Bannock is a simple or quick- bread cooked on a hearth, or in a frying pan. This type of bread also was easy to make on the trail, when it was rolled into a strip, wound around a green stick and cooked over an open fire.
When cornmeal and an egg were included, it was called a “bannock cake.” Bannock is a popular foodstuff in Scotland and Ireland, and it is possible this type of bread originated in the British Isles–see origin of the word below.
The history of Wolfeboro New Hampshire (page 537) describes how bannock was prepared: “Thick batter was spread upon a plate or small sheet of iron, sometimes upon a bit of board, and set up edgewise before the kitchen fire. Where the family was large, a considerable number of these would be before the fire at the same time. Rude as the method may seem, it required some skill to properly manage the baking. Care must be taken that the bread did not burn or slide down on the hearthstone. When one side was sufficiently baked, the bannock must be “turned,” that the other side might be presented to the fire. To do this skillfully was regarded as a very desirable accomplishment.”
Bannock is a great item to make when recreating an American colonial meal, and also as a treat on a camping trip (just remember to bring a large cast iron skillet, the deeper the better).
Janice
