How to Make Bannock

Bannock is simple. Basically it is just a pan fried bread dough. Lots of leeway in this recipe. Use your imagination with it. It can’t be hurt! LOL (unless you try and add chocolate chips! ech.!)

• Flour
• Baking Powder
• Water
• Salt
• Lard or fat

As to how much of each? I haven’t a clue. I usually try about what I assume would be:

• 3 cups of flour
• tsp baking powder
• pinch of salt
• enough water to mix into a paste like dough
• Lard fry it in. Use a lot. 1/4″ in bottom of fry pan and add more later if needed.

Put it in the pan of hot grease and cook away! You can put it in as one piece, or shape it into “buns”.

I like to put in cheese chunks (small). Or cinnamon and raisins. Or wild blueberries. I also like it with lots of sugar sometimes (if I’m craving sweets in the bush). If I have butter, I love to eat it hot and dripping in butter or even syrup. Or just dipped into melted moose fat.

I usually fry it in a fry pan. One side at a time, slowly, if you have it leaned into the fire. Or, if you’ve lost the fry pan in the creek, make the dough thicker and wrap it around a green willow branch to cook over the coals.

Sometimes I bake it too. Grease bottom and sides of a bread pan, and place in oven. What temp? I’ve no idea. I’d guess not too hot though, cause it is thick and takes time for the middle to get done right. Can also wrap in tin-foil and bake like that. In order not to burn it this way though, I usually put it UNDER the coals, deep in the ashes or if it’s a new fire, under the dirt. Slow and cooler is the ticket here.

Oh! And if you are making a big pot of stew to last a day or so? Dump in a couple of pieces of bannock (as if you were making a bun) and it can be called a dumplin. Good stuff!

The Author:

Rick Mortimer