Bara planc, meaning 'griddle bread' or 'bakestone bread' in Welsh, is a traditional yeasted bread of Wales cooked on a flat iron bakestone, the planc or maen, over a fire, rather than baked in an oven. The bakestone was the universal cooking surface of rural Wales before domestic ovens became common, used for breads, scones, cakes and oatcakes alike, and bara planc is the bread form. Unlike oven-baked bread, the griddle cooking gives the loaf a soft, pale, slightly cakey crumb with a tender, uncrusted top and bottom, since it is the even, moist heat of the bakestone rather than the dry radiant heat of an oven that sets it. The dough is a simple enriched wheat dough, sometimes with a little sugar and butter for a tea-bread character, proved and then shaped into rounds cooked directly on the hot bakestone for a few minutes each side. Bara planc belongs to the same Welsh bakestone tradition as the Welsh cakes and the crempog, and while it is less internationally known than those, it is a fundamental bread of the Welsh rural kitchen, eaten split and buttered.
A round, soft, pale loaf with a tender, cakey crumb and no crisp crust, just-baked warmth and a faint sweetness, split and loaded with butter. Eaten warm, in wedges, with tea or soup.
Bara planc's distinctive soft, crustless texture comes from the griddle method. A simple enriched wheat dough of strong flour, yeast, milk, a little butter and a little sugar is proved once until doubled, then shaped into flat rounds about 2cm thick. A heavy cast-iron griddle or bakestone is heated to a moderate, even temperature, a lower temperature than a pan for scones, and the dough rounds are cooked directly on the dry hot surface for 6 to 8 minutes per side, covered loosely with a bowl or lid to trap steam and help the bread rise. The covered griddle cooking mimics the even, humid heat of a wood-fired oven floor, setting the bread through without forming the dry, hard crust of an oven loaf, hence the soft, cakey, crustless result. The bread is best eaten warm and fresh, split and buttered, since the soft crumb stales within hours. A second prove after shaping gives the light, open texture.
Variations
A handful of currants makes a fruit version close to Welsh cakes. Buttermilk replaces some milk for a tangier bread. Some versions add a little mixed spice for a tea-bread character.
On the Palate
Where Bara Planc sits in the British flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 6How it's made
7 steps · 25 min
- 15 min
Warm 200ml milk with 40g butter and 1 tbsp sugar until melted; cool to lukewarm, then whisk in 7g instant yeast.
- 28 min
Mix 450g strong white flour with 1 tsp salt, add the milk mixture, and knead to a soft dough for 8 minutes.
- 36 min
Prove in an oiled bowl for 1.5 hours until doubled.
Watch outProve until the dough has doubled — under-proved and the griddle breads bake dense and heavy instead of soft and puffed.
- 45 min
Knock back, divide into 6 pieces, and shape each into a flat round about 2cm thick; prove on the tray for 30 minutes.
- 53 min
Heat a heavy cast-iron griddle or bakestone to a moderate, even heat.
- 66 min
Cook the breads on the dry hot griddle for 6 to 8 minutes each side, loosely covered with a bowl or lid, until puffed, pale golden underneath and cooked through.
Watch outKeep the griddle at a moderate, even heat and cover loosely — too hot chars the crust before the middle cooks through.
- 74 min
Serve warm, split and buttered, with tea or soup.
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