A history of the Selkirk Bannock, including recipe for making your own | Scotsman Food and Drink (2024)

The Selkirk bannock is different to a traditional bannock for it is a rich and buttery leavenedtea bread, a far cry from the bere bannocks you find in Orkney.

The fame of Selkirk bannock is often attributed to Queen Victoria, who according to John Hope-Scott, tasted it in 1867 when visiting Abbotsford house (home of Sir Walter Scott). Considering shedoesn’t mention it once in her diaries, apart from a brief note of taking tea, I would like to think thefame of the Selkirk bannock is down to the dedication and skill of the bakers who have made thisbread for generations.

It is still made in the borders by many bakeries, most famously by Alex Dalgetty & Sons, who pridethemselves on the quality of their Selkirk bannock. It is the slow fermentation of the dough thatgives their bannock its rich flavour and it turns out to be quite a sophisticated process. Thebannock is started with a ‘sponge dough’ (like a sourdough bread starter) and over the course ofapproximately twenty hours they add other ingredients such as butter. It then goes through anothertwo fermentation stages prior to baking. Alex Dalgetty (great great Grandfather of the currentowner) worked for Robert Douglas in the late nineteenth century, who is said to have invented theSelkirk bannock. Robert Douglas was the first to make it on a commercial scale at any rate.

The wonderful Selkirk bannock. Picture: FW

It seems the Selkirk bannock has long been admired. The first time we find the Selkirk bannock inprint is in the Bride of Lammermoor by Sir Walter Scott (1819), in amongst the petticoat-tailshortbread and sweet scones is the Selkirk bannock, ‘delicacies little known to the presentgeneration’. Robert Chambers, a Scottish publisher, took the trouble to note in The Picture ofScotland (1827):

‘Before quitting Selkirk, it ought to be mentioned that it is famous for the manufacture of apeculiarly light and agreeable species of bread, called “Selkirk Bannocks”. The loaves wereoriginally made of barley-meal, but are now composed of the finest flour.’

Selkirk bannock is the ideal thing to make when the weather is getting colder and the nights areclosing in. It is a shame the Selkirk bannock is not more appreciated when things like the Italianpannetonne are everywhere at Christmas time. What chance could the shy Selkirk bannock haveagainst all that big and bright packaging the Italians are so good at. The Selkirk bannock is everybit as good and it is this we should enjoy as a teatime treat, toasted or un-toasted, spread lavishlywith salted butter.

Many recipes that resemble the Selkirk bannock can be found in old Scottish cookery books underthe guise of a bun loaf. For instance the The Practice of Cookery, Pastry, and Confectionary by aMrs. Frazer (1820) offers a recipe called a ‘rich half-peck Bun’. You can buy the Selkirk bannockonline, however, if you would like to try making it yourself then the recipe below producessomething fairly similar. This recipe has been adapted from F. Marian McNeill’s book Recipes fromScotland (1947). In this quicker recipe below the butter is added right at the beginning, which is nottraditional. At any rate it still makes a rich and soft tea bread.

Recipe for making your own Selkirk Bannock:

Ingredients

• 500g strong white bread flour

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• 300g whole milk

• 50g unsalted butter

• 50g lard (you could replace this with 50g butter)

• 100g sugar

• 150g sultanas

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• 7g fast action yeast (or 15g fresh yeast rubbed into the flour)

• 10g salt

Picture: FW

Method:

1 Mix the flour, sugar, salt, yeast and sultanas in a large bowl. Melt the butter and lard over a gentleheat in a small saucepan, take off the heat and whisk in the milk.

2 Pour this over the dry ingredientsand combine. Knead gently for three to five minutes.

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3 Cover with a damp cloth and leave to provefor 1 hour or until 1.5 times its original volume. Alternatively you can add the raisins after thisproving time when you shape the dough.

4 Shape the dough to make it round, and transfer to a greased baking sheet. Leave to rise for 30minutes to 1 hour.

5 When doubled in size bake in the centre shelf of a preheated oven (180˚C) for30 minutes.

• See more of Fraser's recipes atwww.redbookrecipes.com/

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A history of the Selkirk Bannock, including recipe for making your own | Scotsman Food and Drink (2024)

FAQs

What is the history of Selkirk Bannock? ›

The first known maker of this variety was a baker named Robbie Douglas, who opened his shop in Selkirk in 1859. When Queen Victoria visited Sir Walter Scott's granddaughter at Abbotsford she is reputed to have taken her tea with a slice of Selkirk bannock, thus ensuring that its reputation was enshrined forever.

