Bannock

[Odyssey]

I love making and eating bannock in the backcountry. I don't do much experimenting with adding savoury or sweet flavours to the basic flour, baking powder, dried milk and lard mixture; usually just dried fruit. Raisins, cherries or blueberries are my favourite to add. I don't make much bannock at home; we usually bake it's European cousin - scones. Here's an interesting article and radio piece about bannock.
http://www.cbc.ca/radio/unreserved/...y-1.3424436/bannock-a-brief-history-1.3425549

Do you bake bannock on trips? Do you have your own different recipes?

 

[Canotrouge]

We do on every tips for sure not every day, but often. I use basic recipe, flour backing powder salt and water. We'll add some other stuff some time like cranberries, blue berries, nuts, chocolate chips etc... but plain is great!!

 

[yknpdlr]

I make a large batch every year for students graduating from a wilderness guide training course. There are many recipes for bannock, you can go extremely simple or more complex with varied combinations of ingredients, depending on what you have. For this graduation rendezvous event I have my own recipe, I put the dry portions together at home with several kinds of flour, shortening, sugar, and other ingredients to make up around 60 biscuits cooked over a wood fire. Top with honey and maple syrup, served with corn meal mush and baked beans.

 

[Iskweo]

Bannock and beans, now your talking. Toss in some fried Klik( Klik lite for the squeamish) cut up into chunks and you have a power breakfast.

I will admit to covetting Brads bannock. It was super good and I would have ate the whole thing if I could have...I got most of it anyway. Those two sure eat good on trips.

If you do it right the dry bannock mix can make some pretty good flapjacks too.

Christy

 

[memaquay]

Anyone who tries Brad's bannock, beware. There be monsters lurking in that blandest of breads, monsters in the form of diabolically hot peppers from some South American country that specializes in burning buttholes off the gringos. After finding one sliver of such a pepper in Brad's bannock, my face turned blood red, my head started to sweat, and gallons of gin were needed to put the fire out. A few hours later, after dark, the necessity of a mirror finished knife became apparent. Beware the bread of Brad!

 

[Rippy]

That sounds ominous Mem, "Beware the bread of Brad".
Kinda like "Beware the Jabberwock my son. The jaws that bite the claws that catch".

 

[Mihun09]

You had to be there, it was classic really.

 

[Alan Gage]

I like bannock very much and usually eat it daily when tripping. I like it with peanut butter as a meal but will also bake it to eat with something else too. I know a lot of people cook up a large batch and eat it over the next few days but I almost always eat it hot and fresh. Much better that way.

I took over 10 pounds of bannock on my 30 day trip last summer. It wasn't too much. I tried a few different recipes before settling on this one:

.5 cup white flour
1.5 cups wheat flour
2tsp baking powder
.5tsp salt
1tsp sugar
.25 cup powdered milk (whole)

I think the powdered milk is a nice touch. About the only thing I do to jazz it up is maybe toss in a handful of raisins.

I also use it to make pancakes. I just add a big pinch of powdered eggs, some oil, and cinnamon. Very tasty.

Alan

 

[Odyssey]

I love bread. And contrary to all the health nuts out there (yeah, I'm looking at you, my daughters # 1 and #2) white bread tastes really good. A peasant's meal of a big firm loaf, a hearty bottle of red wine, a chunk of ripe cheese, a slab of dried meat and a handful of grapes is good for the travelling stomach and soul. I can't always duplicate this ploughman's lunch on canoe trips, so a fresh bannock is a welcome sight at lunch along with wine and cheese. I experimented with adding oatmeal, 5 grain cereal and corn meal once, and didn't like the result. I'll need to keep tinkering. I don't remember adding hot peppers last summer. Sorry memequay. I wasn't playing tricks, just tinkering with bread. Had I known it's effects on you I would've kept it away from you. And your underwear. ( Did you need an excuse to tip that gin bottle?) Smaller ham & cheese biscuit sized bannocks are nice and portable too.
I agree Alan, powdered milk (and lard) makes a difference.

 

[Iskweo]

I do remember there being some talk of jalapeno bannock at one point, and a bit of commotion right after. Something about peppers grown specially by the inmates of a Gautemalan insane asylum I think. I believe Mem was the only one of us foolish enough to try it. As they say in the movies..."he chose poorly".

Christy

 

[sweeper]

We use a basic bannock mix and we always have a reflector oven.

 

[Boreal Birch]

Reading this thread got me going like Pavlov's Dog!! The last picture from Sweeper tipped me over the edge. It is 1:50 PM up here & I am heading for the kitchen for a "SECOND BREAKFAST!!"

 

[sweeper]

Oh, a Hobbit reference?

 

[Boreal Birch]

Oh Ya, they carried packs and fry pans, camped, did some fishing, and took a little river trip too.
BB

 

[Boreal Birch]

On second thought it was LORD OF THE RINGS, same author though.
BB

 

[sweeper]

They WERE Hobbits and so is 'Second Breakfast'

 

[Jim Dodd]

Well now you've done it !
Or Rather I have done it. We are in for a foot of new snow and high winds to boot, starting tonight.
So What did I do ? Made a MAD dash to the store to stock up on Bannock fixins.

I'll mix up some of Alan's recipe. I'll wait until tomorrow to fry.

I was just getting the Holiday spare tire deflated a little.
That's life !

I may post a pic tomorrow, but it won't be as good as those already posted !

Jim

 

[Odyssey]

Good luck with that snowstorm Jim. And the bannock. Go easy on the jalapeños.

 

[Jim Dodd]

What fun I had with the Bannock ! I made two batches. One with Alan's FORMULA . Then a double batch with cinnamon, a little extra sugar and raisins.
Wow that stuff IS addictive !

I also topped with honey, Dark chocolate peanut butter, and real maple syrup. Heaven !

I burnt the first batch, but still edible. The second batch was better. But the third batch was good enough, that my wife would eat it ! And boy that is saying something !
Here's a pic !
OH ! Thanks Alan ! I think I gained a couple of unneeded pounds !

Jim

 

[Alan Gage]

Looks delicious, Jim! I started to crave some after this thread came up and cooked up a couple batches during the past week too.

Alan