Bannock: Bread Packed for the Trip and Set Beside the Soup
Stop mixing once the dough holds together, even if it still looks wet and shaggy. Roll each piece thin, grill it hot, and salt it while it is still warm.
For Chef Stephanie Baryluk, who is Teetl'it Gwich'in, bannock belongs to a family table: it was eaten with soup, and it went into the meals packed for trips in the North. Baryluk credits the family recipe to the chef's own mother. On the Simon Fraser University page where these memories are shared, bannock also appears in the Teetl'it Gwich'in language as Tuhch'uh. That is the word given on that page for that language, not a name used everywhere.
Bannock isn't one fixed recipe. Families and communities across Canada make their own versions, and they cook it in different ways. This article follows one of them: a grilled bannock by chef Shane M. Chartrand. The amounts, timings and temperatures below all come from that one recipe, and they are not mixed with any other.
This recipe has not been test-cooked for this article. The amounts, times and temperature are the source recipe's own. Where this article suggests an alternative flour, salt or cooking appliance, that is an untested suggestion, and the result may differ.
One Bread, Many Forms
Bannock can be baked, cooked in a pan, deep-fried, or wrapped around a stick and cooked over a fire. The Simon Fraser University Rooted Indigenous Food Program describes it this way, and stresses that families and communities each have their own versions. Parks Canada also notes that bannock varies across Canada.
Recipes from different places can look nothing alike. At Rocky Mountain House National Historic Site in Alberta, the visitor program serves a bannock described as Métis-adapted, and Parks Canada says the origin of that particular recipe is unknown. It is cooked over an open fire in a long-handled cast-iron pan, and the dough contains oil and cold water. That is a separate recipe with its own formula. It is not the source of the grilled version here.
This article chooses the grilled method. It is one example, and you can explore more of the country's food through Canadian recipes.
Bannock as Indigenous Food: Two Things Are True at Once
In the introduction to his recipe, Shane M. Chartrand writes that bannock's place in Indigenous cuisine is debated. Some Indigenous people see recipes built on wheat flour and white sugar as foods adopted after European contact. Chartrand also writes that bannock is part of celebrations and family traditions. Parks Canada mentions earlier meals based on corn, nut meal, and flour from ground plant bulbs.
This article keeps both sides of that picture. It does not name a single origin or a single "authentic" bannock, and it does not speak for every community. Chartrand is of the Enoch Cree Nation, and the profile on the recipe page describes Cree ancestry and a Métis upbringing. Chartrand's account, the Métis interpreter's recipe at Rocky Mountain House, and Baryluk's Teetl'it Gwich'in family memories are three separate voices.
The Grilled Version: 8 Pieces, Served to 4–6
The recipe comes from tawâw: Progressive Indigenous Cuisine by Shane M. Chartrand and Jennifer Cockrall-King, a 2019 cookbook excerpted by the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21. The flour, baking powder and sugar are given by weight, and the dough is grilled on a hot grill.
The source divides the dough into 8 pieces and separately says it serves 4–6. These are two different measures. One is how many pieces you shape, and the other is how many people it feeds. How many pieces each person eats depends on what else is on the table.
Ingredients: One Bowl of Dough, Oil for the Grill, Salt to Finish
The oil is not mixed into the dough. It is only for the grill and the surfaces of the bread. The finishing salt is also separate from the salt in the dough.
The source also gives ¼ tsp for the salt. That is not an exact match for 1 ml, and this recipe uses the 1 ml figure. Use the gram amounts for the flour, baking powder and sugar as printed, without converting from spoon measures.
This bread contains wheat (gluten). Check the label of your baking powder too. Swapping in a gluten-free flour has not been verified with this formula, so it would be a different recipe.
Equipment
- Large mixing bowl
- Whisk
- Clean, damp tea towel
- Clean work surface
- Rolling pin
- Grill with a metal grate that can be preheated to high heat
- Spatula or tongs for turning
Choosing Flour and Salt Outside Canada
Flour: The source uses all-purpose flour. In kitchens where all-purpose flour isn't the usual flour, such as in Japan, a medium-protein flour (chūrikiko) is the closest editorial choice. Flours sold under similar names differ in protein and absorb water differently, so the texture may change. Cake flour (hakurikiko) is another possibility, but it has not been tested here, and the bread will be different. Whatever you use, keep the water at 375 ml rather than adjusting it by guesswork.
Finishing salt: Ordinary coarse salt or sea salt can stand in for fleur de sel. The crunch of the crystals will be different. Salt to taste, as the source does.
Oil: Any neutral vegetable oil, such as rapeseed oil, works for coating the grill and the dough. Brushing it on thinly is a suggestion, not part of the source.
No special ingredients are needed beyond these.
Method: Mix Briefly, Rest, Then Grill Both Sides
The source's grilling times are guides for each piece. Check the puff and the color on each side, and remember that home grills vary.
