A history of the Selkirk Bannock, including recipe for making your own | Scotsman Food and Drink (2024)

FAQs

What is the history of Selkirk Bannock? ›

The Selkirk Bannock wasn't commercially produced until the mid-1800s when Selkirk baker Robert Douglas decided to find a use for his spare bread dough. He added sultanas, butter and sugar, before allowing the dough to ferment. This led to the birth of the Selkirk Bannock as we now know it.

It is conventionally believed that Scottish fur traders called Selkirk settlers introduced bannock to the Indigenous peoples of North America during the 18th and 19th centuries. (See also Fur Trade in Canada.) The Scots cooked it in a griddle called a bannock stone, which they placed on the floor before a fire.

Despite its controversial origins, Bannock bread symbolizes resilience within Indigenous communities. Creatively blending traditional ingredients with the concept of breadmaking, Indigenous peoples transformed and adapted Bannock, showcasing their resourcefulness in the face of adversity.

Selkirk bannock is made from wheat flour and contains fruit. The word bannock derives from the Latin panicum, denoting an edible milletlike grain. Special bannocks were once made for holidays and religious feasts, such as Beltane bannocks on the first of May and Lammas bannocks on the first day of autumn.

Best served sliced and spread with butter, or even try it toasted for a change.

Bannock is a type of fry bread, which originates from Scotland but was eventually adopted by the Indigenous peoples of Canada, particularly the Métis of western Canada. Bannock stems from the Gaelic word bannach, which means “morsel,” a short and sweet but accurate description.

The rest of the year the Bannock lived in dome-shaped houses covered with grass. In the summer they fished for salmon, and in the spring they gathered seeds and roots. The root of the camas plant was an important food for the tribe.

Prior to the late 19th century, Bannock people fished for salmon on the Snake River in Idaho and in the fall, they hunted buffalo herds. Buffalo hides have provided material for tipis. The Bannock are prominent in American history due to the Bannock War of 1878.

The bannock tribes beliefs and religions were largely based around dreams and visions. These dreams and visions were used to get help from Guardian Angels. They believed in Appi, as a creator but the main mythological figures were the wolf and coyote.

Classic bannock has a smoky, almost nutty flavour blended with a buttery taste, while dessert bannock can have flavours resembling a donut or shortbread. Making bannock is an art that takes years to perfect.

What is the difference between a bannock and a scone? ›

According to Cameron, a bannock was the whole circular quick bread or cake, while a scone was the individual piece cut, like a pie slice, from a bannock. It dawned on me that this old distinction is reflected in the way my Scottish mother-in-law made her cheese scones. From my mother-in-law's recipe collection.

Bannock, skaan (or scone), Indian bread, alatiq, or frybread is found throughout North-American Native cuisine, including that of the Inuit of Canada and Alaska, other Alaska Natives, the First Nations of the rest of Canada, the Native Americans in the United States, and the Métis.

Selkirk bannock

It is a spongy, buttery variety, sometimes compared to a fruitcake, made from wheat flour and containing a very large quantity of raisins. The first known maker of this variety was a baker named Robbie Douglas, who opened his shop in Selkirk in 1859.

Nowadays, bannock is more commonly associated with us bushcrafters, hikers and campers (sometimes used as a great survival food) also it's a great food to get the kids onto campfire cooking, the next step on from marshmallows.

The Shoshone-Bannock Tribes are located on the Fort Hall Reservation in Southeastern Idaho, between the cities of Pocatello, American Falls, and Blackfoot. The Reservation is divided into five districts: Fort Hall, Lincoln Creek, Ross Fork, Gibson, and Bannock Creek.

Alex Dalgetty & Sons Selkirk Bannock. These world famous Selkirk Bannocks are the benchmark for all others to be judged. Handmade to a recipe well over 100 years old which involves long dough fermentation to produce flavours that you would not believe possible from a fruit bread.

Because it was so easy to cook and transport, it became popular among the hunters and trappers (who spent many months traveling) and was quickly adopted by the native First Nations people.

Selkirk, Manitoba, is the “Catfish Capital of North America,” and nothing says it more than the towering 11-meter town mascot, Chuck.

Bannock is a staple food of the Indigenous Peoples of Canada, and variations of this recipe are part of traditional meals all across the country. The origin of this particular bannock recipe is unknown, but it is prepared for visitors to Rocky Mountain House National Historic Site by Métis interpreters.