Comments on: Baking in the Wild: How to Make Bannock Bread

By: JJJJ

JJJJ — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 03:00:49 +0000

1. Ray Mears makes bannock and adds brandy or rum to it once cooked. I will try adding bacon to the dough, and pouring whiskey on once cooked.

2. bannock on stick = no cast iron pans

By: Cyber

Cyber — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 18:21:01 +0000

Easy to make. I use all kinds of different additives like raisins, flax seed, sesame seeds, raspberries, strawberries, blue berries, etc. Tried lots of different sugars as two of the kids that live with me have VERY restrictive diet issues. I have cooked it on just about any flat surface or shallow pan, a little corn meal or oats under the loaf adds to the texture.

By: The realone

The realone — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 11:59:04 +0000

@Marked one: You said that salt may contain potassium which if true, will kill you by inducing a heart attack. KCL is extremely poisonous and is used to execute by injecting in to the vain.
Aluminum of any kind is also poisonous not to mention it has been linked to on set of alzheimer.

By: Matthew Abel

Matthew Abel — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 17:49:41 +0000

@Marked One: Most commercial baking powder does, in fact, contain aluminum. It’s in the higher temperature acid – salts such as sodium aluminum phosphate or sulfate. It’s used as the “hot” action in the double action – when the dough hits the heat.

They do make aluminum-free baking powder, but you have to check the cans.

By: Mark

Mark — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 16:04:58 +0000

Dough on a stick does work. I’ve tried it. Use biscuit dough, about one biscuit’s worth, wrap it around a sick much like a wide thin snake, and toast it like a marshmallow. They taste great!

Thanks for the recipe, I can’t wait to try it!

By: Mick

Mick — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 10:30:30 +0000

Firstly @ Owen. Damper is not made on a stick. Damper is essentially Bannock with out the milk power or shortening and is cooked in the coals of a fire much the same as Bannock is.
The old bushmen of a bygone era would cook it in any number of ways from just putting the dough mix straight into the hot coals and shovelling more on top, or if they had something to save having to break off an inch thick burnt crust from doing it that way, say a Billy can, which is just a large open topped tin can with a length of wire for a handle. Then you would chuck your dough in that after giving it a coating of flour, and sit it in the coals. Putting something over the top to act as a lid would even up the cooking. These days, as well as those of the bygone era that had them, a Camp or dutch oven is the cooking tool of choice.

Secondly, I really want to try this Bannock stuff, it sounds like the lap of luxury after eating so much Damper in my life. :-)

By: Lonereader

Lonereader — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 09:06:14 +0000

Interesting version of the recipe. I’ve more often seen more milk powder than a 1/4cup.

By: Tim Raveling

Tim Raveling — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 05:32:32 +0000

If you’re traveling light and don’t feel like carrying something made out of cast iron, you can make do with aluminum foil, a la shepherd’s stew. Just open out a hot bed of coals flanked by the fire on one side and a reflective rock wall on the other (or fire on both sides, if rocks are unavailable). This works better, though, if you have a risen loaf beforehand. You can actually do this with yeast, as yeast is easy to pack if you keep it dry (those little individual packets from the grocery store work great). Just keep in mind that the temperature of the water you use has to be just right, which can be hard to do with a tin pot over a fire, but it is possible. Also, you’ll need an hour or two in camp to let it rise. Do it right, though, and you will have a nice loaf of bread. Wrap in foil, place in coals for 10 min, and voila. The genuine article. Nothing better than fresh homemade bread on a cold night in the mountains!

By: Marked One

Marked One — Sat, 09 Apr 2011 09:09:55 +0000

The comment about running the other way with regards to a tablespoon of baking powder is a bit inaccurate. Baking Powder does not generally contain aluminium and will not have the metallic taste you speak of. Basic baking powder is sodium bicarbonate and cream of tartar. It would have the combined chemical formula:

CHNaO3
KC4H5O6

Both potassium and sodium are commonly found in table salts so may present that kind of taste but certainly not a metallic one despite technically being metals. A table spoon of baking powder is a common addition to the flour component of a victoria sponge and does not taste at all metallic.

By: Justin

Justin — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 19:25:47 +0000

One tip anytime you’re baking anything with baking powder in the backcountry (or your kitchen), DO NOT USE HOT OR EVEN WARM WATER. Warmer water will speed up the chemical reaction that occurs between the water and baking powder meaning that less of the gas will be available to form air bubbles when you’re baking your goodies. Cold water = fluffier eats.