Bannock and Berries
Two things happened to inspire this article—First, I just returned from canoeing up in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) in northern Minnesota, and second, this is prime berry-picking season.
Canoeing in the BWCAW, Minnesota
It's berry picking time: sweet blackberry madness
Let me elaborate on why I was even canoeing or berry-picking: I did it for a man. Sigh. Or should I say, the man. Part of being in a relationship, I feel, is to respect, to learn, to grow–and we aim to do that with each other. And part of being engaged to an active American Indian Anishinaabe (pronounced a-nish-i-na-bay) outdoorsman means having to do (and most importantly wanting to do) woodland sorts of things out-of-doors, which include canoeing (a nice peaceful means of transportation on lakes) and berry-picking (a nice way to enjoy eating). More broadly speaking, these Anishinaabe woodland things basically entail being involved in seasonal cultural activities that have to do with land in some way.
While Anishinaabe tribal activities involve certain cultural tenets, like Native language and specific eco-spiritual worldviews, the actual activities themselves are processes that Anishinaabe people share with others around the world, certainly with my Quechua people, and may be familiar to many of you. I’m talking about things like harvesting or gathering wild plants, processing them largely if not totally by hand and all the while acknowledging in your own way nature’s compassionate bounty.
Resilient and delicious little wild strawberries
So while I was out canoeing, I had two tasty experiences. The first experience involved the multitude of raspberries and blueberries that colored the area. You could literally find and eat these berries along the portaging trails. It was a luscious, not to mention antioxidant-rich sugar burst.
Raspberries galore!
The second experience was slightly more bitter—the taste of jealousy. Yes, I did succumb to this despicable anti-virtue. What happened was I packed so efficiently and brought such light energy and protein-rich super dehydrated food that I forgot about fun and fresh. So when I saw my companions frying up bread in their little camp pan, I felt, well, a tad annoyed. How could I have forgotten bread? Especially with so many berries around—imagine bread with berries served on top or even cooked in them! So upon my return from paddling my buns off, I decided to do a little homework on bread that is easy to make and convenient to make anywhere.
As you can see, I paddled my buns off. With my fishing pole.
I was delighted to recall bannock. Often referred to as easy bread or a cheap bread, bannock (which has roots among our Scottish friends) has many variations, but is especially prized among First Nations people in Canada as a thick, dense pan-fried or baked bread. Similar to the place frybread occupies for American Indians here in the U.S., bannock is served up at Pow Wows and other social gatherings all over Canada. It is served most memorably as bannock and bologna, where a thick piece of fried bologna is inserted into an even thicker piece of bannock that has been sliced in half and buttered.
The dry mix: flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar, vegetable shortening
I decided to experiment and elaborate on a basic bannock recipe, which calls for just flour, salt, baking powder and water, and can be pan-fried or baked. What’s great about bannock for campers is that the mixture can be made up prior to a trip and then once you get to the campsite, all you need to do is add water, use a non-stick pan to cook it and you’ve got bread!
The dough: milk instead of water
According to First Nations sources (see the website listed at the end of the article), the flour in bannock used traditionally by Native people was made from various plant roots. That has since changed, and now white flour is used, but in many creative mixtures. Or in my case, King Arthur flour from Norwich, Vermont (a tad ironic since bannock is supposed to be a cheap bread and I used a more expensive, but totally-worth-it flour).
Bannock happily frying away
The bannock turned out quite nicely, but the real treat was using the berries I had picked in the woods earlier as a topping.
Tasty raspberries and blackberries ideal for a fresh fruit topping
I tried several variations of bannock, but this was the best tasting recipe, according to my Anishinaabe guinea pig. I think next time I’ll add pine nuts to my dough for some more flavor and protein. Feel free to experiment as well and to share with us your version of bannock. So, the next time you’re headed out into the great wilderness, even if you don’t bring along some bannock mix, don’t forget the FUN (i.e. the stuff that’s going to make your tummy happy after a challenging day). And of course, don’t forget to smell the roses (or in this case, eat the berries).
Zomppa’s Bannock
Bannock
3 cups of flour
4 ½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
3 heaping tbsp sugar (if you like it sweet)
½ cup of vegetable shortening (or lard)
1-2 cups of buttermilk or canned milk
1. Heat a skillet or pan over medium-high heat. Add oil (vegetable, canola, etc), butter, shortening. I used very little oil—maybe 1 tsp.
2. Lower the heat to medium.
3. Combine all dry ingredients and shortening and mix well.
4. Then slowly add in the milk until a manageable dough is formed.
5. Shape balls of dough depending on how large you want the bread.
6. Then flatten the balls into pancakes about ½ inch thick.
7. Place in the pan and allow each side to brown, cooking each side for about 8 minutes or until fully cooked.
For more information on Anishinaabe harvesting of wild edible plants, the Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission (GLIFWC) has a beautiful Anishinaabe harvesting calendar on their website (www.glifwc.org) that lists local plants and foods by each season and using the Native language of the Anishinaabe people, Ojibwemowin (pronounced o-jib-way-mown).
