I was looking for an interesting twist on traditional hamburger buns and decided I would make bannock.

Bannock has a long history and is a quick, flat bread leavened with baking powder instead of yeast.

My first inclination was to make a bannock dough that is rolled and shaped and then baked. But, I ultimately decided to go with a wet batter that is fried in oil.

This creates an amazingly crisp crust outside and a tender texture inside.

There is not a specific amount of water needed because it depends on how much moisture your flour absorbs. The key is to make a batter that is a bit thicker than pancake/waffle batter.

Shallow Fried Bannock

Recipe Notes

• This is a thick batter that is dropped into hot oil, not a dough that is rolled or shaped
• Be sure to add the wet ingredients right before you are going to fry the dough
• A deep fryer is not necessary for this because I like to shape the buns when they are in the oil and this is easier to do when shallow frying instead of deep frying

INGREDIENTS

• 2 Cups (12 oz, 300 g) Flour
• 1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
• 1 Teaspoon Salt
• Enough water to make a very thick batter. I use about a cup.

DIRECTIONS

1. Mix dry ingredients together and set aside
2. Place about 1 – 1.5 inches of oil in a pan
3. Slowly heat the oil until it is about 340 F
4. When oil is heated, add water to the flour mixture and mix well
5. Drop by spoonfuls into hot oil. For making the buns, I used a 1/4 cup measuring cup to scoop out the batter. I poured the batter into the oil and use the cup to spread out the batter in the oil. This made it more of a bun shape and size. Always be very careful when dealing with hot oil
6. Once browned on one side, flip it over and cook the other side
7. Once browned on both sides, place on a paper tower to absorb excess oil
8. Allow the bun to rest for a few minutes. Then cut with serrated knife to create the top and bottom bun