English baking questions

[beccaboo]

I have a couple of questionas about English terminology:

First, I don't understand the differences between all the kinds of oatmeal. There are pinhead, fine and medium oatmeal, and porridge oats, and probably some others I can't remember right now. American oats seem to come in rolled and steel-cut, with steel-cut coming in great, huge pieces ( 1/2-1/3 of a groat) or pretty fine, but without a name to distinguish the sizes. I just made some parkin from a recipe which said it had changed the oats from "oatmeal" to "porridge oats." So, are "porridge oats" rolled, or what? And what about the sizes of "oatmeal?"

Second, how big are 1 and 2 pound loaf tins? What are their dimensions? It seems like when I try to guess, I always pick a tin that's too big. I'd like to know for sure and not guess any more!

[culinary bear]

Porridge oats are usually rolled, which makes them look rather like small Kellogg's cornflakes.

For making porridge, some people use rolled oats, some use jumbo oats (which are rolled oats but bigger), some use pinhead oatmeal (the particles of which are about the same size as couscous grains) and others use the steel-cut oats you describe above (and which seem to be the choice in most of the US). This is a long-winded way of saying that there is no such thing as a definable 'porridge oat' as far as size and milling goes.

For parkin, one of the loveliest sticky confections ever to be conjured up ever, I'd use pinhead oatmeal. If this can't be found, then blitz steel-cut oatmeal in a food processor until it gets more finely milled. Rolled oats in parkin would be a heinous crime. When you make parkin, by the way, always try and keep it for a week before you eat it; it gets more sticky and moist and matures beautifully.

As for cake tins, it varies according to what you're going to bake. There are literally hundreds of different sizes that people use. When you say 'a 1lb loaf tin', is that for 1lb of bread dough, or 1lb of finished bread? Or do you mean for a product other than bread?

[beccaboo]

For parkin, one of the loveliest sticky confections ever to be conjured up ever, I'd use pinhead oatmeal.  If this can't be found, then blitz steel-cut oatmeal in a food processor until it gets more finely milled.  Rolled oats in parkin would be a heinous crime.  When you make parkin, by the way, always try and keep it for a week before you eat it; it gets more sticky and moist and matures beautifully.

I thought "porridge oats" might mean rolled oats, and, as I suspected that rolled oats wouldn't do in parkin, I instead used some finer-than-pinhead steel-cut oats. I was afraid pinhead oats would stay too hard, as the batter wasn't very wet. Anyhow, my parkin turned out really well. I should have hidden it, though, as it got eatten up before it had a chance to improve with age.

As for cake tins, it varies according to what you're going to bake.  There are literally hundreds of different sizes that people use.  When you say 'a 1lb loaf tin', is that for 1lb of bread dough, or 1lb of finished bread?  Or do you mean for a product other than bread?

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I don't know what the recipes mean by "1lb loaf tin." I guess if they mean a pound of dough rather than of baked bread I'd need a smaller tin. I always guess, and once my dough/batter is in the tin I decide a smaller tin is required and have to transfer everything and wash the first tin.... I thought "1lb loaf tins" and 2lb loaf tins" were some standard sizes--it seems like all my English recipes that require bread or cake to be baked in a loaf tin refer to them that way.

[PassionateChefsDie]

1Ib and 2Ib tins are bakers size small and large, haven't specifically looked for one probably measured by Ltrs now.

But rough approx a while since I've seen one but 4" high, reckon 8" long and 4" wide. Worked a place and we ended up with a load of tins from the bakers, never really took much notice, but this thread made me think of them.

Think it's whats advertised as a loaf tin now like a dumpy terrine. Also the size remember thats a 1Ib of slack dough not flour. 2Ib tins about 10/12" long the more I write definetly seem to think there quite square at the ends 5" high and wide. Like I said really am approxing dimensions only really walked past them and watched the Pastry chef cursing the KP for washing them.

[culinary bear]

I thought "porridge oats" might mean rolled oats, and, as I suspected that rolled oats wouldn't do in parkin, I instead used some finer-than-pinhead steel-cut oats.  I was afraid pinhead oats would stay too hard, as the batter wasn't very wet.  Anyhow, my parkin turned out really well.  I should have hidden it, though, as it got eatten up before it had a chance to improve with age.

Sensible choice of oat. You do need to hide it; wrap it in baking parchment and put it in a tin, then bury it in the back garden if you need to! Matured parkin is truly a thing of joy (as is soft gingerbread - I used to make mine a fortnight in advance of needing it)

I thought "1lb loaf tins" and 2lb loaf tins" were some standard sizes--it seems like all my English recipes that require bread or cake to be baked in a loaf tin refer to them that way.

Unfortunately not... Reaching for my copy of Elizabeth David's "English Bread and Yeast Cookery" I find her quoting Walter Banfield, writing in the 1930s, that "the square 2lb tin alone can be purchased in about a hundred different sizes".

[PoppySeedBagel]

Greetings from England. I've just measured my loaf tins - 2 lb ones are about 4" x 8", and 1 lb about 3" x 6"

[beccaboo]

Greetings from England.  I've just measured my loaf tins - 2 lb ones are about 4" x 8", and 1 lb about 3" x 6"

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Thank you! They're much smaller than I'd thought--the 2lb one is the size of my "regular" loaf, and the 1lb one is the size of the one I make a little tiny soda bread in.