BREAD IN A BAG

PREP TIME: 20 mins         COOK TIME: 30 mins

TOTAL TIME: 50 mins

Serves: 2 mini loaves or 1 full size loaf

INGREDIENTS

3 Cs all purpose flour, divided

3 Tbsps. white sugar

1 (.25) package rapid rise yeast (2¼ tsps.)

1 C warm water

3 Tbsps. olive oil or vegetable oil

1½ tsps. salt

INSTRUCTIONS

In a resealable plastic bag place 1 C flour, sugar and yeast and add in warm water.

Squeeze air out of the bag and seal.

Squish with your hands until well mixed together.

Let it rest for 10 minutes at room temperature. Bubbles will form.

Open bag and put in 1 C of flour, oil and salt.

Seal bag again and squish until well blended.

Add last cup of flour and continue mixing in the same manner until well blended.

Remove dough from bag and put onto a lightly floured surface.

Knead for 5-10 minutes or until smooth.

Divide dough in half and place each half into a greased mini loaf pan  Or make one large loaf

Cover with a towel and allow to rise for about 30 minutes.

Bake in a 375 degree oven for 25-30 minutes or until bread is golden brown.If you are in the bush and you do not have any pans; wrap around a stick and roast over the damp fire.

Bannocks O' Bear Meal-Robert Burns Poem, 1794

Chorus-Bannocks o'
bear meal,
Bannocks o' barley,
Here's to the
Highlandman's
Bannocks o' barley!

Wha, in a brulyie, will
First cry a parley?
Never the lads wi' the
Bannocks o' barley,
Bannocks o' bear meal,
& c.

Wha, in his wae days,
Were loyal to Charlie?
Wha but the lads wi' the
Bannocks o' barley!

Hard-tack Recipe- There Is No Such Thing As Bannock Or Sourdough Hardtack...

Because hard tack is never leavened; it can not possibly be made using an active sourdough or other bread base.
Because there are only two ingredients; 

there is, really, only one thing that can cause failure, when preparing hard tack. 

That is not Knowing; what or why Hard-tack is.

The name hard-tack(from British naval slang for food) did not originate in any of the Americas and there is no real recipe.

Hard-Tack You do not use any fat, baking powder, baking soda, sourdough starter or yeast in the making of hard-tack; because hard-tack is an unleavened product and doing so would defeat the whole purpose of having produced hard-tack in the first place. Hard tack is NOT and never was a form of bannock and bannock never was an unleavened bread; nor is it a biscuit, pancake, or scone Really there are only two ingredient used, when making hard-tack; flour and water-salt is optional. In modern times; as when used aboard ships hard-tack is baked as many as four times, to remove every bit of moisture, It will keep almost forever.

Hard tack antedates other forms of bread by several ages of man; it must have been Neanderthal man who first patted meal and water into a thin cake and broiled or roasted it on a flat stone near his fire. Bannock on the other hand (the name first appears in 1572 Scotland), is a leavened communal LOAF OF BREAD. Bannock is not cut into scones, which, not being a loaf, are considered to be an entirely different product.

 A HARD-TACK RECIPE, for those who must have a recipe.

1 lb. flour

1/2 tsp. salt

      water

Mix salt and flour, then add water slowly until a very stiff dough is formed. Roll on a floured board, until about a half inch thick. Cut into squares or rounds with a cookie cutter or an opened tin can, prick surface with a fork and bake in a hot oven until golden brown.then bake it again, again, and again.When made and properly and stored in a dry place, hard tack will keep indefinitely and is not as susceptible to insect infestation as is flour.

Recipe, Sourdough Starters 2&3

          No. 2-- Grated Potato Starter

          2                           raw potatoes grated in bottom of the Sourdough Pot

                   1 Tbsp.                  yeast- diluted in 2 cups warm water

                   2 Tbsp.                  sugar

                                      Flour - enough to make a smooth creamy batter.

         

          Beat well. Get all lumps out at this time so it is not necessary to remove flour lumps later when ready to use starter. This starter takes longer to start working, but in a week it will be bubbling.

