A Stottie cake or stotty is a type of bread produced in North East England. It is a flat and round loaf, usually about 30 centimetres (12 inches) in diameter and 4 cm (1.6 inches) deep, with an indent in the middle produced by the baker. Elsewhere in the world, bread considered similar to the stottie is known as Oven Bottom Bread. One chief difference is the heavy and dough-like texture of the bread. Though leavened, its taste and mouth-feel is heavy and very reminiscent of dough.
Stotties tend to be eaten split and filled. Common fillings include ham and pease pudding,[1] but also bacon, egg and sausage. The heavy texture of the bread gives it its name. To 'stott' is Geordie meaning 'to bounce'[2] because if dropped it would (in theory) bounce.
Though originating in the North East, stotties can be found in most parts of Britain,but not the south, and have been offered for sale in branches of Greggs, Morrisons and Waitrose. Stotties sold by supermarkets tend to resemble stottie only in shape: The bread is lighter and more crumbly, resembling a bread roll more faithfully than a baker's stottie.
Until recently in some parts of the North of England, particularly in Bishop Auckland and the surrounding areas, some local fish and chip shops sold an item called a stottie dip. The shop assistant would take a stottie cake (or half/quarter of one) and dip the cake into a thin meaty soup or gravy made with minced beef or oxtail and present this to the customer in a furl of chip paper. The dense consistency of the stottie would absorb the dip without disintegrating and provided a very cheap form of warm fast food.
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