The Story of Bannock (Scotch Bread)-What is it? How did "First Nations Peoples Come by It?

Bannock was Introduced to "Aboriginal" or "First Nations" Peoples by Early English, French and Scottish Settlers;

 WITH THE INTENTIONS OF WIPING THEM OUT; Thereby Ending North America's "Pesky" Indian problem.

I have heard it stated by some self proclaimed experts on Yukon and/or First Nations cooking:
“I decided I wanted my first blog to be about Bannock Bread because you can't really get much more basic than that.  It is a type of quick flat bread that doesn't require yeast that you cook over a campfire.  It is said to be Scottish and that they would simply use flour and water, but the Native Americans and tribes around the world have made basic breads like this also.  It is traditionally made on a stick, but you can cook it in a pan also.”

That there is any truth to any of these claims is, of course, impossible.

Firstly, Bannock is not a flat bread. A flat bread is a even simpler (more BASIC)bread; made with flour, water, and usually salt; for flavouring. It is thoroughly rolled into a stiff flattened dough. Most flatbreads are(because of type of grain used) unleavened, and are not classified as QUICK BREADS, although a few such as Pita Bread are SLIGHTLY leavened. Bannocks are not Arepu, Banny, Barmbrack,Baziama, Bing,Broa. Bannocks are not biscuits, crackers, crapes, flapjacks, frybread, pancakes, scones, of waffles. Bannock is not Galette or Gellette (hard-tack).
Bannock signifies a LOAF of bread; so it would be very difficult indeed to ROAST(BAKING requires indirect heat-such as is produced when using a Dutch or other oven, or a fry pan/skillet.
Secondly, Bannock is and always was,leavened; meaning it always REQUIRES the addition of baking powder, baking soda, sour dough starter, pearl ash, or yeast.
Thirdly, Because bannock is a leavened bread;  it must be made from a flour that contains gluten; something the peoples of the Americas did not have until introduced to them by Europeans.
Lastly,Meaning a communal  LOAF of bread; Bannock is a Gaelic word. Indigenous North American peoples did not have a written language and they didn't use the same phonetic alphabet or word soundings that we now use; so they would not have similar sounding words, especially with the same, or similar, meanings; in their vocabulary.

As with many of the products(many of which originate in Asia or the South-Middle-East) being marketed as authentically aboriginal, INDIAN, or native now days, there was, is, and never will be anything aboriginal, native, or Indian about BANNOCK. 
The word which is of Celtic-Latin origin; was unknown to the North American Native until 1860; how could there be?

Until well after the first European settlements were established, the North American Native did not have baking powder, carbonate of soda, barley, Sourdough or wheat-so, they could not possibly, have been making bannock; or any other leavened bread, before the arrival of the first Europeans.

Think about it-the Celtic name bannock derives from Latin.Obviously, the origin of the bread has to be; Scotland or at least European.

Britons have baked some form or other of bannock at least since the time of the Druids (who avoided bad luck by never kneading the dough counter clockwise).

Bannock was brought to North America by early settlers; where it was introduced to the local natives- commonly known as Hudson Bay Bread-it soon became a staple for First Nations peoples across the continent. And everyone now makes it with what they have at hand; ingredients include: cornmeal,  rolled oats and wheat bran, lard or shortening, eggs, blueberries, molasses, sunflower seeds; or the most common; “Biskquick”.

Flour was a luxury item in the early days of the fur trade. It was used to thicken pemmican style soup, rubbaboo or occasionally to make galettes.

"Galette or gellette (hard-tack) was the name used by the voyagers of the North West Company for an unleavened flour-water biscuit made by baking in a frying pan, or in the ashes of the camp fire.
The term "Bannock"  was used only to describe the leavened LOAF, other portions being designated as simply biscuits, flap-jacks, pancakes,  scones etch.
Eventually bannock became the name accepted and recorded in journals and diaries throughout the western interior of Canada." By the mid-1800s, the original flour, water, fat mixture became more elaborate with the addition of berries, butter, buttermilk, meat, salt, suet. The variations  acquired other names, too; bush bread, fry-bread, trail bread, or grease bread.
Remember, bannock describes only the loaf and the traditional North American way to prepare bannock was to mix the ingredients into a large round mass and bake in a frying pan or propped up against sticks by the campfire. The frying pan usually was tilted against a rock so that it slanted towards the fire for part of the baking.

I often wonder where it was in SCOTLAND that Idaho and Montana's "Bannock"(a Celtic word, unknown in North America. The alphabet was not known, natives did not use the same sounds or have a written language; how could there possibly be a  "Bannock" tribe?) Aboriginal First Nations tribe originated?

      Bannock is not flat-bread and it is not hard-tack; bannock is leavened and has been since the name was first used in 1572 Scotland.

