Fancy Bannock

Bannock and peanut butter cookies were the first things I baked on my own. My first bannocks were dry and rock hard but with some practice I eventually got it right. So this is fancy bannock, which really just means that it has raisins. Typically this is made on a stick over an open fire (a feat my mother used to brag about) or in a large cast iron frying pan in a wood stove.

Well, while I appreciate tradition, I am not going to attempt open fire stick-bannock, nor do I have a large cast iron frying--it's on the list. My Uncle Armand has this nifty tin contraption that allows one to make bannock while camping. You rest the device next to the fire and the tin reflects the heat to create an oven; we tried it out when we went camping in Bisco for a couple of days... there were a few kinks that still needed to be worked out.

Anyway, back to bannock.

3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tbsp baking powder
1 tbsp granulated sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup Sultana raisins
1/2 cup cold lard (or vegetable shortening)
1-1/4 cup chilled buttermilk

The very first thing you need to do is boil some water and soak the raisins for about 10 minutes or until they plump up, then drain and gently pat dry. Make sure they are dry before adding them to the dough

Preheat oven to 350.

In a large bowl, mix flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Cut in lard with a pastry cutter or two forks, until crumbly. Gently mix in the raisins. Gradually add enough buttermilk to make a soft dough--you might not need the whole 1-1/4 cup of buttermilk. Turn out onto lightly floured surface and gently knead the dough until the liquid is evenly distributed. Don't over knead, or else the bannock with be hard as a rock.

Shape it into a ball, then flatten into a circle about 1" thick; cut an 'X' on top of the loaf. Place on greased cookie sheet; bake for about 30 minutes or until golden brown and an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Cool on rack. Serve with butter.

The bannock turned out beautifully, it's nice and flaky, not too dense and not too dry.