What is the history about bannock? ›

It is conventionally believed that Scottish fur traders called Selkirk settlers introduced bannock to the Indigenous peoples of North America during the 18th and 19th centuries. (See also Fur Trade in Canada.) The Scots cooked it in a griddle called a bannock stone, which they placed on the floor before a fire.

What is the history of the Scottish bannock? ›

Bannock was brought to North America by Scottish explorers and traders. Indigenous people particularly Métis in western Canada and the northern Great Plains in the United States, adopted bannock in their own cuisine over the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, most likely after encounters with Scottish fur traders.

What is the significance of bannock bread? ›

Despite its controversial origins, Bannock bread symbolizes resilience within Indigenous communities. Creatively blending traditional ingredients with the concept of breadmaking, Indigenous peoples transformed and adapted Bannock, showcasing their resourcefulness in the face of adversity.

Who makes Selkirk Bannock? ›

Alex Dalgetty & Sons Selkirk Bannock. These world famous Selkirk Bannocks are the benchmark for all others to be judged. Handmade to a recipe well over 100 years old which involves long dough fermentation to produce flavours that you would not believe possible from a fruit bread.

How do you eat Selkirk Bannock? ›

Best served sliced and spread with butter, or even try it toasted for a change.

What is an interesting fact about bannock? ›

Bannock is a type of fry bread, which originates from Scotland but was eventually adopted by the Indigenous peoples of Canada, particularly the Métis of western Canada. Bannock stems from the Gaelic word bannach, which means “morsel,” a short and sweet but accurate description.

What is a fun fact about bannock? ›

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. Most modern bannocks are made with baking powder or baking soda as a leavening agent, giving them a light and airy texture.

What are some interesting facts about the bannock tribe? ›

Society and culture

The Bannock and their Shoshone allies often had to fight the warlike Blackfoot for control of buffalo-hunting grounds. The Bannock spent most of the fall and winter on the hunt. During the hunting season they lived in tepees made out of a frame of wooden poles covered with buffalo hides.

What does bannock mean in Scottish? ›

The name Bannock seems to originate from the Old Celtic English “bannuc”, derived from the Latin “panicium” for “bread” or meaning “anything baked”. Made simply from oatmeal and flour, the first citing of a bannock or bannuc recipe in Scotland was in the 8th Century. It's amazing this tasty bread is still baked today!

What ethnicity is bannock? ›

The Bannock tribe (Northern Paiute: Pannakwatɨ) were originally Northern Paiute but are more culturally affiliated with the Northern Shoshone. They are in the Great Basin classification of Indigenous People. Their traditional lands include northern Nevada, southeastern Oregon, southern Idaho, and western Wyoming.

What is bannock in Scottish gaelic? ›

Bannock, from the Gaelic bannach, was once a generic term for bread in the north and west of these islands, where wheat and ovens were in short supply.

What kind of food did the bannock tribe eat? ›

Traditional Bannock and Shoshone cultures emphasized equestrian buffalo hunting and a seminomadic life. The Bannock also engaged in summer migrations westward to the Shoshone Falls, where they gathered salmon, small game, and berries.

What is a bannock slap? ›

Indica THC: 31.4% The Urban Dictionary defines Bannock Slap as to "use fried or baked bannock to strike the baloney out of the mouth of them youngsters".

Where is bannock most popular? ›

Bannock (British and Irish food), a kind of bread, cooked on a stone or griddle served mainly in Scotland but consumed throughout the British Isles. Bannock (Indigenous American food), various types of bread, usually prepared by pan-frying.

Where did the name bannock come from? ›

Bannock as a boy's name is of Scottish and Gaelic origin, and the meaning of Bannock is "unleavened oat bread". The name may indicate an ancestor who was a baker.

What tribe made bannock? ›

Bannock, skaan (or scone), Indian bread, alatiq, or frybread is found throughout North-American Native cuisine, including that of the Inuit of Canada and Alaska, other Alaska Natives, the First Nations of the rest of Canada, the Native Americans in the United States, and the Métis.

What nationality is bannock? ›

Bannock (British and Irish food), a kind of bread, cooked on a stone or griddle served mainly in Scotland but consumed throughout the British Isles. Bannock (Indigenous American food), various types of bread, usually prepared by pan-frying.

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