The grace of a grey bannock is in the baking of it… Scottish Proverb
Oatcakes or Bannocks were traditionally eaten on old-world feast days to mark the changing seasons. And roundabout Feb 1st or 2nd, they were known as “Bannoch of Bride” in honor of St. Bride or Brìghde. St Bride of Brightness, as she is known in Scotland, shares many similarities with the Irish goddess Brighid (and St. Brigid) who returns to the earth on her feast day, also known as Imbolc, to herald the arrival of spring. And to honor the occasion, bonnach (bannocks in Scotland) were baked in the hope she would leave her blessings of fertility, prosperity, and good health in return. (To learn more about Brigid & her Feast Day click here)
Séamas Ó Catháin documents in The Festival of Brigit: Celtic Goddess and Holy Woman that on the day of St. Bride’s Feast, bannock was involved in a procession of young girls known as the banal Bríde (“Brighid’s maiden band”) who went around town with a Bride doll (usually a straw effigy of Brigid). Mothers give out “Bonnach Bride” a Bride Bannock to the girls, and after they have made their rounds, as in Ireland, they retire to the house of a neighbor where they commence the feis Bríde (“Feast of Brighid”).” Bannock was also left out as an offering for St Brigid as she visited local households’ farms to bless them.
Generally speaking, making the Bannock of Bride was a ritual that ensured the prosperity and well-being of the household. This study of food traditions associated with Imbolg (St. Brigid’ (St. Brigid’s Day) describes “a tradition of leaving a ‘strone of oaten bread” on the windowsill for the saint and her pet cow. The word strone is believed to be an English equivalent of the Irish ‘sruán,’ a term for griddle-cake, ‘sruán coirce’ giving oat-cake. One account describes how a large oatmeal cake was prepared on the eve of the feast day. The following day the youngest girl in the house went outside to make a Brigid’s cross made from rushes.
“Then the family bolted the door and knelt before an altar in the kitchen. The girl knelt on the threshold of the house and said a prayer to St. Brigid while holding the cross. Afterward the girl entered the house and the woman of the house would lift the oatcake and hit the door with it while saying ‘May God keep hunger away from this house during the coming year’” Then the family eats the oatcake with noggins of milk”.
On the cross-quarter Days (like Imbolc) the boundaries between worlds are stretched thin so the Bannocks were often sprinkled with water from a holy well to prevent the Good Folk from stealing them. And according to folklore, it was possible to avert any bad omens or bad luck by serving the cake with plenty of butter ‘without the asking.”
Today bannocks come in a large variety of types ranging from cake to shortbread, can be thick or thin, and many are usually leavened to have more of a cake-like consistency. Originally they were likely made with rough oatmeal ( unprocessed groats) but many versions are made with rolled oats today to suit modern tastes. I chose to make a more authentic unleavened version using only oats and oat flour. I added a couple of tablespoons of sugar and minced rosemary for flavor (and because it is a sun herb sacred to Brigid ). This I cut into four quarters to mark the “cross-quarter day” of Imbolc (halfway between the winter solstice and spring equinox) and topped it off with a “caudle” of eggs and cream, and several generous sprinklings of sugar.
To be sure, these simple little oatcakes aren’t fancy or sweet, but they are sweet-ish, hearty, and savory. Bannocks can be distinguished from oat cakes because they are baked (cooked) on a girdle (think griddle) whereas oatcakes are toasted before the fire after having been partly baked on a girdle. So I’m going to try toasting my Bannocks this year during our annual Imbolc Bonfire! I’ll let you know how it turns out! I’ve adorned my Bannock of Bride with springs of heather, which according to folklore brings protection and plenty of good luck!
Rosemary Oat Bannock
Makes two small Bannock cakes (or eight pieces total)
Ingredients
- 1 cup rolled oats
- 1 cup oat flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled
- 1/2 cup cream or milk (plus one extra tablespoon for the caudle)
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary (1 tablespoon dried)
- 1 tsp. of grated orange zest
- 3 tablespoons of sugar (and three more tablespoons for sprinkling)
- 1 egg yolk (for the caudle)
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Grease a cast iron skillet or baking sheet.
- Place the oats, flour, salt, sugar, rosemary, and orange zest in a large bowl, and mix with a fork. Cut the cold butter into the flour mixture. Stir in the cream until all the flour is absorbed.
- Gather the rough dough together and place it on a surface lightly dusted with oat flour. Knead until the dough holds its consistency (but don’t overwork).
- Divide the dough in half and roll out each half into a circle about 1/4 inch thick.
- In a small jar, vigorously mix your egg yolk with a tablespoon of cream. Then brush the mixture over the top of the bannock. Sprinkle with sugar.
- Cut each circle into 4 wedges and arrange the wedges 1/4 inch apart on the baking sheet.