For more information on bannock, First Nations in Canada and bannock recipes, please visit the Ministry of Forests and Range “Bannock Awareness” website at http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/rsi/fnb/fnb.htm.
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Category: Appetizers, Featured Articles: Travel & Culture, Main Dish - Vegetarian, Recipe Vault, Travel & Culture, US & Canada
What a great adventure! And a lucky man……I am so going to try this bannock!
I usually end up bringing dehydrated food on camping trips, too. This is a great fresh bread option, I’m looking forward to trying it on my next trip!
What a fun experience and the bannock looks so yummy! When I was little I especially loved picking wild strawberries, those are so good!
Wow it sure sounds that you had lots of fun…beautiful pictures and the bannock looks great specially with the fresh berries
how fun to eat fresh berries like that!
what a wonderful adventure…and you are right…being in a relationship forces us to grow. i love your version of bannock….fresh fruit is yummy but has got to be even more delicious on fried dough.
We don’t get to camp much -really at all – anymore, but I think I will try bannock out anyways – a quick fried bread is often the perfect accompiament to lots of meals! I am a little envious of your adventure! Thanks for linking to Two for Tuesdays!
Hello Liz and welcome to the two for tuesday recipe blog hop! I ADORE your site and I am now following on twitter and also grabbed your feed! This is a really great article! We have many foragers in our group who I am sure will love your trip into the wilderness. My husband is part NA and my kids feel really jazzed to learn about the heritag and culture! Thanks so much for linking to the blog hop and I look forward to getting to know you better through your site! Alex@amoderatelife
What a great adventure.
Love fresh berries!
What a wonderful post. I enjoyed your adventure in the wilderness and it is great to learn so much and get a new recipe for a different kind of bread. Bannock will go in my recipe file.
I grew up in Canada, and once when I was at camp they got us to make what they said was bannock and to be honest I wasn’t impressed. Now I know why – all they gave us to use was flour and water! Your recipe looks light and delicious – and it sure would be great with fresh berries. Thanks for demonstrating what bannock is really supposed to look like
Fun, fun! I love the idea of this recipe! Will try!
Um…I’m in a bit of awe right now. I absolutely adored this post…everything about it. I love the bannock fry bread…I love the foraging for wild berries around you…I love that you shared it with Two for Tuesdays this week. Thank you! Looking forward to more =)
Interesting recipe, all I have to do now is to find the berries. It seems to be a beautiful part of the world where you find yourself, your photos are great.
Boy, I’d be happy as a clam out picking berries and canoeing. I’m jealous. Thank you for linking up your wonderful post with Two for Tuesday.
That looks great. I love cooking outdoors and use my Dutch Ovens all the time. Thanks for the great bannock post and for linking up with Two for Tuesdays.
It will soon be wild blackberry picking time here in Ireland. They estimate a week’s time. Wohoo! The bannock bread looks absolutely delicious!!!
@Belinda and Kat: Thanks for the kind comments! Kat–I can imagine how beautiful it must be out your way. Please share photos of your berry picking if possible.
@Alex: So glad you came to our site! And so pleased you are teaching your kids about their dad’s heritage!
Thanks to all for your comments–it was awesome to visit all your sites and to have linked up with you via Two for Tuesdays!
I am soooo not a camper, but I really enjoyed your article and beautiful photos. Really interested to learn about bannock – I had heard it mentioned on Food TV once, and was curious about it so great to learn more. Our native Maori population I think have a similar kind of bread, and I imagine the Australia damper is also somewhat similar. Thanks for sharing.
Sue
That’s real fun outdoor activities. Sounds like I’m watching a TV documentary show
Love the food….mmm. Thanks very much for sharing.
Liz, I was jumping out of my seat to see this, why?! Because I spent a week canoeing in the boundary waters and it was a trip I will never forget! This post brought so many memories back especially foraging wild blueberries for our morning pancakes. The Bannock bread was ingenious! Way to go and thanks so much for linking this to Two for Tuesdays
how fun, great time, great food
sweetlife
Ohh love canoeing and more with wild berries, this is absolutely awesome…including the gorgeous bannock recipe
!!
All the best,
Gera
Foraging, berries and bannocks. Absolutely adorable and a must try!
Wonderful, such fun…I love this recipe, it is very new to me but sounds/looks amazing
Nice! You should enter that in the BWCA campfire/cookstove recipe contest at http://www.bwcaboard.com