By Mel Evans and Kevin Fuller

Yesterday evening a message appeared in our inbox that really made us smile.

Back in the winter my daughter and I came to the festive forest school which we both really enjoyed. Ever since then she has asked to make the lovely bread that the ‘man’ made over the fire during the session. Would you happen to have the recipe please? Every time we smell a bonfire she always mentions the bread and says how nice it was.

Of course the ‘Man’ was Kev and the ‘Bread’ was his famous campfire Bannock Bread.

*There is a Bannock recipe for every season!*

We love Bannock Bread because it is as delicious as it is versatile and it requires very few ingredients. It often surprises people that the basic bread dough is just self raising flour and water. However it can be flavoured with pretty much anything (as Kev has proven over the years!)

This really suits us at Forest School as we love to experiment. This recipe allows us to do just that with ingredients that are seasonal, foraged or just in the back of the cupboard!

The recipe requested used Ginger Nut biscuits and Kev made it at a family Forest School session in January. We have given this recipe below. This is followed by some pictures of our favourite seasonal Bannock breads to inspire you. Don’t be afraid to experiment with the ingredients you have available to you or food combinations you love. Finally there is a video from Kev demonstrating how to make and cook Bannock.

Ginger Nut Bannock
1 cup of self raising flour is combined with a packet of crushed ginger nut biscuits. 1 cup of water is added slowly to form a dough. You may not need all the water. The dough is then fried in a hot, lightly oiled pan. Turn regularly until cooked. Once done the top of the bread can be sprinkled with brown sugar. Kev likes to caramalise the sugar with a blow torch, but you could do this under a grill.

*We put the Ginger Nut Biscuits in a bag and smashed them with a log!*

*Kev caramalises the top with a blow torch*

*The finished Bannock Bread never lasts long!*

We like to change our ingredients by the season and use foraged or home grown ingredients where possible. Right now a Cheese Bannock with Wild Garlic pesto on the side would be delicious or you could serve a plain Bannock with Dandelion Jam. Here are a few other combinations to inspire you.