Bannock, my first attempt!

[Ken]

Greetings,

I'm currently attempting to make my first bannock. My ingredients are a mix of recipes I've seen on the Internet, along with a few compromises due to the lack of ingredients in my bachelor style cupboards.

I'll post my recipe and pictures a bit later on when I've a) cooked it and b) eaten some of it! It's on the cooker at the moment.

I'm doing this one at home first, to see if my recipe is any good, and to get some practice before attempting it in the 'wilds'.

Subscribe to this thread if you fancy seeing how much mess I've managed to make and to see if it all worked out!

Ken

[GaryBeaner]

I'm waitin!! I must admit though, although I think I'm making it right I don't know for sure because I've only ever tasted mine! Ahhh an idea for a meet sometime.....Bannock tasting event, complete with pretentious judges?
1st prize a 2lb bag of flour?

[Ken]

My First Bannock
(Or should that be Kennock?)

INGREDIENTS

Plain Flour - 2 Mugs
Powdered Milk - 3/4 Mug
Powdered Egg (Though mine is an egg replacement) - 2 Tablespoons
Salt - 1 tablespoon
Sugar - 1 tablespoon
Lard - A lump (not too much and not too little):)
Bicarbonate of Soda (should be baking powder!) - 1 heaped tablespoon
Water - 1 Mug

http://img560.imageshack.us/img560/7803/bannock1.jpg (http://img560.imageshack.us/i/bannock1.jpg/)
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http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/4383/bannock2.jpg (http://img291.imageshack.us/i/bannock2.jpg/)
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PREPARATION
- Start by mixing the flour, powdered milk, sugar, salt, powdered egg and bicarbonate of soda together. I used an aluminium billy can. Ensure that everything is well mixed.

- Add a lump of lard and start mixing it in with your fingers. (When I'm out in the 'wilds', I won't be using lard, so no hygiene issues.

http://img524.imageshack.us/img524/8562/bannock3.jpg (http://img524.imageshack.us/i/bannock3.jpg/)
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- When the lard is well mixed in, create a small well in the mix and slowly pour a little water into it, bit by bit, ensuring you stir well. Keep stirring until the mix starts to form a dough.

http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/9522/bannock4.jpg (http://img153.imageshack.us/i/bannock4.jpg/)
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http://img43.imageshack.us/img43/1518/bannock5.jpg (http://img43.imageshack.us/i/bannock5.jpg/)
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- Heat up a pan with some oil and place your lightly flattened dough into the pan. Cook on one side for about 5 minutes on a reasonable high heat.

http://img508.imageshack.us/img508/9114/bannock6.jpg (http://img508.imageshack.us/i/bannock6.jpg/)
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- If you were out and about, what you'd normally do, is take it off direct heat and lean the pan towards an open fire to allow it to cook top down slowly. In my case as I was in my kitchen, I turned the bannock over and dropped the heat of the pan.

http://img834.imageshack.us/img834/7940/bannock7.jpg (http://img834.imageshack.us/i/bannock7.jpg/)
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- Let it cook until it's nice and brown.

http://img600.imageshack.us/img600/9296/bannock8.jpg (http://img600.imageshack.us/i/bannock8.jpg/)
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- And serve..:rock-on:

http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/6709/bannock9.jpg (http://img4.imageshack.us/i/bannock9.jpg/)
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Because of it's ingredients, it's more of a kind of cake, however it's very dense still and very filling. I'll shall be having some with my favourite; baked beans and a super hot chilli sauce...

Next time I intend to vary the ingredients and not make so much mess!

[paul standley]

Great Ken. Bannock is brilliant because I'm sure everyone uses a different recipe...!

I made it 3/4 times when I was out solo last year and it's fun to do and i found it very filling and always made more than i could eat.

I pre-mix all ingredients before a trip and store in a med size zip-lock bag. When you are ready to cook, add the wet ingredients into the bag, zip it up, give it a good nead/shake until good consistency and then drop straight into the pan. Keeps everything clean and easy.

I did hear that the convention with bannock when it's cooked is to break it and not cut it.

Paul

[Ken]

I did hear that the convention with bannock when it's cooked is to break it and not cut it. Paul

Thanks Paul. I wasn't aware of that until I heard Ray Mears mention it on a youtube video of him making bannock, whilst i was researching various ingredients. As you can see, I did just that with mine :)

Ken

[paul standley]

Ken, it was seeing that you had broken open your bannock that reminded me that I'd heard it and actually, i do think it was Ray the man in one of his vids where i heard it...!

