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Add
enough cold water to the bannock mix to make a soft dough. Mold this
rapidly, with as little handling as possible, into a cake about 1 inch
thick and lay into a hot cast iron skillet.
The
reason for handling the bannock as little as possible is that when the
liquid is added to the dry mix, it releases gas from the baking powder.
The gas causes the dough to rise. Rough handling can cause the gas to
escape, leaving you with flat, hard bread. It is worthy to note that
cold water releases the gas much more slowly than warm, giving more time
to form the bread and get it into the pan.
Cooking
in Camp Fire
Once
the bannock is in the hot skillet, hold it over the fire until crust
forms on the bottom, and then turn it over. Now prop the skillet at a
steep angle in front of the fire so that the loaf will receive a lot of
heat on top. When it looks golden brown, test it for doneness by
sticking a twig in the loaf. If the dough sticks, the loaf needs to cook
longer. After you have cooked bannock awhile, you will learn to tap it
with your finger and gauge by the hollow sound when it is done. It
usually takes about 15 minutes to cook.
The
Cree Indians I have camped with cook their bannock by pressing the dough
flat and cutting it into 1 inch strips. They wind these spirally around
a green stick. Hold over a bed of coals, turning the stick so that the
bread browns evenly.
Bannock
can also be cooked in an oven at 350° for about 25 minutes or until
golden brown.
Native
Bannock Bread
Here
is a bannock recipe I got from the aboriginal people of Canada.
6
cups of flour
1 cup of lard
3 tablespoons of baking power
1 tablespoon of salt
2 cups of raisins
3 ½ cups of water
In
a medium sized mixing bowl, combine the flour and lard together by hand.
Then add the baking power, salt and the raisins. Next add the water and
work the ingredients into a dough. Spread the dough out into a 16 inch
square cake pan. Bake at 425° for about 20 minutes or until golden
brown.
To
cook over a camp fire, divide the dough into four equal lumps and firmly
wrap each lump around the end of a four-foot food stick and prop
securely over the fire until golden brown.
Bannock
is Versatile
The
bannock mix can be used for pancakes, dumplings, cakes and rolls. It is
an easy bread to have in camp regardless of whether you are cooking on a
stick, modern oven, Dutch oven, reflector oven or sheepherder’s stove.
Editor’s
Note: J. Wayne Fears has written a 144-page book on all types of
wilderness cooking, including bannock bread, titled The Field &
Stream Wilderness Cooking Handbook. It is available for $20.95,
including shipping, from Backcountry Books, P. O. Box 187, Owens
Crossroads, AL 35763.
J Wayne Fears is the author of the book Hunt Club Management Guide and
the editor of Hunting Camp Journal Magazine, a magazine for the hunter
who manages the land and wildlife,
www.huntingcampjournal.com. |
