Eating In

4oz/125g fine oatmeal (medium will do)
8oz/225g plain flour
1level tsp dried yeast
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 tbsp buttermilk
1 pint cold water

Soak the oatmeal in the water overnight. Then mix the yeast with the buttermilk to a thin cream. Strain the oatmeal and reserve the water. Mix together the oatmeal, flour, egg and yeast mixture. Thin the dough with some or all of the oatmeal water and stir. The dough, or rather batter, should be thin enough to drop off a spoon. Cover and leave in a warm place for two hours, until risen and bubbly. To cook the pancakes, use a griddle or heavy frying pan rubbed with a scrap of butter. Pour in about one ladleful of batter and let it spread. Each pancake should be about 7 inches (18cm) and the thinner the better. Cook slowly until the pancake is covered with tiny bubbles and firm enough to turn with a pliable spatula. The underside needs only a few more seconds. The batter may be kept in the fridge and revived by warming up again. The pancakes freeze well. I didn’t have any buttermilk so I used warm water and a pinch of sugar with the dried yeast. I also found I had to add a little water to get the batter to the right consistency. Don’t make the frying pan too hot, as the bottom of the pancake should be golden, not charred. I used a bit of kitchen roll balled up and dipped into oil to grease the pan between pancakes. Remember as with all yeast cookery it helps if the bowls and utensils are warm.