Basic Bannock Recipe

BASIC BANNOCK RECIPE - courtesy of Margaret Black, Ontario, Canada ;-) Click Here for the original link




This is a recipe for a bread that can be made in the field. It is best to mix the ingredients at home and then seal them in a "ziplock" bag for the trip.

The basic mix will stay fresh for up to a month in the field, if kept sealed, dry and reasonably cool.

The quantity given will yield four bannock cakes, each approximately 3 1/2 to 4 inches in diameter.


Dry Ingredients

    • 1 cup flour
    • 1 tsp. baking powder
    • 1/4 tsp. salt
    • 3 T margarine
    • 2 T skim milk powder (optional)

    Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt (and milk). Cut in the margarine with two dull knives, an electric mixer at low speed, or a pastry blender, until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. Seal it in a "ziplock" bag.

    In the Field Grease and heat a frypan. Working quickly, add enough COLD water to the prepackaged dry mix to make a firm dough. Once the water is thoroughly mixed into the dough, form the dough into cakes about 1/2 inch thick.

    Dust the cakes lightly with flour to make them easier to handle. Lay the bannock cakes in the warm frying pan. Hold them over the heat, rotating the pan a little. Once a bottom crust has formed and the dough has hardened enough to hold together, you can turn the bannock cakes.

    Cooking takes 12-15 minutes. Test whether or not the bannock is ready by inserting a clean toothpick or sliver into the loaf. If it comes out clean, the bannock is ready to eat.


    If you don't have a fry pan on the trip... Make a thicker dough by adding less water. Roll the dough into a long ribbon, no wider than an inch. Wind this around a preheated green hardwood stick and cook over a fire, turning occasionally, until the bannock is cooked.


    BANNOCK PLUS!

    Margaret says...."My group likes to experiment by adding ingredients to the above basic recipe... We RECOMMEND the following:
    cheddar cheese bannock ...take old cheddar cheese with you on the trip... In the field: mix up the bannock dough; grate some cheddar cheese and fold it into the dough (don't work it too much); cook bannock; serve hot or cold! jam or apple turnover bannock ...take jam (blueberry and raspberry work really well as long as they're not too runny)

    or, one small apple + brown sugar + cinnamon + nutmeg with you on the trip... In the field: mix up the bannock dough and roll it into really thin circles (about 1/4 inch thick or less), spread jam, or thin slices of apple, brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg on one side of each bannock circle; fold the circles over, pinching the edges to seal in the filling; cook bannock turnovers in a frypan (you may have to stand each turnover on its folded edge for a few minutes to get that part to cook); serve hot! (p.s. the apple turnover is extra delicious if served with a slice of cheddar cheese on top!!)"