Bread and baking by the campfire
Flatbread on a stone, bread in a pot and cinnamon buns in a pan – more ways to bake over the embers.
Bake more over the fireFrying pan bread over an open fire – bannock in ten minutes
Dry mix from home, water on site and ten minutes
- 1 loaf, approx. 22 cm
- Time: 5 min + 10–15 min frying
- Difficulty: Easy
- 7 ingredients
- 8 steps
Frying pan bread, often called bannock, is one of the easiest breads to make outdoors. It is fried in a pan instead of baked in an oven, and the dough doesn't rise – the baking powder does the work. The bread originally comes from Scotland and later became a classic camp bread in Canada. It works just as well for breakfast by the morning fire as with soup in the evening.
The great thing is that you can mix all the dry ingredients at home in a bag. Outdoors you pour in water, knead in the bag and fry – no bowls, no washing-up. What usually goes wrong is that the bread burns on the outside and is raw in the middle. The solution is a lid and low heat. If you have kids with you, stick bread is a fun extra, as they can bake their own.
Method
- At home: mix all the dry ingredients in a freezer bag and tie it shut.
- Outdoors: let the fire burn down to an even bed of embers. Set the pan on a grate or stones a little above the embers.
- Pour the water straight into the bag a little at a time and knead from the outside until you have a soft dough that comes away from the bag.
- Melt the butter in the pan over low heat.
- Flatten the dough into a round cake, about 1.5 cm thick, and place it in the pan.
- Put the lid on and fry over low heat for 5–7 minutes, until the underside is golden.
- Turn the bread, put the lid back on and fry for another 5–7 minutes.
- Tap the bread – it is done when it sounds hollow and the edges are firm. If you're unsure, push a thin stick into the middle: it should come out dry.
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Let the bread rest for a minute before you break it. It's best warm with butter.
Tips for frying pan bread that cooks through
- Low heat and a lid. The lid traps the heat so the bread bakes from the inside while the underside colours. How to read the embers is explained in cooking over open fire.
- Not too thick. Keep the cake around 1.5 cm – a thick dough doesn't have time to cook in the middle.
- A loose dough is better than a firm one. A soft dough becomes airy. Only add flour if it sticks to your hands.
- The dry mix keeps for a long time. Make several bags before a longer trip – they keep for several weeks if kept dry and cool.
- On a camping stove it works just as well: the lowest flame and the pan a little higher if possible. Read more about baking outdoors in bread and baking by the campfire.
Vary the frying pan bread
- Cheese and herbs: knead in 100 ml grated aged cheese and 1 tsp dried thyme or oregano.
- Raisins and cinnamon: 50 ml raisins and 1 tsp cinnamon in the dry mix – perfect for breakfast with butter and honey.
- Wholegrain: swap a third of the plain flour for wholemeal flour or oats.
- Small breads: divide the dough into four and fry small breads – they are ready in less time.
- With soup: serve the bread with a creamy mushroom soup or a stew over the fire.
Common mistakes
- Too much heat – the bread burns on the outside and stays raw in the middle.
- No lid – the heat escapes upwards and the bread becomes dense.
- Dough too thick – the middle never cooks through.
- Too much flour – the bread becomes dry and hard.
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All recipes →Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between bannock and stick bread?
It is almost the same dough. Bannock is fried as a cake in a frying pan, while stick bread is wound around a stick and baked over the embers. Bannock suits when you want bread with your meal, stick bread when the kids want to bake their own.
Can you make frying pan bread without baking powder?
Yes, but the bread turns out flat and dense, rather like a flatbread. If you want an airy bread you need baking powder or yeast.
Can you make bannock on a camping stove?
Yes. Use the lowest flame, a lid on the pan and preferably lift the pan a little from the flame. A camping stove gives strong heat on a small area, so turn the bread now and then for an even colour.
How long does the dry mix keep?
Kept dry and cool in a sealed bag it lasts several weeks. With milk powder in the mix, keep it extra dry.
Want to bake in more ways? Try flatbread on a hot stone or fire-baked bread with honey butter, and read about breakfast by the morning fire for more ideas to go with the bread.
More guides and recipes to read
More bread and baking by the fire