There is nothing like having some fresh, hot bread in the bush. Have you ever tried to bring a loaf of bread on a camping trip? It doesn’t end well. Your bread will be smashed and moldy in no time. Pita works and will save for three weeks if vacuumed sealed, but it’s hard to beat a steaming-hot piece of fluffy bush bread coated with margarine, peanut butter, and jam. Honey, maple syrup, or molasses are also great. When I get to frying it up, I like to build a little inventory so I’ll have some for the next day or two. It keeps for about five days depending on the temperature.

Bush bread is more commonly known as bannock, but I’ve also heard it being called trail bread, grease bread, or Indian bread. It has been a popular food throughout the north for hundreds of years. There are many different recipes for it, each one a little different. Here’s the recipe I used in the Arctic. For my summer trips I bring margarine instead of butter because it doesn’t go bad. Any type of fat will do, the voyagers often used bacon grease.

Ingredients:
- 5 cups flour (white or whole wheat or a combination of any kind of flour)
- 4 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1/2 cup milk powder
- 2 to 3 Tbsp. fat (butter, margarine, shortening, bacon grease)

Directions:
Mix all the dry ingredients together in Ziploc bag before your trip. When you’re at camp just add water and fat like butter or shortening. Then, kneed it with your hands until you have a dry doughy ball. Add some blueberries or raisins if it suites you’re fancy. Flatten it out and fry in oil on medium to low heat for about 10 minutes or until golden brown.

It’s also good cooked on a stick over the fire like a marshmallow. If you do it on a stick, it will have a toaster-like texture and will be fluffier than the pan-fried version. Pan-fried, the texture is more like a doughnut.

Comments (4)

from Will Wilkinson wrote 1 year 45 weeks ago

This stuff is great! It’s a morale booster to have some fresh bread out in the bush

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from ailken wrote 1 year 45 weeks ago

It is a great bread, and is a real moral booster and fun thing to make while camping, just bring the dry mix in a baggie.

I just made a couple batches over the weekend while camping.
Turned out to be everyone best friend at breakfast.

Made up 2 batches, 1 plain and the other was cinnamon rasin.
I make mine a bit different though.

This recipie is per person/serving
1 cup flour
1 TBSP sugar
1 TBSP baking powder
1 TBSP FAT (margerine, shortning, butter, bacon fat).
1/4 tsp salt (can be eliminated if using regular salted butter or bacon fat
Mix together to combine dry ingredients and fat, then add just enough Milk to get it mixed and not sticking to the inside of the plastic bag.

For the cinnamon rasin one, per person, I added:
1/4 cups of rasins
1 tsp of cinnamon
1 more TBSP sugar

Gonna try a new one this weekend at dinner:
add to basic recipie per person
1/2 tsp onion podwer
1 TBSP fresh chives (1/4 tsp dried)
1/4 cup grated cheddar

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from leifjohn wrote 1 year 44 weeks ago

the video is goofed.

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from jmshackelfo@aol.com wrote 1 year 42 weeks ago

Im going to have to try it.. it looks good.

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from Will Wilkinson wrote 1 year 45 weeks ago

This stuff is great! It’s a morale booster to have some fresh bread out in the bush

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from ailken wrote 1 year 45 weeks ago

It is a great bread, and is a real moral booster and fun thing to make while camping, just bring the dry mix in a baggie.

I just made a couple batches over the weekend while camping.
Turned out to be everyone best friend at breakfast.

Made up 2 batches, 1 plain and the other was cinnamon rasin.
I make mine a bit different though.

This recipie is per person/serving
1 cup flour
1 TBSP sugar
1 TBSP baking powder
1 TBSP FAT (margerine, shortning, butter, bacon fat).
1/4 tsp salt (can be eliminated if using regular salted butter or bacon fat
Mix together to combine dry ingredients and fat, then add just enough Milk to get it mixed and not sticking to the inside of the plastic bag.

For the cinnamon rasin one, per person, I added:
1/4 cups of rasins
1 tsp of cinnamon
1 more TBSP sugar

Gonna try a new one this weekend at dinner:
add to basic recipie per person
1/2 tsp onion podwer
1 TBSP fresh chives (1/4 tsp dried)
1/4 cup grated cheddar

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from leifjohn wrote 1 year 44 weeks ago

the video is goofed.

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from jmshackelfo@aol.com wrote 1 year 42 weeks ago

Im going to have to try it.. it looks good.

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

Post a Comment

 

All submitted comments are subject to the rules set forth in our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.