Camp Bannock Mix
Flour, baking powder, salt, and dry milk. Premix at home, add water, cook it in a pan.
- calories
- 420
- weight
- 4 oz
- cal / oz
- 105
- protein
- 11 g
- serves
- 2, scales
- prep
- 5 min
- cook
- 15 min
- total time
- 20 min
- water
- 150 ml cold
- cost
- $
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Breakfast
- Campfire coals
- Canister stove
- Liquid fuel
- Car camping
- Backpacking
- Basecamp
- Canoe / raft
- Vegetarian
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| All-purpose flour | 2 cups | |
|---|---|---|
| Baking powder | 4 tsp | check the date, old powder makes bricks |
| Salt | 1 tsp | |
| Dry milk powder | 1/4 cup | stands in for the fresh milk a home version would use |
| Oil | 2 tbsp | for the pan, and some in the dough if you want it richer |
| Water | about 150 ml | added at camp, poured in slowly |
Method
- Dump the premixed dry bag into your pot or a gallon freezer bag.
- Add water a splash at a time and work it until the dough holds together and stops sticking to your fingers. It should be stiff, not pourable.
- Press it into a flat round about half an inch thick. Thicker than that and the middle stays raw.
- Film a pan with oil and set it over low heat. Low. A hot pan burns the crust before the center sets.
- Cook 6 to 8 minutes per side, until it is browned and sounds hollow when you tap it. Over a fire, use coals raked to one side, not flames.
This is camp bread with nothing in it that needs a cooler. The milk powder is the whole reason it works away from a fridge: it puts back the fat and protein that fresh milk would, and it weighs almost nothing. Everything else is flour, leavening, and salt, so the mix keeps for months in a bag.
The two failure modes are heat and thickness. Baking powder gives you one rise, and it happens as soon as the water hits, so mix and cook without stalling. Then keep the flame low and the round thin. A pan hot enough to brown the outside in two minutes will hand you a raw center every time.
Packing
Flour, baking powder, salt, and milk powder go into one bag at home, shaken to combine. Baking powder clumps if it gets damp, so double-bag it in wet country. Oil rides in a dropper bottle.
Variations
- Wrap the dough around a peeled green stick and cook it over coals instead of using a pan.
- Stir in raisins and a spoonful of sugar for a breakfast version, or dried onion and pepper for a dinner one.
- Split the dough into small rounds and fry them in a deeper film of oil for something closer to a doughnut.
https://www.trailmeister.com/camp-cooking-where-s-the-heat