Recipe#5724

Title: Bannock

SOURCE: "The First Decade" chapter in _A Century of Canadian Home Cooking

      Yield: 6 servings
 
      1 c  Whole wheat flour                 1/2 ts -Salt
    1/2 c  All purpose flour                   2 tb Butter, melted
    1/2 c  Rolled oats                       1/3 c  Raisins; optional
      2 tb Sugar, granulated                 3/4 c  -Water; approx,
      2 ts Baking powder                  
 
  "Bannock, a simple type of scone was cooked in poineer days over open
  fires. Variations in flours and the addtional of dried or fresh fruit make
  this bread the simple choice of Canadian campers even today.  Oven baking
  has become an acceptable alternative to the cast iron frypan. McKelvie's
  resturant in Halifax serves an oatmeal version similatr to this one. For
  plain bannock, omit rolled oats and increase the all purose floue to 1
  cup.... One of the earliest quick breads, bannock was as simple as flour,
  salt, a bit of fat (often bacon grease) and water. In gold rush days, dough
  was mixed right in the prospector's flour bag and cooked in a frypan over
  an open fire.
   Indians wrapped a similar dough around sticks driven into the ground
  beside their camp fire, baking it along with freshly caught fish. Today's
  native _Fried Bread_ is like bannock and cooked in a skillet.
     Newfoundlander's _Damper Dogs_ are small rounds of dough cooked on the
  stove's dampers while _Toutons_ are similar bits of dough deep fried. At a
  promotional luncheon for the 1992 Inuit Circumpolar Conference, Eskimo
  Doughnuts, deep fried rings of bannock dough, were served. It is said that
  Inuit children prefer these "doughnuts" to sweet cookies.
     Red River settlers from Scotland made a frugal bannock with lots of
  flour, little sugar and drippings or lard. Now this same bread plays a
  prominent part in Winnipeg's own Folklorama Festival.
     At Expo '86 in Vanocuver, buffalo on bannock buns was a popular item at
  the North West Territories ' restaurant. In many regions of Canada, whole
  wheat flour or wheat germ replaces part of the flour and cranberries or
  blueberries are sometimes added. A Saskatchewan firm markets a bannock mix,
  and recipe books from coast to coast upgrade bannock with butter, oatmeal,
  raisins, cornmeal and dried fruit."
  
  Stir together flours, oats, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add melted
  butter, raisins (if using) and water, adding more water if needed to make
  sticky dough. With floured hands, pat into greased pie plate. Bake in 400F
  oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until browned and tester comes out clean. Cut
  into wedges. SERVES:6 VARIATIONS: In place of raisins add chopped dried
  apricots or fresh berries.(Blueberries are terrific if one is camping in
  northern Ontario in August.)