Lifestyle(Archives)
Whiteknife’s Oven-Baked Bannock
Bannock is a popular bread served as a staple recipe to early settlers and fur traders. Today, Indigenous nations continue to make it - usually deep fried or baked, served at Indigenous festivals and gatherings of family and friends.
Jean Whiteknife, Fort McKay elder from Fort Chipewyan, was born and raised in the community of northern Alberta. In her youth, she attended a residential school in Fort Chipewyan, and later enrolled into an industrial course at Keyano College in Fort McMurray.
At the age of 18, Whiteknife worked as a cleaner for Bechtel (known today as Syncrude) when the oil sands site was being built in 1970 and traveled to a variety of locations on a 12-horse powered skidoo.
Having a passion for children, she actively volunteered within the school system and decided to become a teacher. She has since retired after educating Kindergarten students for 27 years.
Today, she enjoys retirement by volunteering with community elders in Fort McKay and frequently bakes bannock for her son’s company, Iceis Safety and Koda-Cree, to share the taste of the Indigenous delicacy.
Make Your Own Whiteknife’s Bannock…
Ingredients:
- 6 cups of flour
- 3 tablespoons of baking powder
- 4 tablespoons of Tenderflake mixture
- 1 ½ cup of milk
- 1 egg
Directions:
- Measure and mix flour and baking powder into a large bowl. Stir in the Tenderflake mixture. Pour in warm milk with one egg and mix it together to form a ball.
- Put the mixture onto a lightly floured table to knead it out. Pat into a flat circle ¾ thick and poke holes in it with a fork.
- Preheat the oven to 350º F and bake until the top part of the bannock turns brown.