The Story of Bannock (Scotch Bread)

Bannock is a quick bread.

 Quick bread is not bannock. Flat breads, fry-bread, or hard-tack are not bannock; neither are biscuits, pancakes, scones, or waffles.

Bannock- Name that first occurs in 1572 Scotland to describe a quick bread made with barley and often leavened using sourdough. Bannock is and always has been a leavened LOAF OF BREAD. Originally, like chowder soups, bannock was a community dish.

The word “bannock” is of Celtic origin, derived from the Latin word, panicium which refers to baked goods, orpanis, meaning bread. It has been the daily bread of Scotland, Ireland and Northern England for almost as far back as their history dates. Later, it also became a Communion Bread-used in the church, but the name, means a communal (belonging to the community) LOAF of bread--biscuits, fry-bread, griddle cakes, pancakes, and scones are not bannock. 
       The dough is formed into a flat round LOAF and baked on a bannock stone (or “bannock stane,” as the Scots would say) over an open fire.

 Because bannock was a communal bread the loaf form was seen as a matter of expedience; it was much easier to divide and distribute equally than a bunch of small unregulated portions
       

        While they did have several types of meal; before the introduction of Hudson Bay Bread (bannock, Scotch Bread) the North American Natives had no wheat flour, which came to North America from England and therefore could not make bannock or any other type of leavened bread. This is because the gluten of wheat flour possesses properties which enable the dough containing it to stretch and hold the leavening gas produced  by the action of yeast, baking powder or other agent. Of course, the North American Natives had no baking powder either.

       In the modern era, bannock has come to include any quick bread loaf  leavened using baking powder; so technically; I guess, it would be correct to refer to a pound cake as bannock, but smaller portions, not in loaf form, are just biscuits, muffins, dumplings, scones, flap jacks, pancakes, or what-ever. Fry-bread; which the North American natives probably acquired from the Negro slave population is not bannock and the North American indigenous population did not "fry" much of anything before they acquired metal cook-ware from the Europeans.

           Another leavening agent, which could be, and was, used in bannock and other quick-breads, right up to the 19th Century, was baking soda. It was known as saleratus. Its advantage was that it combined quickly with the acid in sour milk or buttermilk, two ingredients readily available, in some areas, in the days before refrigeration, to release the carbon dioxide needed to make batter rise. If the recipe called for sweet milk, or if using plain water rather than sour milk, the cook had to add an acid-usually cream of tartar-to get the chemical reaction going.

           Things became a great deal simpler after the introduction of baking powder in 1856.This new product contained both baking soda and an acid salt, such as cream of tartar, when a liquid-either water or milk-dissolved the powder, the acid and soda started reacting, and carbon dioxide bubbled up in the batter.

          Bannock was first introduced to the North American native as Hudson Bay Bread. Because the baking powder it contained was thought (mainly by the French) to curb sexual prowess, many believed it would help get rid of "that pesky Indian problem". It was commonly known that "Indians" bred like rabbits.   
         Many the he-man of the North was proud of his virility; and constantly seeking to prove it, as attested by local legend and the ridiculous size of some families (15-20 kids. But, of coarse, many the he-man of the North didn't live very long.
        In that day, there were some reasonable or at least accepted-providing they forgot what often drove them to come here in the first place- excuses; so, he took no chances of his libido being impaired. This obsessive compulsion did  introduce three brand-new, hybrid, very self-cantered, very undisciplined, very vocal, breeds of humanity- the Métis,  métis, and "Status First Nations".
         The European "Old Timer" would not include baking powder bannock, biscuits, pancakes, or scones in his regular diet.

         While they did have several types of meal,; before the introduction of Hudson Bay Bread the North American Natives had no wheat flour, which came to North America from England and therefore could not make bannock nor any other type of  leavened bread. This is because the gluten of wheat flour possesses properties which enable the dough containing it to stretch and hold the leavening gas produced by the action of yeast, baking powder or other agent. Of course, the North American Natives had no baking powder either.

           While native North Americans were unable to make leavened bread, Europeans, Asians, and many Africans had been producing both yeast and some quick breads for thousands of years. There were five main reasons why early Canadians used quick breads and especially sourdough. They were quick, versatile, didn't require a lot of ingredients, and the dry ingredients could be mixed far ahead of time; which made them easy to carry. To th aboriginal natives, they were also a completely new and valuable source of food, nutrition AND JUST POSSIBLY A GOOD HANGOVER.

     Today many native people, especially in remote areas, make their bannock using Bisk-Quick.

     You may be interested in learning a little more about bannock before we continue with how to start a sourdough, see the bannock recipes 

© Al (Alex, Alexander) D. Girvan. All rights reserved