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Easy Meals

Bannock: Easy Campfire Bread (Pan, Dutch Oven, or on a Stick)

Easy Mealseasy8 servings· Prep 10 min· Cook 15 min
Bannock: Easy Campfire Bread (Pan, Dutch Oven, or on a Stick)

Bannock is the bread to know if you camp. Four ingredients you already have, no yeast, no rising, no fuss — just a soft dough you can fry in a pan, bake in a Dutch oven, or wrap around a stick and toast over the coals. It's been the trail bread of the outdoors for centuries for exactly that reason: it's nearly impossible to get wrong, and a hot piece torn off by the fire and smeared with butter is one of the small great pleasures of a camp morning.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tbsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 tbsp butter, oil, or lard
  • About 3/4 cup water or milk

Steps

  1. In a bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, and salt, then rub in the fat until it looks like coarse crumbs.
  2. Add the water a little at a time, stirring, until it comes together into a soft dough. Don't overwork it — just bring it together.
  3. Pan: pat the dough into a flat round and fry in a greased cast-iron skillet over moderate coals, about 5-7 minutes a side, until golden and cooked through. Dutch oven: bake the round with coals on the lid and underneath, about 20 minutes.
  4. On a stick: pull off pieces, roll them into ropes, wrap each around the end of a clean green stick, and toast over the coals, turning, until golden and cooked through, about 10 minutes. Slide it off and fill the hole with butter or jam.

Tips & variations

$Bannock is the bread to know if you camp. Four ingredients you already have, no yeast, no rising, no fuss — just a soft dough you can fry in a pan, bake in a Dutch oven, or wrap around a stick and toast over the coals. It's been the trail bread of the outdoors for centuries for exactly that reason: it's nearly impossible to get wrong, and a hot piece torn off by the fire and smeared with butter is one of the small great pleasures of a camp morning.$

Common questions

What is bannock?
Bannock is a simple campfire quick bread made from flour, baking powder, salt, a little fat, and water — no yeast and no rising. It's a Scottish-origin trail bread with a long history in Indigenous North American cooking, and it's a staple of outdoor and camp kitchens because it needs so few ingredients.
How do you make bannock over a campfire?
Mix flour, baking powder, salt, and fat, then add water until it forms a soft dough. Fry it as a flat round in a greased cast-iron skillet over the coals, about 5-7 minutes a side, or bake it in a Dutch oven with coals on the lid for about 20 minutes.
How do you cook bannock on a stick?
Roll the dough into ropes, wrap each around the end of a clean green stick, and toast over the coals, turning, until golden and cooked through — about 10 minutes. Slide it off the stick and fill the hole with butter or jam. It's a camp favorite with kids.
What is the difference between bannock and fry bread?
They're related but cooked differently. Bannock is usually pan-fried in a little fat or baked, so it's drier and breadier; fry bread is deep-fried in hot fat, so it puffs up and turns crisp and golden. Both come from the same simple flour-and-water tradition.

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