By Krista Suter
November is Native American Heritage Month! To celebrate, we are making traditional Bannock, or fry bread. This simple bread has a biscuit texture and is often shared at meals, like the Three Sisters Soup we made. It can be baked or fried, and we will show you both. Let’s get baking!
What you need:
4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 ½-2 cups warm water
Lard or butter (for baked bread) OR oil (for fry bread)
In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix these dry ingredients. Slowly add the warm water, beginning with 1 ½ cups. Add more as needed. I recommended adding 2 cups if you are making baked bannock.
For baked bread, heat the oven to 400 degrees. Mix until you have a nice dough consistency. You will not need to knead, simply put the dough in a greased or parchment lined pan. Spread it out evenly.
Pop it in the oven. Traditionally lard would be cubed and put on top of the bread when baking. You can also use butter. Bake the bread 20-25 minutes or until cooked through and golden brown.
For the fry bread version, you will follow the same instructions, adding 1 ½ cups water to the dry ingredients. Add more if it is dry but this bread you will knead. On a floured surface place the dough and knead it until it is firm.
Take a chunk of the bread and form it into a patty, about ½ inch thick. Don’t worry about a specific size, just make sure it is patted thin so it cooks through.
Heat a good amount, about 2 tbsps, of olive oil in a pan at medium high heat. Carefully place the dough into the pan. Check on it frequently until it is golden brown. Then flip the dough and do the same for the other side. Be careful during the cooking process as the oil can splatter and burn!
Follow this process using the rest of the dough. Add more oil when needed as you cook the bread. I placed them on a paper towel lined plate after.
If you make larger flat breads they can be torn and shared. Or eat them for breakfast breakfast by adding butter and jam!
You can add anything to flavor the bread! Feel free to experiment with adding dried fruit or spices as this is a cheap, simple recipe. If you want a soup to serve it with check out our blog on Three Sisters Soup! Enjoy the bread and celebrate the people indigenous to our country!
Ready to try our Native American Heritage Month recipes? The West Wyandotte Library has take home recipe kits for this bread and Three Sisters soup! The kits include bags of dry ingredients to make bread and the spices for the soup. Use our curbside service at the West Wyandotte Library to pick up yours today, or call us at 913-295-8250 ext. 5 to reserve your kit! Recipe cards included. Available while supplies last.