I LOVE talking to the older generation about baking and rekindling those forgotten regional recipes from yesteryear.

The other week I was reminiscing with a nice elderly lady at work who was asking me about Scotch pasty and currant garden mint pasty, which were sold in the bakeries around the Keighley region in years-gone-by.

I do remember making them on an industrial scale at W Day's Bakers and Confectioners in the Keighley bus station in the late 70s, after being allocated the jobs as an apprentice.

This got me excited and I wanted to bake my favourite Scotch pasty again, but like everything in life we tend not to keep a record or write down old and treasured recipes.

I searched Google without a single mention of this local delicacy and sought help on social networking without joy.

So I decided to go with my own instincts and have a try, with the knowledge of ingredients and methods of making this yummy, jammy, iced topped delight still fresh in my mind.

I decided to use pounds and ounces in my recipe this time, as suggested by a few older readers who still bake with them.

I'm pretty sure your mum or grandma would have baked the Scotch pasty recipe for you years ago.

It was based on a scone and leavened with baking powder and eggs sandwiched together with lots of home-made raspberry jam, then topped off with water icing which always had that distinctive ring of dessicated coconut around the sides. This was the best bit for me.

Once set, the pasty was cut up into big wedges for an after-school treat to keep us going till teatime.

I recall the recipe did include strong bread flour (“gasp” I hear you say!), but in those days the baker made all the scones, cakes and pastries using bread flour and I must admit I still do today, to a point.

So do have a go: the next time you make a batch of scones, you will be amazed with the extra rise and tenderness the strong flour will give!

The master baker’s secret is not to overwork the dough and develop the protein (gluten) which will make your products tough and rubbery.

This method is called 'chafing' in the baking trade, and basically means shoving the dough around on the tabletop without kneading it or overworking it – you simply lightly fold it until smooth and all comes together, then stop!

The raspberry jam does make this recipe very special, so try and use home-made if you can or a good quality shop-bought one.

Once baked and finished, I couldn't wait for the icing to set before sampling what I had made a brew in one hand and a large wedge of Scotch pasty in the other.

The forgotten combinations of flavours came flooding back, needing another slice to just make sure, it was that good.

Most important for me, there is now an online record for future generations of bakers to try and keep alive our regional baking heritages!