          No. 3--       Sourdough Starter

            In a 2-quart glass jar or an enamel or earthenware container dissolve 1 package of granular yeast in 1/4 cup water. Add 2 cups lukewarm water, preferably water in which potatoes have been cooked, 2 cups sifted flour and 1 Tbsp. each of salt and sugar. Cover the jar with a towel and let it stand in a warm place (about 80 F.) stirring the mixture daily until it is sour and bubbly.

            Each time you use part of your starter, replenish it with equal amounts of flour and water; let the starter sit at room temperature for several hours or overnight or until it again becomes full of bubbles, then cover the jar and store in the refrigerator. Starter can be kept in the refrigerator for a week or two without attention but if you are not going to use it every two weeks, it should be taken out and more flour and water added to keep it from becoming too sour. Try to maintain about 1-1/2 cups 

©Al (Alex Alexander) D Girvan 1995 All Rights Reserved.

Recipe, How to Start a Sourdough NO. 1

 How to Start a Sourdough

          NO. 1

                   Dump into the Sourdough Pot:

                   2 cups                             thick potato water

                   2 tsp.                              sugar

                   2 cups                             flour (more or less)

                   1/2 Tbsp.                       yeast (optional)
            -originally sourdough was used, because
             no other form of suitable yeast was always available).  

                   Boil potatoes with jackets on until they fall to pieces. Lift skins out; mash potatoes making a puree. Cool. Add more water to make sufficient liquid, if necessary. Richer the potato water, richer the starter. Put all ingredients in Pot. Beat until smooth creamy batter. Cover. Set aside in a warm place to start fermentation. .Use yeast only to speed action.

Recipe, How Long-Just How long Does It Take The Sourdough Starter to Become "Ripe"-In Prime Working Condition?

How Long

            Just how long does it take the Sourdough starter to become "ripe"-in prime working condition?

            Exponents differ:

            3-Day starter can be used now providing those little enzymes have started working. But it is better to wait a few more days. Toss in extra food for the Sourdough to work on, a spoonful of sugar along with a couple spoonfuls of flour. Add water, if batter too thick. Mix well. Cover.

            1-Week: Starter is now effervescing with a million bubbles. Looks like sour cream- smells like sour cream, but is rich luscious Sourdough.

            2-Week: Disciples of Sourdough claim that waiting this extra time gives extra flavour, which is not to be compared with any other batter.

                        3-Week: The Sourdough is now bubbling like the old witches        cauldron.

!-Month: Rich creamy batter that is honey combed with bubbles.

            1-Year: “Old timers” claim a year must elapse before the Sourdough matures and offers the distinctive taste appeal nothing else can imitate--Sourdough!

            Use a Wooden spoon, as a metal spoon causes the little enzymes to work overtime on the metal.

            The first alcohol, produced by man, is thought to have been simply a mixture of barley, or wheat, and water; which was let ferment. The North American Natives were not familiar with wheat, and there fore; sourdough or any other leavened breads until introduced to it by the white man. It is amazing how suddenly they caught on (now claiming Bannock as their own) and how they made two potent brews.

            Sourdough beer is simple to make but disagreeable to drink. If consumed in quantity, it will produce any degree of intoxication. All one needs is a barrel, flour and water. Into this pour some Sourdough and Dame Nature takes its' course, from there-a little sugar will speed things up. Beewack is never bottled only a fool would carry a live bomb.

             The most influential area the world has ever known but now reduced to a so called, Third World Country, because of over population, greed, theft, and foreign " help " or "investment," the Middle East has been producing sugars for thousands of years. The word "sugar" comes from the Arabic. Sugar, made from cane, including those sugars, syrups and beer made from tree saps such as birch or maple, were considered to be the "long way of producing sugar. Long Sugar known as Molasses today - was used by the native and early pioneer

             Using an old rifle barrel and a trade pot, they created a still. The resultant spirits were known by the Thlinget word Hooch-m-noo, from which we get the term "Hootch. This casts some doubt on the popular story; of how whiskey traders robbed the natives.

            Sourdough starter can be kept in a cold place, but it should never be allowed to freeze. Old timers often carried the starter in bags next to their bodies (hence the name "Sourdoughs) in cold weather.

