Leaving aside the pie-makers who are still working in the town we have lost our local bakers. We can find good bread and confectionery but as far as I know, none from Barlick. There was one specific trade, the ‘backstone bakers’. This word derives from ‘bake stone’ which was an open smooth stone heated by a fire underneath and was a very ancient form of baking, almost certainly used before ovens. Later the stone was replaced by a thick cast iron plate which conducted heat better and could be smoother. Still heated from underneath it was used for making crumpets, oat cakes and ‘oven bottom’ muffins, a type of teacake.
The last backstone baker in Barlick was Stanley’s Crumpets. They were still in business next what used to be the railway sidings in 1982 when I did my picture. Barry Sharples worked there as a lad and I’m grateful to him for the information he gave me.
First the crumpets. The batter was made in a huge round container, which was then covered with a cloth to await fermentation. This was done under maximum security, they were always concerned about the recipe being discovered. There were two large gas heated backstones which were covered with greased crumpet rings, and the batter would be ladled in. When the surface of the crumpets had bubbled up and just lost their moist appearance they were turned over with the aid of a cranked palette knife and a deft flick of the wrist. Once the surface, now at the bottom, had acquired a light golden colour it was time to lift them with the palette knife, two or three at a time, onto the cooling racks. Later the rings were lifted off and they were stacked into piles of eight in tissue lined cake trays.
Stan and Walter also made Scotch Pancakes and Oatcakes. Scotch pancakes were made with an egg batter in a similar way as crumpets but without rings or hoops. This gave them a lack of uniformity, although the practised hand ensured fair portion size.
The Oatcakes were made much differently. A thin oatmeal batter was ladled onto an oat flake strewn linen belt which with a flick of a hand-wheel moved the belt and threw the batter on to the hot backstone dusted with oatmeal. This made an elongated thin oval, which was dried in a hot cupboard until rubbery firm. This is how most of them were sold and they were sold door to door or via other retailers. The customer took them home and dried them on a rack hung from the ceiling in the kitchen. Some were sold ready dried to pubs and ‘stew and hard’ was a staple bar food.
I’m sorry we have lost oatcakes, it’s years since I saw them. They were a good healthy staple food and very filling. You can still buy the modern version which is like a round biscuit but I’m afraid they aren’t a patch on the old ‘made in Barlick’ oatcake!
Stanley’s Crumpets in 1982 on the side of what had become the Green.
