 Traditionalberemeal bannock, as made in Orkney, Scotland | |
| Type | Quick bread |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | British Isles |
Abannock is a variety offlatbread orquick bread cooked from flour, typically round, which is common in Scotland and other areas in Britain and Ireland, as well as in Indigenous Canadian cookery. They are usually cut into sections before serving.
The wordbannock comes from northern English and Scots dialects. TheOxford English Dictionary states the term stems frompanicium, aLatin word for "baked dough", or frompanis, meaning bread. It was first referred to as "bannuc" in early glosses to the 8th-century authorAldhelm (d. 709),[1] and its first cited definition in 1562. Its historic use was primarily in Ireland, Scotland andNorthern England.[2] The Scottish poetRobert Burns mentions a bannock in hisEpistle to James Tennant of Glenconner, in reference toAlexander Tennant.[3]
The original bannocks were heavy, flat cakes of unleavenedbarley oroatmealdough formed into a round or oval shape, then cooked on agriddle (orgirdle inScots). In Scotland, before the 19th century, bannocks were cooked on a bannock stane (Scots for stone), a large, flat, rounded piece of sandstone, placed directly onto a fire, used as a cooking surface.[4] Most modern bannocks are made withbaking powder orbaking soda as aleavening agent, giving them a light and airy texture.[5][6][7]
Bannock varieties can be named or differentiated according to various characteristics: the flour or meal from which they are made, whether they are leavened or not, whether they have certain special ingredients, how they are baked or cooked, and the names of rituals or festivals in which they are used. Historically, specially made bannocks were used in rituals marking the changing of theGaelic seasons:St Bride's bannock for spring (1 February),Bealtaine bannock for summer (1 May),Lughnasadh orLammas bannock for autumn harvests (1 August) andSamhain bannock for winter (end of October). Other special bannocks include:
Manxbonnag probably comes from the same root form as bannock and is made using similar ingredients.[10] In the north of England, bannocks are often made using pastry rather than a bread dough.
 | |
| Type | Bread |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | Scotland |
| Region or state | Selkirkshire |
| Created by | Robbie Douglas |
| Invented | 1859 |
| Main ingredients | Wheat flour,raisins |
A Scottish variant, theSelkirk bannock, is a spongy, buttery version, sometimes compared to afruitcake,[11] made from wheat flour and containing a very large quantity ofraisins. It takes its name from the town in the Scottish Borders where it is traditionally made. The first known maker of this variety was a baker named Robbie Douglas, who opened his shop inSelkirk in 1859. WhenQueen Victoria visitedSir Walter Scott's granddaughter atAbbotsford, she is reputed to have taken her tea with a slice of Selkirk bannock.[12]
Scottish Wheat Bannock at the Wikibooks Cookbook subprojectFry Bread at the Wikibooks Cookbook subproject
