How to Make Easy Bannock Bread on Any Outdoor Adventure
Morgan Rogue 11.22.21
Making bannock bread is easy and can be done just about anywhere. Whether out on a hunting trip, camping with the family or just at home for a change of pace.
If you’re not familiar with bannock, it originated in Scotland and was once commonly made of oats. It can also be made with ground barley, peas, wheat or even a combination of grains.
It is the most versatile bread on Earth.
Even though I’m giving a basic recipe, this can be changed in so many ways. You can make it sweet by adding cinnamon or chocolate chips. Make it savory by adding bacon bits or cheese. Use your imagination and have fun with it!
In addition, the milk can easily be omitted. I have made this without milk and it tastes just as good. The milk just adds a little extra flavor.
Here’s a basic bannock recipe:
Ingredients:
- 1 cup flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1tsp baking powder
- 2 tbsp powdered milk
- 2-ish cups of water
- 1 tbsp butter (or oil, or lard)
If you’d like to make this mix ahead of time, add all dry ingredients together except the water and butter (or oil or lard) inside of a plastic bag. From there, pack the plastic bag in your gear and save it for the outdoor adventure.
Kids love to make this, it’s an easy activity for them and super tasty.
How to make it:
- Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl.
- Slowly add water until it’s a doughy consistency. You may not need all 2 cups. Add it in slowly and mix together until it’s not too sticky and not too runny. Should be a sort of thicker dough.
- Knead it a bit inside of the bowl.
- Prepare a frying pan, cast iron is good, but any frying pan will work. Can be cooked over the fire, propane or electric, really any heat source. Keep the heat medium low, closer to low, as you don’t want to burn the bottom. You may even keep the frying pan above the heat source somehow.
- You may break up the dough into smaller pieces or fry it up whole.
- Be sure to place a little bit of oil in the pan first, even in cast iron.
- Let it bake/fry up for about 5-10 minutes depending on the heat of your pan/heat source.
- Flip it and fry on the other side. You’ll know it’s fully baked through when you touch it and it feels hard, or feel free to cut into it.
If you do the whole natter at once, the flip isn’t always perfect! Sometimes it may be a little darker, but I honestly don’t mind. You may want to bake them in smaller portions for better control and flip. That’s completely up to you.
Once done, enjoy with butter, jam, with soup, stew or just plain.
The kids love it even plain. I love bread on every level so this is always an enjoyable and extremely easy bread to make for any occasion, any time of the year.
How will you be eating your bannock bread?
