. But I still remember something perhaps side-plate size, not much thicker than a crêpe and relatively flexible. I am going to pick my sister ‘s brains very shortly. But we were raised separately and I suspect she will not count pikelets among her memories. 
But as a bonus my link will give you three of HFW’s recipes!

 

[ElsieD]

I don't thing I have ever heard of Hugh Fearnley  Whittingstall.  So, thank you for that.  I plan  on spending some time looking through his recipe collection.

 

We don't eat breakfast here but do have a mid-morning snack.  We sometimes have breakfast for lunch.  Today it is pikelets with maple syrup and breakfasf sausage.  The dough/butter is almost ready!

[liuzhou]

Hugh Fairly Whatshisname is correct. The names are completely variable depending on location. I'd never come across the word 'pikelet' until about four years ago (I'm also in my 70s) and assumed it was some kind of fish! Still not convinced I am wrong.

Edited June 23, 2022 by liuzhou (log)

[ElsieD]

17 minutes ago, liuzhou said:

Hugh Fairly Whatshisname is correct. The names are completely variable depending on location. I'd never come across the word 'pikelet' until about four years ago (I'm also in my 70s) and assumed it was some kind of fish! Still not convinced I am wrong.

Ah yes, a baby pike.  I remember once a friend and I were on a fishing trip and he caught a pike.  Those have a row of Y bones and was a real pain to clean.  But, very tasty.

[Anna N]

Well I am pleased to report my memory is intact. My sister described the pikelets I recall exactly as I recall them. And they were bought from Monk’s barrow at the Market Hall. 
Quoting my sister from my memory of this morning‘s phone call:

“They were 6 or 7 inches in  diameter and about the same thickness as what we now call a wrap. They were full of little holes similar but not the same as a crumpet. They were foldable or rollable. They were made not with white flour but with what was probably wholewheat flour. Much, much tastier than wraps that we get today.”

and that’s what I recall but could not quite articulate. 

 

[Kerry Beal]

15 minutes ago, Anna N said:

Well I am pleased to report my memory is intact. My sister described the pikelets I recall exactly as I recall them. And they were bought from Monk’s barrow at the Market Hall. 
Quoting my sister from my memory of this morning‘s phone call:

“They were 6 or 7 inches in  diameter and about the same thickness as what we now call a wrap. They were full of little holes similar but not the same as a crumpet. They were foldable or rollable. They were made not with white flour but with what was probably wholewheat flour. Much, much tastier than wraps that we get today.”

and that’s what I recall but could not quite articulate. 

 

Interesting - I believe Monk's barrow also made oatcakes - wonder if there was oat flour in there too?

[Anna N]

It took a few hours of research and it is an Australian interpretation but except for the size and the inclusion of the yabbies, these are what I recall. 

Here. 

I see @Captainoffered his version of the treat in the breakfast thread sometime when I was off-line for a while. 

[BetD]

This is such a fun thread….. makes me want to head down all the rabbit holes  🕳 🐇 

[DianaB]

This is our recipe for pikelets, I really can’t remember where we appropriated it, quite possibly from my mother’s handwritten recipes.  We have made them this way for a few years now having been lured back to such calorie laden delicacies thanks to Betty’s Tea Room in York (worth a visit if in the area).

230g plain flour

5g instant yeast

255g water

70g milk

5g salt

5g baking powder added once the batter has stood for 2 hours.

 

All dry ingredients go into the Magimix (food processor, other brands available 😁) except the baking powder.  Pour liquids in through the tube while the mixer is turning, once added, blend 3 minutes.

Decant to a jug and let stand at room temperature for 2 hours

Whisk in the baking powder.

 

To cook, we use a cast iron pan heated to about 160c.  Brush cooking surface with melted butter (less is more with our Le Creuset pan).  Pour batter into pan, size is a personal thing but the above mix makes 7 or 8 pikelets depending on how the batter is dosed.  Remember that they will rise as they cook.  We find that they cook in about four and a half minutes, flip once the upper surface shows signs of being cooked if you want browning on both sides.

 

The same batter can be cooked in buttered metal rings to give a slightly deeper result, we call them crumpets when cooked in rings but frankly it isn’t worth the bother.  
 

Allow to cool just so that mouths aren’t burnt.  Apply generous amounts of your favourite salted butter*, it will of course run through the holes onto your plate but you can mop it up with the pikelet as you eat.

 

Mmm, pikelets, delicious.  Mouth watering now.

 

*The very best butter available to us is Yorkshire Butter (https://yorkshirecreamery.co.uk/our-range/), not sure if it is exported but if you come across it I highly recommend it.