To me, the fall season is not complete without some sort of fire. Good conversation, flannel, toasty-warm drinks contrasting with a cold snap in the air, and a crackling orange glow over it all? What could be better? Certainly, this mouth-watering pumpkin spice sourdough bannock bread would make it a bonfire to remember.
When sitting around a fall bonfire, why settle for the same old s’mores that you’ve been making since the summer? Why not try a unique, pumpkin-spicy and sweet bannock bread? This recipe may use the super-trendy flavor of the season, but the method of toasting dough on sticks over a fire hearkens back to old times when cooking over open flames was the way of pioneers, settlers, and explorers. Sometimes called bannock, stockbrod, snobrød, or damper-bread, this new twist on a very old classic will surely become a seasonal favorite!
A Mouth-Watering Pumpkin Spice Sourdough Bannock Bread Recipe
How to Make Bannock Bread
Ingredients:
1/2 cup sourdough starter
1/2 cup pumpkin puree, (or try using this lacto-fermented puree from Ashley)
1/4 cup cane sugar
3 Tb oil (I prefer coconut oil or melted butter)
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups whole wheat flour (with more held in reserve)
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp freshly grated ginger (or 1/2 tsp powdered if fresh is not available)
1/2 tsp cloves
1/3 tsp baking soda
Directions:
In a large bowl, combine starter, pumpkin puree, oil, and sugar. Mix thoroughly with your hand. Mix in the dry ingredients, kneading the dough together to incorporate well. If the dough is too wet and sticky, continue adding flour, 1/ 4 cup at a time, until it makes a pliable dough that can be handled easily. Conversely, if the dough is too dry, slowly add 1/4 cup of water until the consistency is right. As with most whole-wheat recipes, there is as much art as science when it comes to finding the right texture!
After kneading for at least 5 minutes, allow the dough to rest for a half hour, covered. If your fire isn’t already going, now is a good time to build it up and find your toasting stick!
The ideal stick should be green (fresh from a tree) so that it doesn’t burn up with the bread. If getting fresh sticks isn’t an option for you (some campsites and national parks strongly discourage breaking branches off of trees—appropriately) using two-pronged metal skewers, or a fat dowel rod can work in a pinch. Whatever you choose, just make sure it’s not a toxic wood.
Once the fire is ready, everyone is cozy, and your dough has risen, punch down the dough, knead once or twice, and pull off an egg-sized portion per person. Roll the dough between your hands until it forms a snake (if you find it is falling apart at this point, you need to add a bit more flour). Coil the strip of dough around the end of the stick or the end of the skewer. For best results, wind it around with gaps between each strip of dough—like the rod-and-snake logo used on ambulances, if you need a visual.
Toast the dough over an open flame, turning as you go, until it has reached a nicely-browned, poofy consistency. You want the dough to be completely cooked through, so you may need to go through a few burnt or raw experiments until you find the ideal method (this is part of the fun, of course). Enjoy straight from the stick, or for extra decadence, roll each piece in a bit of butter before eating.
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Andrew and Michelle are the new owners of a 12-acre homestead in rural America. They are just embarking on this journey that is far removed from their city-life upbringing, so they realize that they have a lot to learn in order to succeed in this new place. Come along with them and read more about what they learn as they make this transition at their blog Simple Life Homestead.