[Fletching]

...breakin' the bread!

Steve

[Mang]

This is Dave Craze from Bonnie Moonshines making a Bannock today in the Bushcraft & Survival skills base at The Outdoors show in The ExCel, London...

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e121/Mang1967/od_21.jpg

...He used Flour, Baking Powder, water, mixed spice and dried fruit which he mixed visually 'til it was lumpy porridge consistancy. Half way through he used a Dutch oven lid to flip it. He *gasp* cut it...but that was probably because we all moved forward as a rabble to grab a bit and he had to make it go round! Nice flavour.

[klause]

Ken i love all the mess !! My misses would have a complete breakdown, so i might just make some tonight with the kids...
Anyway Ken, it looks very tasty pal...

[comanighttrain]

Looks nice!

Anyone know how long bannock will keep for?

[Martin]

Looks nice!

Anyone know how long bannock will keep for?

About 10 minutes if left unattended. ;)

Martin

[Ben Casey]

Looks good Ken I will have to try it out to.

[Fletching]

About 10 minutes if left unattended. ;)

Martin

Ha!

I guess the same as bread or cake if kept dry. On another note, if your bannock has milk powder in and if you dry it in the oven on a really low heat after it's first baked, it turns into rusk (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ouma_Rusks and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rusk) which can last for months and are delicious dipped into tea/coffe (or soup if you keep it savoury).

[comanighttrain]

ruuuuuuuuuuusk mmmmmmm now im definetely trying it

[Edwin]

I am sure that all these bannocks are very nice but I used to just use flour, water and a bit of salt. Perfectly edible, the flour is cooked which is the main thing. One thing I did add one time was fennel seeds and that was delicious. Had a cast-iron frying pan that did them very well.

Unfortunately the flat I was in some time when I was cooking them had an electric stove that was shorting out so I used to get loads of electric shocks if I held the iron handle of the pan without wrapping it in a dry cloth. Never thought of complaining to the landlord, or about bits of ceiling plaster that fell down.

[Mouldsy]

I like to keep it simple myself, much the same as above, 2 cup's of flour and a cup of milk powder is my usual recipe cooked in a cast iron skillet or the one my kids love, wrapped around a stick and cooked over the fire, If you add a tea spoon of soda powder you'll have yourself an Irish favourite Soda bread. Another favourite is to cooked the mix in hot oil in a skillet and have yourself some drop scones, goes down a treat on a cold winter morning when you've just crawled out of your sleeping bag.

[Fletching]

I like to have both sweet and savoury, but still like plain old flour 'n' salt with a dash of baking powder as this one's good for dunking in soup.

My favourite sweet recipe:

Flour
baking powder
Milk powder
salt
sugar
dried mixed fruit
chopped dates
cinnamon powder

My favourite savoury recipe:

Flour
Baking powder
Vegetable Salt
Sugar
Garlic Powder
Cumin Powder
Chilli Flakes

You can also try a 'curry' version, a 'pesto' version and the fennel seed (see Edwin, above/below) version is really nice with game!

[CanadianMike]

Just made my first to go with my beef roast, initial tastes show it's rather good. Will experiment more with it in upcoming months, but first, looking forward to dipping in gravy. :)

[CanadianMike]

Going to do my second attempt tonight, adding in powdered milk to see the difference than last, but been looking at various recipes and am really liking the idea of this stuff.

Found this, worth sharing (hmmm, use bacon fat)

http://my.tbaytel.net/scouts/camp/bannock.html

[mahikan]

When out in the bush and traveling light the best way to cook bannock is to roll the dough into a very narrow sausage shape about the with of your index finger 8" long. Then spiral wrap it down a willow shoot about a thumb width in diameter and the length of your arm. You can then hold it over the fire to cook it, when ready tap it and it should have a hollow sound you can then slide it off the stick and fill it with jam or butter, or dip it into soup/stew etc.

Depending on your bannock mix you can also deep fry it these are traditionally (over here) called 'dough gods'.

Breaking or cutting Pan Bannock over here is not an issue trust me I have been with many natives and eaten tons of bannock, but more often than not first nation people will cut Pan Bannock to reduce the amount of man handling it receives. It's more of a hygiene issue!