© Al Alex Alexander Girvan 1995 All rights reserved

The Story of Beewack AND Hooch-m-no (Hootch)

The first alcohol, produced by man, is thought to have been simply a mixture of barley, or wheat, and water; which was let ferment. The North American Natives were not familiar with wheat and therefore, sourdough or any other leavened breads until introduced to them by the white man. It is amazing how suddenly they caught on (now claiming Bannock--the bread and the name--as their own and how they made two potent alcohol brews.
Sourdough beer is simple to make but disagreeable to drink. If consumed in quantity, it will produce any  degree of intoxication. All one needs is a barrel, flour, and water. into this pour some sourdough and Dame Nature takes her course, from there. A little sugar will speed things up." Beewack" is never bottled-- only a fool would carry a live bomb.
Using an old rifle barrel and a trade pot North american Natives also created a crude"still". The resultant spirits were known by the Tlingit word Hooch-m-noo, form which we get the term "Hootch or "Yukon Hootch. This casts some doubt on the popular story; of how whiskey traders robbed the natives.  

The Story of Hard Tack

Hard-tack is NOT and never was a form of bannock; which is and always has been a leavened LOAF of bread.

Hard-tack is NOT made using a Sourdough Starter in which you have killed the yeast.

Hard-tack is NOT leavened; bannock IS.

Hard-tack antedates other forms of bread by several ages of man; it must have been Neanderthal man who first patted meal (often made from bulrushes, cat-tails  or other bulbs) and water into a thin cake and broiled or roasted it on a flat stone near his fire. In more modern times-when used aboard ships; hard-tack was baked as many a four times, to get EVERY BIT of moisture out of it. Hard-tack is so hard that it could be; and was used, in the cannons as grape-shot. You do not take hard-tack along with you on the trail to munch like soda crackers; it has to be soaked; for a considerable amount of time, before it is edible.

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

Sourdough Bread

             Sourdough Bread

                   4 cups sourdough

                   2 cups warm potato water

                   1/2 cup sugar

                   6 Tbsp. cooking oil

                    1 tsp. salt

                   10 cups flour- approximately

            Make soft sponge mixing the sourdough, sugar, water and oil. Add half flour. Set in warm place to double in bulk. Add remainder of flour to make dough that is easy to handle, smooth and elastic. Place in greased bowl, cover, let raise until double in bulk. Knead down. Let rise until double in bulk Form into loaves Bake 500F.for 10 minutes then 400 F. for 45 minutes.

            This recipe can be used for rolls or even doughnuts.

Quick and Easy Bread-Sourdough

 Quick and Easy Bread

              1 cup Sourdough

                   1 pkg. yeast

                   1 1/2 cups warm water

                   6 cups  flour

                   2 Tbsp. sugar

                   1/2 tsp. soda

            Add yeast to warm water. Mix in Sourdough, 4 cups flour, sugar and salt. Beat well. Put in greased bowl and let rise until doubled. Mix soda in 1 cup flour; add to original dough. Knead until satiny and springy to the touch. Cut in half to make two loaves. Bake 400 F. for 45 minutes      

Sourdough Soda Bread

 Sourdough Soda Bread

                    1 cup Sourdough                           

                   4 Tbsp. oil

                   2 Tbsp. sugar

                   1 tsp. soda

                   1 tsp. salt

                   8-10  cups flour

            Mix Sourdough, sugar, shortening together. Dissolve soda in 1 oz. water. Add. Add flour beat with wooden spoon until very thick. Make certain WELLMIXED if not bread will have yellow streaks. Knead in flour until smooth and elastic not sticky. Form two loaves.

          Let raise only once. Bake 400 F.-30 minutes, 350 F-30 minutes.

