A Recipe and History of Bannock

In my last blog post, I made Indigikitchen's sunflower cookies. This time, I’ll be exploring bannock and its history.

Bannock is a flatbread. That means it’s not puffed up from yeast the way that loaf bread is. Loaf bread is usually cooked in the oven. Flatbread can be deep-fried, pan-fried, or oven baked.

Can you see the difference?

According to The Canadian Encyclopedia and Kwantlen Polytechnic University, the recipe and name ‘bannock’ originally came to Canada from Scottish fur traders. Indigenous communities had their own flatbread recipes using ingredients like cattails and ground plant bulbs, but repeated interactions with the fur traders caused widespread flour adoption. Bannock was easy to make and high in carbs, a rare combination at the time. 

When European colonizers started claiming Indigenous land and putting Indigenous people on reservations, the rations they received were not a part of the traditional Indigenous diet. They received flour, lard, sugar and eggs: European ingredients. Turning to a recipe they were familiar with, Indigenous people began cooking bannock to survive.

Today, bannock has become an important part of many Indigenous communities. For some, it is still a means for survival. For others it is a food of the community and can be found at powwows, festivals and family gatherings. Kekuli Cafe has bannock as a staple ingredient across the menu. It is owned by Sharon Bond-Hogg, a “passionate culinary cook and Nooaitch First Nation member.” There are Kekuli Cafe locations in Westbank, Merritt, Kamloops and Fort Saint John so check one out if you’re nearby!

SFU’s dining commons also added bannock on the menu in 2023 as a part of their Rooted - Indigenous Food Program by Chef Steph Baryluk, a proud Teetl’it Gwich’in from Teetl’it Zheh. Maybe it will be on the menu if you come by!

So let’s take a look at a recipe!

Here is the late Perry Omeasoo’s bannock recipe: How do you make bannock? Omeasoo, a Squamish local and Cree man originally from the Samson Cree Nation in Alberta, was the host of a TV show, Back to Roots which highlights Indigenous culture, traditional skill-building, and culinary arts. He also had his own Youtube channel where he made various recipes, always with music, dancing, and a big smile on his face! For him, the smell of fresh bannock was deeply tied to his happiest memories of growing up with his grandparents.

His recipe is simple and uses basic pantry staples. While many people use room temperature water to bind the dough, Perry's twist was using soy milk to give the finished bread a subtle sweetness.

All you need is: 

• 2 cups flour  

• 1 tsp baking soda  

• 1 tsp salt  

• Soy milk (or room-temperature water)

• Oil, for frying

You have to combine the dry ingredients and add your milk (or water) until the mixture holds. After that, you fry it. You can enjoy it with peanut butter or jam. Or use it as a burger bun like Perry!

When looking for a recipe to showcase, I found that everyone I came across had their own spin on the recipe. Some people bake it in the oven, some people deep-fry it in oil, and others add berries right into the dough! Bannock began as a Scottish recipe, but it’s clear that the history of this bread is kept alive through the people who make it and the memories they cook into every batch.

For more about bannock, check out our recent Instagram post: https://www.instagram.com/p/DbwAH0rD8aA/

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Author: Callum Eaket, ITMP Blog Writer

Image credits: Bigger Bolder Baking, 2 Nerds In A Truck, Wikimedia Commons, Squamish Chief