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I'm trying to identify a type of breadcake common in Hull when I was growing up, n the hopes of getting my hands on some again, either bought, or made myself.


Original

As a six-year-old boy In the early 60s living in Pullman Street Spring bank West my Gran nanny Curtis used to send me out into the terrace when she heard the sound of the hotcake man shouting down the street, he provided us with bread cakes, which were hot and Delicious with just butter or margarine whatever was on hand, does anybody have any idea how to make these traditional bread cakes I say cakes but in fact it’s more of a bread bun there is no sweetness about it unlike a lot of recipes which I’ve seen today, this memory burns brightly in my mind just like a patty with a bag of straps, from the chip shop, Or bread and dripping. such food might not be socially acceptable today, but there were no fat kids about, we had just enough to fill the tum, and everything was preservative free !, any help would be greatly received I’m a keen baker in my work free years there must be someone who has The wonderful knowledge to pass on, I’d love to make them for my grand children, keep the tradition going like the patty This only Originates from My birthplace of which I am very proud Kingston Upon Hull. Were men were made of steel and ships were made of wood. Rick

Chris H
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  • Hi, and welcome to SA! Have a look at the [Tour](https://cooking.stackexchange.com/tour) and [Help Center](https://cooking.stackexchange.com/help), especially the information on [what questions to ask](https://cooking.stackexchange.com/help/on-topic) when you get a chance. Unfortunately, this site isn't well-suited for recipe requests. – LSchoon Jul 30 '20 at 09:01
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    There's already been a question about hull hotcakes which was closed as it's a recipe request: https://cooking.stackexchange.com/questions/54734/how-do-you-make-hull-hotcakes – GdD Jul 30 '20 at 09:04
  • It’s also a tradition of Hull that will fade away with time, if we can’t find someone with the knowledge to answer, The old boy who delivered these from a hot box with a paraffin stove underneath was 50 if he was a day, so it may already be too lates, let’s put pomposity aside for once, this is truly Seasoned advice,no offence meant – rick cullen Jul 30 '20 at 09:19
  • You've tagged the question "spicy-hot", but that doesn't fit your description. I'm not voting to close because I think it should be possible to turn this into a question along the lines of "What are Hull Hotcakes" that could be answered without a recipe – Chris H Jul 30 '20 at 10:01
  • How do they compare to [clapcakes/havercakes](http://www.foodsofengland.co.uk/clapcake,clapbreadorhavercake.htm)? – Chris H Jul 30 '20 at 10:17
  • I've suggested a question that might work better. I thought I'd found a baker's selling them but they closed down only a few months ago – Chris H Jul 30 '20 at 10:33
  • Was it just one person in Hull baking these, or it was a regional recipe that multiple bakers produced? – Erica Aug 02 '20 at 02:12
  • No I think they were as common as the rag and bone men with their horse and cart, they all had a large box on the front of a bicycle or tricycle but as I walked to Cubs about a mile away (on my own ) returning in the dark with no street lights they’ll were a welcome site especially if a fleet of trawlers had just got back from sea – rick cullen Aug 03 '20 at 09:22

1 Answers1

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I've found a couple of plausible candidates.

The first (and I think more plausible), prompted by a twitter thread is an oven-bottom bread-cake*. Here's (Facebook, with discussion buried in reminiscences, but no recipe I could see) an old photo showing them at Drewery's Bakery. Similar things exist across northern England. Until recently they could apparently be bought from Dixon's Bakery in Hessle Road. It's worth looking at other traditional bakers, though the most likely I've found are currently closed.

The second is related to the clapcakes or havercakes found in other Northern counties. These are made largely with oats, like the Staffordshire oatcake. They sound like they're rather flat (even pancake-thin, and may use a little baking soda (recipe) or yeast (various sources but no recipe online that I've found).


* For anyone confused Bread-cake is a Northern English term for some types of bread roll.

Chris H
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  • Also worth mentioning the description in the [question that was asked 5 years ago](https://cooking.stackexchange.com/q/54734/67) : "it was a fairly flat, doughy bread with a thin, crusty surface. Beautiful with crispy bacon or sausage inside." – Joe Jul 30 '20 at 14:34
  • Many thank for all your help, not sure how the tag “spicy-hot” goT in there, there was no spices, thank you again – rick cullen Jul 31 '20 at 11:39