Salt Rising Bread

Salt Rising Bread

          2 medium potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced

                   2 Tbsp. corn meal

                   1/2 Tbsp. sugar

                   1 tsp. salt

                   2 cups water, boiling

                   2 cups milk, scalded

                   1/8 tsp. soda

                   4 cups flour

                   1/4 cup soft shortening or margarine

                   5 cups  flour

            In a three-quart mixing bowl combine all ingredients and stir the mixture until the sugar and salt are dissolved. Cover the bowl with foil and set it in a pan of warm water in a warm place (120 F.) until small bubbles appear on the surface of the mixture, about 24 hours. Remove the bowl from the water. Put the potatoes in a sieve, press out the moisture and add the liquid to the bowl. Discard the potatoes. Add the scalded milk, cooled to lukewarm, soda, 4 cups flour, and stir the mixture until it is smooth. Return the bowl to the pan with warm water and let it stand until the dough almost doubles in bulk, about 2 hours. Cut shortening into 2 cups flour and add it to the sponge. Add about another 3 cups flour to make moderately stiff dough. Knead it on a lightly floured board quickly and lightly. Do not let the dough get cold. Return the dough to a lightly buttered bowl, turn it until the entire surface is coated, cover it with a dry towel and let it rise until it doubles in bulk, about 2 hours. Punch down the dough.

            Turn the dough out on a lightly floured board and shape it into 3 loaves. Put the loaves in greased bread pans 9 by 5 by 3 ins. and brush the tops with butter. Let the loaves rise until they almost double in bulk, about 2 hours Bake the loaves in a hot oven (400 F.) for about 15 minutes. Reduce the temperature to moderate (350 F.) and continue baking the loaves for about 35 minutes, or until they test done and the tops are well browned.

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

The Story of Sourdough

   The Story of Sourdough

            Hard-tack came first but of course after ancient man discovered wheat, it would not really be that long before he accidentally discovered Sourdough.
                I have read some write ups that claim that yeast was not always available to early pioneers and that this being so they could not always make leavened bread. Nothing could be further from the truth; often yeast was too readily available but was not always the type to produce the best taste in bread or anything else.

        This ancient method of leavening combines the slower action of yeast with the almost instantaneous action of baking soda; hence yeast leavening had to be discovered first. Never the less, sourdough is probably almost as old as wheat bread itself. Sourdough originated in Europe, or possibly before that; in Egypt, where wheat is thought to have originated and, for-as you will learn-several very good reasons, remains very popular today.       

            Some modern cooks, again, mostly American, say "Fold” stiffly beaten egg whites into the Sourdough batter to make it light and fluffy". Canadian Pioneers--any pioneers-- did not always have the luxury of fresh eggs.

In the Klondike, as in all other Canadian, gold fields, fresh eggs were worth more than the gold: They definitely were not used for baking.     

            Instead, the pioneer would just add a teaspoonful of good old “Arm and Hammer" baking soda to the batch of Sourdough starter. As it is folded in, instantly a chemical action takes place. Remember, the sourdough has acid qualities, and soda is a spontaneous acid neutralizer, and sweetener.

            As you fold the soda in, the batter starts to rise, filling the bowl with fluffy Sourdough. You can feel the change as you spoon the batter over and over. There is a hollow tone that becomes deeper and deeper as the Sourdough becomes filled with millions of tiny gas bubbles.

            Make certain everything is ready- the iron or griddle hot; so the Sourdough can be cooked while the gas is still working in the batter. Results; You have "50% baked hot air and light Sourdoughs that melt in your mouth. Delay in hitting the iron until after the Sourdough stops rising and you will have a flat batter.

            The, analysis of laboratory tests have shown Sourdough contains the greatest amount of protein for its weight and size of any comparable food.

            There are reports that scientists for the "Moon Mission" considered Sourdough wafers for the space flights.

            Sourdough never needs to have a strong sour taste- only a fresh yeasty flavour. Do not add sugar to sweeten. Remember Soda Sweetens.

            Sugar is very important, as it will give the golden brown colour to your Sourdoughs. Use only a spoonful of two. Too much sugar will toughen- it gives a leathery quality.

            Many legends have been handed down from the pioneer era of the Yukon.

            The "Sourdough" (a name given due to the smell) coddled his starter like a child, taking it to bed with him to keep it warm through the long, cold night (a sudden drop in temperature might kill the yeast cells). The loss of a starter could take on the proportions of a disaster: Creating a new one was no easy chore, and all but impossible in deepest winter. Besides, a new one might not impart as much good flavour to bread or biscuits as the old had ( the strains of wild yeast vary from place to place) The sourdough made his starter by mixing up some flour and potato water in a ceramic pot or often a hollowed out log and leaving it out in the sun to ferment-and then, after having got it going, he would as often throw it away, to begin again. The first mix served merely to season the pot.

