Whenever I hear anyone mention bannock, memories of 13 year old mini muggins and days spent at summer camp flood into my brain. On a nice evening me and about 30 other preteens used to head down to the beach and get some fires going. The counsellors had all the fixins for bannock in tow, so we would head out and find the best roasting stick we could muster, mix up the bannock, slap it (or wrap it) on our sticks and roast it over the fire. What we ended up with was a roasty piece of cooked dough that tasted somewhere between a pancake and a piece of bread (we fancied ours up by adding cinnamon).
It’s been many, many (many) years since I’ve tasted bannock and although I’m not about to light a fire in my yard, my oven makes a pretty darn good substitute.
For those of you not familiar, bannock is a simple quick bread of sorts, that is made from basic ingredients such as water, flour and baking powder. A staple food of the First Nations of Canada, some say bannock was originally derived from the Scottish scone. It was first brought to Canada by the fur traders, and adapted to campfire cooking by the Aboriginal people. There are a plethora of various recipes for bannock and I’ve seen cooking methods where it’s fried in a pan, baked in an oven or the traditional way of roasting it over a fire.
Instead of making a traditional bannock, I decided to take the basic recipe and jazz it up a bit, I’ll be doing a more traditional version later on in the month. I wanted to make myself something for breakfast, so to make it a little healthier I replaced some of the white flour with whole wheat, added some sweetness with a little sugar, cranberries and apples, then threw in some cinnamon for good measure. I skipped out on the frying this go around and baked it instead. What I ended up with was a lightly sweetened, crumbly, quick bread, which kind of reminds me of a scone in appearance. The bread dough itself isn’t super sweet, so it was nice getting little burst of tartness and sweetness in every bite due to the apples and cranberries. I ate a slice with some coconut yogurt but it would also be really yummy eaten warm with some jam or margarine.
Cranberry Apple Bannock
Makes 8 wedges
Ingredients:
- 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup canola oil
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 3/4 cup warm water
- 1/2 cup warm unsweetened non-dairy milk or water
- 1/2 cup apple, peeled and finely diced
- 1/3 cup dried cranberries
Directions:
Preheat oven to 425°F.
In large bowl, mix together whole wheat and all-purpose flours, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. In a small bowl, mix together oil, water, milk and brown sugar. Make a well in the dry ingredients then pour in the wet, blend with hands then mix in the apples and cranberries. Try not to overwork the dough.
Press into 1-inch high 7-inch diameter circle. Place on rimmed baking sheet; score into 8 wedges. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until lightly browned. Serve warm with margarine and jam.
You’ve just brought back memories of Brownies and Girl Guides! Now I need some bannock.
I had these at Brownie camp! That was forever ago! These look soooo much tastier. After MoFo I will give them a try, I know kiddo will like them with all the apple and raisins.
I find it interesting how different bannock is in different parts of Canada. I grew up waaaaaay up north on the tundra for the first 10 years of my life, and bannock up there was just flour + baking powder + water. Not joking! And it was often fried. Your version looks much nicer!
I’ve always loved the name bannock – but I’ve never seen any that look more delicious than this one – making them on camp sounds fun
What a beauty! I only found out about bannocks a few months ago, where had they been all my life? Will try yours soon.
<3 bannocks! Looks wonderful!
I <3 Bannock too! Gotta try this too!
thank you for making me think back to campfire bannock too! this was a staple dessert in my years of camping and canoe tripping – we’d pack the dry mix for canoe trips, then add water, brown sugar & chocolate chips and wrap it around a stick before grilling it over an open fire. such a great treat when you’re in the middle of the woods!
This looks great, and really similar to the damper we have here. Ours is savoury, though. I love the idea of a sweet version!
Ooh this looks so lovely and perfect for autumn or winter though I want to have a go at it even though it’s now spring here.
Mmm, bannock is so good, and you see it a lot around these parts! I pick some up at the farmer’s market sometimes, which is yummy but also silly since it’s so easy to make!
What a glorious & tasty looking creation! I love it! You could serve this the next day After Christmas to indulge on!
I never knew something like this existed, but now I cannot wait to give it a try!
Anything with apples and cranberries in it HAS to be good.
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