- Bake about 20 minutes or until golden and crisping at the edges.
Note: you can also apply a second brushing of caudle and sugar halfway through baking – I did!
must try this-thank you!
wow I love your recipe with a healthy dose of historical detail and beautiful pics it makes me miss Scotland as I used to live there
Thank-you!
St. Brigid was named after Brigid because her father was a Druid. She is NOT the earth goddess.
This mistake is often made because of the name.
Sorry if I gave that impression, but I do state in several articles and the video that she is a goddess associated with the sun. And her lineage appears to go back beyond the Druids as she was a member of the Tuatha Dé Danann!
She is a goddess…in the Celtic world, a living person can become a divine entity, and that is why so many have “earthly” lore. She was born “between the worlds”…the threshold so from birth was recognized as a gifted one. The Celts had that concept of divinity long before Jesus was “born” and became a god….
Thank-you!
This looks lovely. So, am I reading correctly that this recipe will make two rounds for baking? “Divide the dough in half and roll out each half into a circle about 1/4 inch thick.”
hello! yes you can make two rounds for smaller bannocks (cookie size) or 1 large one for, well larger bannocks! It’s really up to you – but obviously the smaller will cook a wee faster…
I made these for my Druid Grove Flame and Well, for our Imbolc Ritual. They came out not as thick due to high elevation in Colorado but they are quite good!!! Today I make a double batch. Last night was my trial batch. Thank you sooooo much for your recipes and words. I love what you do and am happy to support you on Patreon. xxx
Thank-you so much for becoming a Patron!!!! I’m glad you liked them. I’m making another batch myself for Imbolc. xoxo
How many servings would you say this makes?
If you divide the dough into two as recipe directs and then cut each of those into 4 quarters = 8 small bannock (cookie size). Or if don’t divide and make into one large bannock cut into 4 quarters = 4 bigger bannocks (i.e. small piece of pie). Hope that helps!
Baked this early this morning. It was lovely. The smell…..heavenly.
Thank you!
lovely! happy imbolc to you!
Happy Imbolc! What size iron skillet for one bannock? Thank you
Hello! I would say medium size – 8 inches or larger. Of course you could also bake on a cookie sheet! Enjoy!
These are amazingly delicious! Like the woman in Colorado, mine were somewhat flat because of my Montana altitude, but this did not affect the taste. Did I mention they are amazing? Thank you!
I think they are supposed to be flat.. no leavening agents! But they do taste good!
This is a beautiful recipe! I like the orange zest and rosemary best but have used other fresh herbs to celebrate other seasonal changes. I have used lemon zest with lemon thyme/oregano/ or basil. And for today (Mabon) I am back to orange zest and sage. And for Yule, I thought maybe orange zest with gingerbread type spices? This is an amazing recipe.
Thank-you Tim! It is one of my favourite recipes too…I make it all the time! And I love the idea of changing the herbs to suit the seasons and it all sounds delicious! Very inspiring – thank-you!
I just made this recipe with my daughter to celebrate Imbolc as we study it for school. We were out of rosemary so we found sage under the snow in our garden as well as using some of last year’s lavender. I felt so connected to Brigid and the meaning of Imbolc! Thank you for this divine recipe.
What a lovely story! Thank you!
Best served warm or ok to serve after its cooled (or the following morning)?
Any old time is good for bannock! Yes, lovely warm but a great snack too!
What is the best way to store them?
I keep them in an old-fashioned cookie tin!
I pinned this recipe quite some time ago and decided that TODAY was the day I would make a test batch for the upcoming Imbolc gathering with friends. I had everything ready…and then realized I was out of oat flour. Not wanting to lose the opportunity, I decided to substitute Bob’s Red Mill baking mix (gluten free). And because cardamon has been my latest favorite spice, I added that along with the rosemary and orange zest. I’m very pleased with the result! Warm from the oven with a cuppa hot coffee and watching the snow fall (again) is my kind of magickal morning.
Wonderful! Sounds amazing. I love the taste of oat flour though so be sure to give this a try sometime too!
i made this last night with minor alterations: rye flour instead of oat, and my caudle was equal parts heavy cream and bourbon-barrel aged maple syrup whisked together.
absolute perfection! thank you
My mouth is watering! Sounds delish!
I wish you had vegan substitutes listed.
On the agenda….but listing vegan substitutes means remaking the dish (often a few times) to get it right. This is time-consuming and also expensive but I’m trying to add a few more vegan dishes in general. Good news is that I’ve made this dish with coconut oil (same amount as butter) and coconut milk, skipped the egg caudle – and it still turned out delicious!
