Bannock Recipe

How do you get this?


You let him take:
4 cups of flour and count every one, spill a bit on the counter and eventually dump it into the bowl.

Then you realize he hasn't washed his hands and you send him into the bathroom. He whines a bit, tells you to "not touch anything, I'll be riiiiight back." You wait, tapping your foot. You wait some more because he's looking for his Spiderman towel, he won't dry his hands on anything else. Finally he comes back.

Now you get him to add:
1 teaspoon of salt, and that goes off without a hitch.

See that clean hand? I wouldn't want him doing open heart surgery but it will pass for "clean."

Now it's time to count out, every single one, 4 teaspoons of baking powder. I've got to teach the boy to count faster!

Sorry for the blurry picture but he has a hard time holding still, after numerous attempts and changing a dozen settings on my camera I give up and hope for the best.

Okay, we're on the home stretch for the ingredients, just four tablespoons of oil and he's done!

Okay so I cheat a bit and when he runs to the bathroom to go "pee pee" I add three. Oh, he has to wash his hands again, where's that Spiderman towel? He adds the last tablespoon of oil. His three year old mind quickly forgets he was supposed to add four (the things we do to our kids).

You'll want to add water now, I add about a cup and a half.

Now it's time to turn on the mixer. "I wanna turn it on Mama, me, me!" I switch it off and he turns it on... giving me that look of "next time don't touch Mama, that's my job."

He quickly forgives me as he's fascinated by the whirl of the mixer going 'round and 'round and 'round... Excuse me while I go sit down for a bit because I'm feeling a little dizzy. I betcha he's wondering if one of his race cars would fit in there? Maybe I best unplug it when we're done.

About 5 minutes later he switches off the mixer (heaven forbid "I" touch it).

"I wanna taste!"
"No Jevan, it doesn't taste very good right now, we have to wait until it's cooked."
In a split second, no really a nano second, he reaches hand into bowl, grabs a pinch and inhales it. "Blech." Spits it out faster than he put it in and tries to put it back in the bowl.
"See I told you it has to be cooked, take that piece and put it in the chicken bucket." Shaking my head and wondering if more Hubby's DNA got to him than mine.

Bare (or is it bear? I'll have to ask Isela) with me, we're almost done, and aren't we having fun?
Time to pat it down...

...and pat it down some more.

We move near the stove and now I really have to watch him...

Bannock is in the frying pan with a bit of hot oil... things are calm... and then... ... "OUCH!" Yes you guessed it, he reached up and before I could grab his chubby little hand he touched the side of the frying pan! Into the sink with cool water, no tears, no whining, he just states "that hurt Mama." He's a tough little bugger, I'm shaking my head again. Okay the drama is over (a Mama's kiss fixes every owee) and he's back to watching, this time a wee bit farther back, with stern instructions to "not touch... again!" Now I know where my gray hair comes from, and at this rate I'm gonna be white before the end of the year!

Even at a distance the bubbles are amazing to a 3 year old, and I get constant "WOW MAMA's!" I sneak a peek at his hand, no mark or anything, out pop a couple of grays.

When the bottom is a golden brown it's time to flip 'em.

They rise a bit in the pan and this one looks ready to take out. "Hold on Little Man you're going to have one as soon as it cools down... remember the hot frying pan?" (How quickly they forget). He sticks his finger into the brown sugar/cinnamon mixture and that tides him over until the bannock cools. I hope no dentists are reading this.

You can eat them plain, or you can sprinkle a mixture of brown sugar and cinnamon on them (that's how Jevan likes them, what 3 year old wouldn't?).

If you'd like to make Bannock here's a shortened version of the complete recipe, if you'd like a stretched out version I'll let you borrow my 3 year old. He likes to stay up late, sleep in, and help out in the kitchen, along with numerous other things... but he does give hugs and kisses on a regular basis.

Bannock Recipe

4 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons baking powder
4 tablespoons oil
About 1 1/2 cups water

Mix ingredients and add water. Knead approximately 10 minutes by hand or 5 minutes in a mixer. You can add cinnamon and brown sugar to the dough or sprinkle it on after it's cooked. Pat the dough into very flat pancakes, less than a 1/4 inch thick. Add about a 1/4 inch of oil into a frying pan. Heat up and place dough into frying pan. Let bottom get golden brown and air bubbles form on top. Flip over and cooked the other side. Remove from pan and serve plain or sprinkle on a mixture of brown sugar and cinnamon.
Served plain you can eat them with stew, spaghetti, chili, etc.