            Somehow, word got around that baking powder, like salt peter, curbed sexual prowess.The he-man of the North was justly proud of his virility as attested by the size of some families. He took no chances of his libido being impaired. The "Old Timer" would not include baking powder biscuits in his regular diet.

©

Recipe, Klondike Bannock

Klondike Bannock

"Little golden nuggets"(of wheat germ) tenderize this bannock and give it a nut-like flavour.

                   2 cups flour

                   1/2 tsp. salt

                   2 1/2 tsp. baking powder

                   2-6 Tbsp. wheat germ

                   1 cup water

          1. Mix flour, baking powder, salt and wheat germ thoroughly

2. Pour in water, enough to make a sticky dough, and stir quickly for just half a minute.

            3. Drop by spoonfuls into a greased pan or Dutch oven

            4. Bake in hot oven- 450F for 12-15 minutes.

            5. Brush with butter while still hot, and serve with honey or jam.

While The Bannock Bakes by Robert William Service

Light up your pipe again, old chum, and sit awhile with me;
I've got to watch the bannock bake -- how restful is the air!
You'd little think that we were somewhere north of Sixty-three,
Though where I don't exactly know, and don't precisely care.
The man-size mountains palisade us round on every side;
The river is a-flop with fish, and ripples silver-clear;
The midnight sunshine brims yon cleft -- we think it's the Divide;
We'll get there in a month, maybe, or maybe in a year.

It doesn't matter, does it, pal? We're of that breed of men
With whom the world of wine and cards and women disagree;
Your trouble was a roofless game of poker now and then,
And "raising up my elbow", that's what got away with me.
We're merely "Undesirables", artistic more or less;
My horny hands are Chopin-wise; you quote your Browning well;
And yet we're fooling round for gold in this damned wilderness:
The joke is, if we found it, we would both go straight to hell.

Well, maybe we won't find it -- and at least we've got the "life".
We're both as brown as berries, and could wrestle with a bear:
(That bannock's raising nicely, pal; just jab it with your knife.)
Fine specimens of manhood they would reckon us out there.
It's the tracking and the packing and the poling in the sun;
It's the sleeping in the open, it's the rugged, unfaked food;
It's the snow-shoe and the paddle, and the campfire and the gun,
And when I think of what I was, I know that it is good.

Just think of how we've poled all day up this strange little stream;
Since life began no eye of man has seen this place before;
How fearless all the wild things are! the banks with goose-grass gleam,
And there's a bronzy musk-rat sitting sniffing at his door.
A mother duck with brood of ten comes squattering along;
The tawny, white-winged ptarmigan are flying all about;
And in that swirly, golden pool, a restless, gleaming throng,
The trout are waiting till we condescend to take them out.

Ah, yes, it's good! I'll bet that there's no doctor like the Wild:
(Just turn that bannock over there; it's getting nicely brown.)
I might be in my grave by now, forgotten and reviled,
Or rotting like a sickly cur in some far, foreign town.
I might be that vile thing I was, -- it all seems like a dream;
I owed a man a grudge one time that only life could pay;
And yet it's half-forgotten now -- how petty these things seem!
(But that's "another story", pal; I'll tell it you some day.)

How strange two "irresponsibles" should chum away up here!
But round the Arctic Circle friends are few and far between.
We've shared the same camp-fire and tent for nigh on seven year,
And never had a word that wasn't cheering and serene.
We've halved the toil and split the spoil, and borne each other's packs;
By all the Wild's freemasonry we're brothers, tried and true;
We've swept on danger side by side, and fought it back to back,
And you would die for me, old pal, and I would die for you.

Now there was that time I got lost in Rory Bory Land,
(How quick the blizzards sweep on one across that Polar sea!)
You formed a rescue crew of One, and saw a frozen hand
That stuck out of a drift of snow -- and, partner, it was Me.
But I got even, did I not, that day the paddle broke?
White water on the Coppermine -- a rock -- a split canoe --
Two fellows struggling in the foam (one couldn't swim a stroke):
A half-drowned man I dragged ashore . . . and partner, it was You.

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