Backcountry Bannock Bread – from a Bushcraft Legend

Bannock is a type of unleavened bread which has been a staple of nomadic people, bushcrafters and hunters for hundreds of years. Recently whilst flicking through my copy of Bushcraft by Mors Kochanski, I came across page 68, which is his recipe for making bannock in the backcountry

Mors Kochanski is a bushcraft and wilderness living legend who I have followed and admired for many years, his book, mentioned above was previously known as “Northern Bushcraft” and was later renamed “Bushcraft”.

Mors isn’t the only bushcraft legend to teach his bannock bread recipe. Uncle Ray Mears also has a great video you can check out below. He has a slightly different recipe that calls for powdered milk and has a unique cooking method which I prefer and use often when on canoe trips with the guys.

What I love about this type of bread is that is contains no yeast and is a flat bread that doesn’t require a painstaking wait period for it to rise before you can cook and eat it. It’s the perfect backcountry food an is really easy to make.

Backcountry Bannock Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 Cup Flour
• 1 Teaspoon Baking Powder (heaped)
• Pinch of Salt
• 3/4 to 1.5 cups cold water

Method

1. Combine the dry ingredients together in a deep pot
2.  Add 3 quarters of a cup of the cold water and mix with a spoon or your hands (don’t need this bannock)
3. Add your optional extras – berries, sugar, honey etc
4. Heat some oil or grease in your cast iron pot or skillet
5. Form the bannock mixture into a ball and add to the pan
6. Press down firmly to flatten the mixture out so that it takes up the circumference of the pan or is around 1-3 inches thick

Cooking Notes

1. Bannock takes between 15 and 30 minutes to cook properly and will depend on the outside temperature, the temperature of your stove or fire and the thickness of your bread.
2. Allow the bread to cook on one side and remove from the heat once it starts to get a nice golden brown color. It’s now time to turn the bread.
3. You can either flip the bread over and repeat the cooking process, or an easier method is to prop the pan up using a stick to face the heat of your fire, this will take a little longer to cook – however it is easier to moderate the temperature.
4. If you’re really feeling adventurous you can even cook your bannock in the coals of your fire using a dutch oven or a skillet with a lid

Cooking on a stick

You can also cook bannock on a green stick with the bark removed. Simple roll the bannock until it;s around the thickness of your thumb and wrap around the stick which can then be placed over the fire and rotated at regular intervals.

Mors Kochanski Bannock Bread Recipe & Method

Ray Mears Bannock Bread Recipe & Method

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