barm cake

{{Short description|Type of bread roll}}

{{Infobox prepared food

| name = Barm cake

| image = Barm cake with black pudding.jpg

| image_size = 250px

| caption = Barm cake with melted butter and black pudding

| alternate_name =

| country = England

| region = Historical Lancashire

| creator =

| course =

| type = Bread

| served =

| main_ingredient = Barm

| variations =

| calories =

| other =

}}

A barm cake is a soft, round, flattish bread item from North West England, traditionally leavened with barm.{{cite book|author=John Ayto|title=The Diner's Dictionary: Word Origins of Food and Drink|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NoicAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA21|date=18 October 2012|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-964024-9|page=21}}{{cite book|author=Angus Stevenson|title=Oxford Dictionary of English|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=anecAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA133|date=19 August 2010|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-957112-3|page=133}}{{cite book|author=Allied Chambers|title=The Chambers Dictionary|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pz2ORay2HWoC&pg=PA129|year=1998|publisher=Allied Publishers|isbn=978-81-86062-25-8|page=129}}{{cite web| last= Downes| first= John| url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/food/2011/07/the-ale-barm-method-worthy-of.shtml | title= BBC Food blog: The ale-barm method: Worthy of revival or just barmy bread?|website= BBC Online| date= 28 July 2011| accessdate= 14 June 2019|

quote= "...the original method of making yeast bread in Britain was a by-product of ale-making. When traditional ale is made, a yeasty froth appears on top of the fermenting liquid, the wort. This used to be scooped off, washed and added to bread dough in order to leaven it. Bread made this way is sweeter tasting than sourdough, and the leavening yeast used to be called 'barm'. Its unpredictability created the word 'barmy'. In the 19th century, the process was refined and industrialized, manufacturing it on a large scale with what is known today as 'baker's yeast', and used worldwide as the primary method of leavening bread. The barm method appears to be an ancient method developed by Gaelic peoples, and was quite different from that used in Europe, which is to leaven bread with a sourdough or leaven (the French call a similar product 'levain'). When the Romans first conquered Gaul, modern day France, they were astonished by the light sweet bread made by the Celtic inhabitants. Barm bread survived with the Celtic peoples in Britain, Scotland and Ireland, but was not common in Europe, being condemned during the Enlightenment as 'unwholesome'. In England, noblemen's bread, manchet, was always made with the barm method, whereas the commoners' bread, maslin, was a sourdough. Barm bread survived until World War Two, and even later in the North of England, largely as barm cakes. Curiously, the old method of making a sponge, or thick batter of flour and water with the barm was still used with the new industrially produced yeast and was re-introduced to Europe from Vienna where the first yeast factories were established. This became popular in France as a 'poolish', the favoured method of making crusty bread such as a baguette."}}

Bacon is often the filling for a barm cake, at home or in Lancashire cafes or bakers. {{Cite web|url=https://thefruitytart.org/the-bacon-barm-debate/|title=The bacon barm debate|website=thefruitytart.org|date=28 September 2020 }}

Chips are also a popular filling, sold in most fish and chip shops in the North West of England and often called a chip barm. Another popular filling in the North West, particularly Bolton, is a pasty barm.{{Cite web|url=http://www.ghsheldon.co.uk/process/13/BarmCakes.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20071011035926/http://www.ghsheldon.co.uk/process/13/BarmCakes.html|url-status=dead|title=GH Sheldon, Family Bakers, White Barm Cake, Brown Barm Cake|archivedate=October 11, 2007}} {{Cite web|url=https://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/news/8619644.delicacy-is-towns-favourite-snack/|title=Delicacy is town's favourite snack|website=The Bolton News|date=5 November 2010 }} In Wigan, a whole savoury pie is served in a barm cake, traditionally known locally as a “pie barm” or “slappy”. More recently it is known as a "Wigan kebab",[https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/mar/09/pie-barm-twitter-wigan-kebab What is a pie barm? In Wigan, it’s a way of life], The Guardian{{Cite web |title=Foods of England - Wigan Slappy |url=https://www.foodsofengland.info/wiganslappy.html |access-date=2025-04-21 |website=www.foodsofengland.info}} including on the menu of the local football team Wigan Athletic.{{cite web |title=Match Day Guide For Visiting Supporters |url=https://s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/gc-media-assets.wiganathletic.com/84e78e60-4e51-11ef-a297-59fb2b8c3fe1.pdf |website=Wigan Athletic Football Club}}