Bannock Bread (aka Twist!)

When I married into the Giles family, one of the traditions I soon discovered was that of roasting bannock, aka "twist", over a camp fire's hot coals. The bread is named "twist" because of how the dough is twisted around a stick. I also discovered that the same bread that we'd roast over the fire made an incredible quick bread (no-yeast) that we could make at home.

I love this recipe because it is super quick to mix up, it doesn't have to rise and takes only about 20 minutes to bake. The recipe below will feed a good 6-8 folks for dinner so you may want to cut the recipe in half if you're cooking for less. I've included instructions for cooking over an open fire and for making the bannock at home in the oven. Bon, bon appétit!

Ingredients:

4 cups flour (1/4 cup of which 12 grain flour)

1/2 tsp. salt

5 tsp. baking powder

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup finely chopped cold butter

1 1/2 cups water

optional: chopped mixed nuts, cranberries, lemon, blueberries, acorns...  you get the idea!

Directions:

Oven instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

"oven bannock"

2. Mix the flour, salt, baking powder, sugar, optionals and the cold butter. Add the water last until a stiff dough forms. Knead on a floured surface and feel free to add a little bit more flour or water if needed.

3. Form the dough into a round/oblong loaf about 1" high. Bake on a GREASED baking sheet for 15-20 minutes until cooked through. Sometimes I have to cut the bread open to bake the middle when I make it a little too thick.

4. Serve warm with butter/jam/honey or just straight up. Enjoy!


Campfire instructions:
1. As above, mix the dough until a still dough forms.

2. Roll the dough into a long "log" shape and then wrap it securely around a 1" diameter stick that has had its end whittled free of the bark. You'll want to make sure that the dough is not too thick and not too thin as you'll be roasting it over hot coals - the idea is that you want the middle to cook without the outer part burning.

3. Roast your stick over the fire - a patient camper always wins out when it comes to bannock: keep the bread free from the flames and slowly turn it over a period of 10-15 minutes.

4. Serve with jam!

Fellow Gilesies roasting their twist over the open fire

Me!

A winter hot dog & twist roast in Muskoka