I made this last night as a vegan and it was great! I used plain unsweetened cashew milk instead of cream and Earth Balance instead of butter. I think any unsweetened milk alternative would work. My dough came out really wet (maybe I should have packed down the oat flour when I measured?) but it came out great! The only thing that did was allow me to skip the caudle all together and sprinkled the sugar directly on top. 🙂
I’d love your recipe if you’re willing to share it! Sound delicious!
Thank you so much for this lovely article and recipe. I made it this morning for a belated Imbolc. Even though i had to substitute casava for oat flour and lemon for orange zest, it came out beautifully! This was so good it will have to be made throughout the year but especially for cross quarter holy days. Thrilled at how easy and delicious it was. Thank you again!!
So interesting! I just bought some cassava flour last week so will try it in the recipe! Thanks for letting me know! Thank you!
I made this today, on Imbolic. It was very much like an oatcake recipe I use. This time I added a bit of toasted ground hazelnuts, caramelized shallot and chopped sultans. I don’t think my house can wait to only make this once a year. Thank you for your page. It is delightful.
Thank you so much! It sounds absolutely scrumptious, my mouth is watering!
Loved this recipe! Thank you ❤❤❤
Wonderful! Glad you enjoyed it. xo
My dough turned out way too wet to roll or handle, so I added more oats. Pressed into cast iron skillet and used the butter wrapper to press it down. I didn’t have rosemary or orange, but used juniper sugar left over from another recipe and lemon zest. No milk in the house during the coronavirus pandemic, so I used full fat coconut milk for the cream. It’s pretty good!
Glad it worked out!
I just made this recipe this morning… it is wonderful! I did 2 rounds of the egg yolk/sugar as you suggested and I think the sweetness was lovely. I think I will make this for my father-in-law for his birthday next week. I made one large one and I think I will try the smaller ones next time as they will probably package better. I imagine you could make this with different herbs/flavoring for different seasons too. This recipe is a keeper! Happy Imbolc!
That two rounds of caudle just makes it so good! Yes you could flavour this recipe so many ways, very versatile!
Hello Danielle! Would it be possible to use all purpose flour rather than oat flour?
I think so but can’t say for sure as I haven’t tried it – but, yes I think it would be fine!
I understand this is an old article but this is the year of historians who specialize in Gaelic history are going to start pushing back against neopaganized versions of history. I got assigned to you.
“the Irish goddess Brighid (and St. Brigid) who returns to the earth on the eve of her feast day, also known as Imbolc, to herald the arrival of spring.”
Really? What are your sources for this statement. P. Joyce wrote that Irish mythology the name Brighid is given to three daughters of the Dagda, one of whom was the goddess of medicine and medical doctors and another of poetry and wisdom. The third sister was the goddess of smiths and smithwork and by association. That is the sum total that we know about them and that’s iffy. Irish scholars have not been able to find his sources and many people believe that it was an attempt to re-paganize Christian beliefs he and several of his contemporaries would often do.
There is nothing in Irish mythological cycles that links Brighid to Imbolc. That is neopagan invention and you appear to be confusing her with Persephone, here.
Also, the oaten meal that is supposed to be used to make an oaten bannock is not the same as modern oatmeal. It had more of a consistency of corn meal. They would never have had oat flakes like this in it. At the least you should coarsely grind them although it’s still not quite the same and you need to add more liquid to your receipt so that it is not dry like this because you are working with a different texture of flour.
Quartercakes were a common things on quarter days. That’s true. Bannock spoke more to the shape loaf than the ingredients. Selkirk bannocks are made of whole wheat and sultanas. It was actually Yule bannock that was more likely to be made with an oatenmeal. Robbie Douglas sold his famous Selkirk bannocks made of whole wheat and SO many sultanas. The Fife bannock is a more savory bannock, kind of like farl. In Renfrewshire where my Grandma Ralston’s people they made bannock out of barley meal. And in Pitchaithly they used almond flour.
There is a reason the Tairis website was voluntarily taken down in light of new scholarship. I challenge you to rewrite this article finding primary source citations for many of the customs you wrote about and to just generally do better about separating historical fact from neopagan invention.
Thank you for your comments. I understand your passion (mine is equally great).
First of all, I’m not a historian, this isn’t an academic paper, and I’m not making an attempt to rewrite history. This is a recipe inspired by folkloric traditions and sure, you could it call it neopagan. According to the Cambridge Dictionary neopaganism is “ a modern religion that includes beliefs and activities that are not from any of the main religions of the world, for example the worship of nature”…” The practitioners of neo-paganism are reviving ancient pagan practices and beliefs of pre-Christian Europe.”
