Backyard teepees & a recipe for campfire stick bannock

One of the definite perks of living in a northern native community is having lovely Cree neighbours who share their teepee with you. This is our third summer having a teepee in our backyard and we really, really love it!

The boys and I often hang out in there just to be outside and escape the horrendous black flies (for some unknown reason they don't come inside the teepee, even without a fire going).

But our favourite way to use the teepee is definitely for bannock hot-dog nights! 

We invite a bunch of friends over for a pot-luck teepee campfire. Our friends bring all the side salads and desserts, and we make the fresh bannock on sticks (and use them as buns for our roasted hot-dogs). We like to set up a table of all kinds of hot-dog toppings, like hot peppers, homemade quick-pickles, grated cheese, etc etc, and I love watching people build up crazy concoctions of toppings on their bannock-buns.

You don't need a teepee to make stick bannock, of course. You can do it on any old campfire. And you should! It's delicious!

So if you want to try it out, read on for the recipe.....



Campfire Stick Bannock
(makes 5-6 bannock)

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
2 Tbsp baking powder
1/4 cup melted butter or oil
1 1/4 cups water

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, salt and baking powder. Then pour in the melted butter, mix, then add the water. Mix with your hands until you have a uniform dough.

Divide the dough into 5-6 equal sized balls and keep them covered with a damp cloth until ready to cook.

Take a ball of dough and "squish" it around and down the end of a clean medium-diameter stick. Stick the opposite end of the stick into the ground, so that the bannock leans over the fire.

Roast the bannock over the coals or above the fire, turning every so often so each side becomes evenly cooked and golden, about 10-20 minutes, depending on your fire.

You know the bannock is ready when it slides easily off the stick with a gentle tug (use oven mitts!). If the bannock clings to the stick, it's not cooked enough inside.
Enjoy!

^^ kids love making bannock too! Note the baby monitor behind me in the top photo. The fact that our baby monitor has a wide range is life-changing! Noah can be fast asleep while we hang out in the backyard... it even works across the street at our neighbours house!^^

^^ Zac prefers a deconstructed version of a bannock dog... 

in other words, he just likes bread... and he tolerates all the rest ^^

^^ Zac up waaaayyyy beyond his bedtime, transfixed by the fire ^^