by Paul Cormier, Salamanders of Kemptville
Doug Gowenlock is a good neighbour of ours and no stranger to Kemptville, having worked at the KCAT for some years. Every time we have a social event at the Cormier farm, Doug brings his much-appreciated bannock. This is one of the staples of Canada’s First Nations and Inuit. The ingredients are all very basic, compared to other bread recipes that use yeast, eggs or milk. Doug has very kindly shared his recipe with us.
Bannock
Ingredients
2 1⁄2 cups all-purpose flour
6 teaspoons sugar
6 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1⁄3 cup lard or shortening or butter
Approximately 3⁄4 cup water
Some oil for greasing your pan
Optional are 1 cup of grated cheese, raisins, cranberries, bacon bits, currents or blueberries.
Directions
In a bowl mix the first four ingredients.
Use a fork to cut the shortening and mix it thoroughly with the dry ingredients. Add your choice of the optional ingredients and again mix thoroughly.
Slowly add the water until the dough can be formed into a ball.
Cover and let it rise for about 15 minutes.
Place about 1⁄4 of the dough on a piece of parchment paper that has been lightly dusted with flour. Cover this with a second piece of parchment paper and roll to a thickness of about1⁄8 to 1⁄4 inch. They will about double in thickness as they cook. Use a glass or cookie cutter to form the individual pieces and place each piece in a frying pan that has been generously coated with oil. Cook under low/medium heat until one side is a golden colour and then flip it to do the other side. If you make thicker pieces, keep the temperature lower so that it will cook thoroughly without toasting the outside.
Many thanks to Doug for his contribution. Keep those mails coming, folks: we really appreciate it. As always, I can be reached at pcormier@ranaprocess.com. ‘Til then, happy nesting!