That does describe what I do here at Gather i.e. rediscover pagan food traditions which I believe are rooted in our earliest relationship with Mother Nature. My recipes are inspired by the food “magic” at the center of these early religions, and there is plenty of material to draw from. In fact, no matter the culture or religion, its a pretty safe bet that most beloved holiday foods were once pagan “holy foods”, ritually prepared and consumed to honor the great mother of all, who in turn nourished them. I believe the loss of reverence for the earth desacralized our food and severed us from the spiritual rituals which once brought us together, from which we drew nourishment, meaning and spiritual sustenance. Which is why believe reclaiming the “original” cuisine of the earth can go a long way towards healing our fractured relationship with Mother Nature.
Of course this is all speculation, but I am allowed my opinion, and I offer up this website and it’s many posts as support. None of this means I throw historical accuracy out the window. In fact, my entire “thesis” would be meaningless without it. Which brings me to sources you request.
While scholars generally agree that evidence for Brigid is historically scant, there is no shortage of folklore which suggests the Celtic/Gaelic goddess and later Saint, was associated with the arrival of spring. Her rituals (including the gifting of bannocks) were celebrated on her feast day, also known as Imbolc.
Esteemed Irish scholar Séamas Ó Catháin writes in The Festival of Brigit: Celtic Goddess and Holy Woman “In Gaelic tradition, the Festival of Brigit gives its name to the month of February (Mi na Feile Bride etc., “The Month of the Festival of Brigit) and is celebrated as one of the so-called “Quarter Days’ which divine the ear into four three-month periods. As such it marked the beginning of the spring season”…
“….By tradition, Saints’ Day festivals and other Holy Days were celebrated over twenty-four hours, starting on the eve of the feast and continuing through the night and through the following day. Thus the Festival of Brigit includes Oíche Fhéile Bríde (St Brigit’s Eve) and Lá Fhéile Bríde (St Brigit’s Day) – on 31st January and 1st February respectively. However, these are not the oldest names associated with this festival in Irish tradition, for in earlier pre-Christian times it was called Imbolc”.
“It involved a procession of young girls known as the banal Bríde (“Brighid’s maiden band”). Each home that they visit customarily places a gift onto the brídeóg, such as a shell, a spar, a crystal, some primrose, or a bit of greenery. Mothers however give “Bonnach Bride” a Bride Bannock… Once the young people have made their rounds, as in Ireland, they retire to the house of a neighbor where they commence the feis Bríde (“Feast of Brighid”).”
The “British Calendar Customs: Scotland, Volume 2” also confirms that Bannoch of Bride was made the first day of spring.
Pamela C Berger writes in “The Goddess Obscured : Transformation of the Grain Protectress from Goddess to Saint”: The Christian Church adopted these early spring sowing rituals in an attempt to redirect the local veneration away from a pagan Earth-Mother goddess to approved virginal female Christian saints from Europe who were renowned for protecting fields, enhancing the fertility of crops, and announced the opening of spring, which certainly included Brighid of Ireland who fulfills this same function….”
Kerry Noonan, asks the question who was Brigid in “Got Milk?”: The Food Miracles of St. Brigit of Kildare. “ Two possibilities suggest themselves. One is the conflation of St, Brgid with an earlier Celtic goddess who was concerned with fertility, and another is native Irish tradition regarding food and hospitality. Scholars such as Mac Canna, Charles Plummer and R. A.S. Macalister have described St. Brigit as a Christianization of a prior Irish or even pan-Celtic goddess, probably called Brigit or Brigantia, and have cited evidence from continental Celts as well Irish and British sources.She suggests Brigid seems to be “an embodiment of a supernatural cauldron of plenty, a common motif in Celtic literature and legend.”
Finally, I never make the claim that oat bannocks were the only kind made on Imbolc or that I am providing the original recipe for bannocks. But according to the “Glossary of Archaic and Provincial Words” by Jonathan Bucher:“Bannocks are most generally made of oatmeal…That oat bread, or bannocks of oatmeal is still the favorite and general food of the Scotch Peasantry, is well known.”
This study of food traditions associated with Imbolg describes “a tradition of leaving a ‘strone of oaten bread” on the windowsill for the saint and her pet cow’.The word strone is believed to is an English equivalent of the Irish ‘sruán,’ a term for griddle-cake, ‘sruán coirce’ giving oat-cake. One account describes how a large oatmeal cake was prepared on the eve of the feast day. The following day the youngest girl in the house went outside to make a cross from rushes. “Then the family bolted the door and knelt before an altar in the kitchen. The girl knelt on the threshold of the house and said a prayer to St. Brigid while holding the cross. Afterwards the girl entered the house and the woman of the house would lift the oatcake and hit the door with it while saying ‘May God keep hunger away from this house during the coming year”.
Primary sources are included in all these articles and I think they demonstrate I’m not reconstructing folk history. That said, thank you for bringing the lack of sources in this post to my attention, as you said, it is an old one. I’ve updated it now.