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Canada, Camping · Campfire Bannock

Maple-Cinnamon Bannock on a Stick

Sweet bannock dough wound around a stick and toasted over the coals, rolled in buttery cinnamon sugar, with the hollow middle filled with a maple cream-cheese dip.

ServingsServes 2
Total cooking time34 min
DifficultyEasy
About servingsWatch children closely around the fire and teach them to hold sticks low and steady. Drown and stir the coals with water until cold before you leave.

Method

  1. Light your campfire in a fire ring, away from tents and branches, with a bucket of water beside it, and let it burn down to a bed of glowing coals with no tall flames, about . Meanwhile, find a straight green hardwood stick 1.5 to 2 cm thick for each twist and peel the bark from the last 20 cm (or use clean metal roasting forks). Stir the cream cheese with a spoon until soft, then beat in the maple syrup until smooth; keep the dip in the cooler.

    Add in this stepCream cheese 60 gPure maple syrup 2 tbsp

  2. Melt the butter in a small pan over low heat, at the edge of the coals or on a stove, for about , then take it off the heat.

    Add in this stepButter 40 g

    low heat

  3. In a bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, salt and a third of the sugar. Add the milk and half the melted butter and stir with a fork into a soft dough that no longer sticks to the bowl. Knead it gently about 10 times, just until smooth.

    Add in this stepAll-purpose flour 160 gBaking powder 1½ tspSalt ¼ tspSugar 1 tbspMilk 105 ml

  4. Divide the dough into pieces, 2 per person. Roll each one between your palms into a rope about 30 cm long and 1.5 cm thick, then wind it in a spiral around the peeled end of a stick, leaving a 1 cm gap between the turns, and press both ends on firmly so they don't unwind.

  5. Hold the sticks about 15 cm above the glowing coals, not in the flames, and cook over charcoal (medium heat) for , turning slowly and constantly like a rotisserie, until golden brown all over. Rounds needed if 4 sticks fit at once: 1. It is done when it sounds hollow when tapped and slides easily off the stick, with no raw dough on the inside.

    charcoal (medium heat)

  6. Mix the rest of the sugar with the cinnamon on a plate. While the twists are still hot, brush them with the rest of the melted butter (warm it again if it has set) and roll them in the cinnamon sugar. Twist each one gently off its stick and let them cool for a minute, as the steam inside is very hot.

    Add in this stepSugar 2 tbspGround cinnamon 1 tsp

  7. Spoon the maple dip into the hollow left by the stick, or simply dunk as you eat. Serve right away while they are warm and crisp.

Cook's tip

The most common mistake is cooking too close to the heat, so the outside burns while the inside stays raw. Thin ropes and patient turning give the best result. Mix the dry ingredients and sugar at home in a bag, so at camp you only add the milk and butter.

Cooking it at camp

At home, wind the dough around clean metal skewers or foil-wrapped wooden spoon handles and bake them on a rack set over a tray at 200 °C for 12 to 15 minutes, turning once, until golden. Or cook the twists over the gas flame of a barbecue, turning them the same way.