Troubleshooting: Shaggy Dough, Dark Marks, Uneven Thickness
| What you see | Likely reason | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| The dough looks wet and rough | This is how the source's dough is meant to look | Stop mixing once it holds together. Adding flour or water goes beyond the source |
| The outside is dark, but you're not sure about the center | Heat, thickness, or your grill differ from the source | Don't judge doneness by color alone. If raw, sticky dough remains in the center, it isn't ready to eat. Note your heat, thickness and appliance, and adjust next time |
| Pieces finish at very different times | Rolled thinner or thicker than about 0.5 cm | Keep each piece close to 0.5 cm so the source's times fit better |
| The bread sticks to the grill | Not enough oil on the grate or the dough | Oil the grate and the side going down, and oil the top before flipping |
| The finishing salt tastes harsh | Coarse salt used in place of fleur de sel | Use less, a pinch at a time. The crystals differ, so match the taste, not the amount |
Don't taste the raw dough while you're working.
Variations That Stay True to the Recipe
- Beside a bowl of soup. This matches the table Baryluk describes, and Chartrand also lists soups as an accompaniment. The bread itself doesn't change.
- With stew, dips or spreads. Chartrand suggests these too. Keep the dough and grilling exactly as written.
- With cooked wild berries, without the finishing salt. The SFU page lists cooked wild berries as a way bannock is eaten. Leaving off the fleur de sel for this is a suggestion, not part of Chartrand's recipe.
- Other cooking methods. Pan-cooking, baking, deep-frying and cooking on a stick are all ways bannock is made, but they come with their own recipes. Don't assume this dough will cook in the same time by another method. The Parks Canada recipe, for example, uses its own formula, a 10-minute rest and a cast-iron pan over an open fire.
- Coarse salt or sea salt instead of fleur de sel. Easier to find, with a different crunch. Salt to taste.
Serving and Leftovers
This bannock is a lightly sweet bread meant to sit beside other food: soup, stew, a dip or a spread. A sweet, deep-fried bannock is a different way of cooking, and it isn't part of this recipe.
The sources used here give no storage or reheating guidance, so this article does not suggest how long bannock keeps or how to reheat it. The recipe is written to be eaten freshly grilled, while it is still warm.
Frequently Asked Questions
What kind of bread is bannock?
It's a bread that families and communities across Canada make in many different ways: baked, pan-cooked, deep-fried, or cooked on a stick. There isn't one definition. This article follows one chef's grilled flatbread version.
Is bannock a traditional Indigenous food?
That question is debated. In Chartrand's account, some Indigenous people see wheat flour and white sugar recipes as foods adopted after European contact, and bannock is also part of celebrations and family traditions. This article doesn't answer on behalf of any community.
Can I make it in an oven or a frying pan?
Bannock is made those ways too, but this recipe is written for a hot grill at about 200°C. Its times and temperature don't carry over to other methods, which have their own recipes.
What flour should I use if I can't find all-purpose flour?
A medium-protein flour is the closest editorial choice. Cake flour is a possibility, but it's untested here and the texture will differ. Neither is guaranteed to behave like the source's flour. Keep the water at 375 ml.
What do I serve it with?
Soup, stew, dips and spreads are all suggested by the sources. Cooked wild berries are another way bannock is eaten, according to the SFU page.
How long does it keep?
The sources don't say, so no storage time is given here. Eat it warm, soon after grilling.
Sources
- Shane M. Chartrand and Jennifer Cockrall-King, "Bannock," Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 (excerpt from tawâw: Progressive Indigenous Cuisine). The source of every amount, time, temperature and step in the grilled recipe, the 8-piece division and the "serves 4–6" yield, Chartrand's account of the debate around bannock and its place in celebrations and family traditions, and the profile describing Chartrand as of the Enoch Cree Nation, with Cree ancestry and a Métis upbringing. https://pier21.ca/eat-make-share/bannock-shane-m-chartrand-and-jennifer-cockrall-king
- Simon Fraser University Food / Rooted Indigenous Food Program, "Bannock." The many family and community versions of bannock and its cooking methods; soup, stew, cooked wild berries and dips as accompaniments; Chef Stephanie Baryluk's Teetl'it Gwich'in family memories; and the language item Tuhch'uh. https://www.sfu.ca/food/programs/rooted/rooted-program-dishes/bannock.html
- Parks Canada, "Parks Canada Heritage Gourmet Recipes: Bannock." The Métis-adapted visitor-program bannock at Rocky Mountain House National Historic Site and the note that its origin is unknown; bannock's variations across Canada; and earlier meals based on corn, nut meal and flour from ground plant bulbs. Its recipe is a separate formula and is not used in this article's recipe. https://parks.canada.ca/culture/gourmand-gourmet/recette-recipe66
