Native Breads                                                                  

Piki is a special bread made by the Hopi of their blue corn. It is several thicknesses of transparently thin flat bread 15 or 16 inches in diameter, rolled into a scroll; the best is so light it is almost weightless. It is crisp and delicious with the delicate but distinctive blue corn flavor. The next paragraph is a description of the traditional method of making piki, as told by Carol Locust of the Native American Research and Training Center of the University of Arizona.

"I remember seeing her on her knees in the piki house, a small outside building of ancient blocks, and watching her test the large, flat, piki stone for its heat. The blue corn meal in the bowl beside her had been ground to powder, mixed with a small amount of finely sifted ashes, and blended with fresh spring water until thick and smooth as cream. Kneeling in front of the piki stone, Ellie was hardly visible, but she became a whirlwind of activity when the stone was hot enough. Her hands moved like lightning. Deftly she dipped one hand into the bowl of piki mixture, scooping a certain amount on the outside of her palm, and swiftly -- very swiftly -- swept her hand and the mixture across the hot stone. As quickly Ellie's other hand lifted the parchment and placed it to the side, while another scoop of mixture was already being swept across the stone. The two transparent sheets were rolled together, and a third and fourth added, and a fifth and sixth, until Ellie was satisfied and the rolled transparent sheets became a piki bread. Ellie worked tirelessly and, it seemed, effortlessly."

Paper Bread (Piki)

5 tablespoons Masa Harina®

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 cup hot water

Mix dry ingredients in a bowl. Pour in the hot water and whisk the batter for a few seconds until it is smooth. Heat a nonstick skillet over low heat until it is warm. Remove the skillet from the heat. With a pastry brush, brush on a layer of batter, using broad strokes all in one direction. Immediately apply a second layer of batter at right angles to the first layer. Return the skillet to the heat source and cook for about 1 minute. The batter will sizzle and evaporate all moisture before it is done. As soon as the hissing stops and the surface of the bread looks dry and crinkly, peel it off with your fingers by starting up one edge with a table knife, then grasping it by hand and pulling up gently. The layer will peel away easily. Lay it on paper toweling or a baking rack to dry completely and proceed to make 3 more pikis to lay on top. Do not place the piki on a plate once baked, since it will further steam them and cause them to become sticky. Once you have 4 layers, roll them loosely into a scroll and set aside. Serve slightly re-warmed or at room temperature with salsa and a main course.

Blue Piki

Make batter from 3 tablespoons blue cornmeal, 2 tablespoons Masa Harina® and 3 tablespoons cornstarch plus the salt and water in the basic recipe.

Pink or Yellow Piki

Add a few drops of food coloring to the basic batter as you whisk it up.

Hopi Piki Bread

Ingredients

3 Tablespoon Chamisa Ash

(cooking ash comes from the burning up of various plants)

1/2 Cup Cold Water

6 Cups Finely Ground Cornmeal

8 Cups Boiling Water

6-8 Cups Cold Water

Method

+ Mix chamisa ash with 1/2 cup cold water and set aside

+ Put cornmeal in piki bowl, push 1/3 of the meal to the back of the bowl

+ Pour 4 cups boiling water into the 2/3 amount of cornmeal and stir until well blended

+ Add remaining boiling water and stir until moist and stiff

+ Gradually strain ash water through cheesecloth into the dough just until it turns blue

+ When dough has cooled enough to touch knead until smooth

+ Add the dry meal gradually

+ Set dough aside and build fire under the piki stone and allow to heat up

+ Meanwhile, gradually knead cold water into the dough until it is a thin consistency smooth batter, add more water during making process if necessary

+ Wipe off hot stone and oil with bone marrow or cooked brains, repeat as necessary during making process

+ Scoop small amount of batter from bowl with fingers and spread tissue paper thin across stone from left to right, eliminating any lumps

+ Dip fingers into batter again to cool them and bring out another scoop

+ Continue to spread and layer batter across stone until completely covered

+ When piki is done it will seperate from the stone, gently lift away and place it on the piki tray

+ The first piece should be fed to the fire

+ Spread more batter onto the stone and let cook, then place the prepared piki back onto the stone to soften

+ Fold two ends of the piki 1/4 way toward center, then gently roll piki away from you

+ Place back on Piki Tray

+ Remove Piki sheet from stone and spread with more batter to repeat process until all batter is used

+ If Piki tears simply return to batter to dissolve and reuse

Hopi Piki Bread (Traditional)

Yield: 1 batch

1 c Green juniper ash

1 c Blue cornmeal

1 c Boiling water

3 c Water

Sunflower oil for greasing_the cooking stone

Mix ash with boiling water; strain juniper ash into pot. Stir. Add blue

cornmeal. Stir with wooden spoon or stick. Let cool. Spread on hot,

greased griddle or stone with palm of hand. Be certain the layer is very

thin. Cook for a very short time. Carefully lift the paper-thin layer

from griddle by rolling from one end to the other jelly-roll fashion.

Culinary Ash

Culinary ash is made from burning the wood of certain trees until there is only ash left.

Many types of trees and bushes found in the Southwest can be used; the Navajos use juniper primarily and the Hopis use green plants such as suwvi or chamisa (rabbitbrush) bushes.

The green twigs, when burned, produce an ash with a high mineral content.When used in cooking, it increases the food's nutritional value.When culinary ash is mixed with boiling water and corn,the alkaline level in the ash reacts with the corn and changes it to a more intense color.After the water has cooled, the corn changes again - to something close to its original color.If you live in an area where culinary ash is difficult to obtain, baking soda can be used as a substitute, although it doesn't have the high nutritional content of ash.

Substitute 2 tablespoons baking soda for 1 cup ash.

Lois Ellen Frank, "Native American Cooking".

Mock Piki Bread
Corn meal "piki" pancakes
1 JIFFY corn muffin mix
1 cup corn meal
2 cups milk
1 egg
2 T. vegetable oil
1. Combine ingredients and mix thoroughly.

You'll need an electric griddle for preparing this special treat. The Indians prepared it on sandstone slab over an open fire. Silence was demanded during the oiling and preparation of the stone, lest it should crack and break! Actual piki bread was made from blue corn meal. Ashes and water to make the meal to make a batter. The bread was rather gray in color. This recipe, adapted for primary palates, is more like pancakes than bread.

2. Lightly grease griddle with vegetable oil.
3. Pour enough batter on griddle to make a 3-inclh pancake.
4. Flip when air bubbles appear over surface.
5. Cool pancakes and roll; fasten roll with toothpick.
Yield: 5 dozen pancakes
Serve berries or a berry juice along with the piki pancakes.
The below is excerpted from "Cherokee Cooklore" by the Museum of the Cherokee Indian (Cherokee, NC)

Du-ya Di-su-yi-ga-du Bean Bread
The Cherokee people made bread before the white man came along with his grist mills for gringing corn into meal or his soda for making the bread rise. To prepare meal to make Bean Bread one uses flour

corn. This corn is skinned with wood ashes. Sieve the ashes, put these ashes into an iron pot (tsu-la-s-gi) or well-made pottery over the fire. When the water begins to boil put in the corn, stir once in a while to make sure that the corn does not stick. Let this boil until it is thick enough to bubble. Take the corn off the fire. Go to the branch, or whatever source of water that is nearby, wash the corn in the running water by placing it in a sieve and letting the water run through it until it is clean. The sieve is a basket that is made so that there will be little holes in the bottom to let the

water go through. After washing the corn let it drip until all extra water is dropped off it. While the corn is still damp pound it into meal by using the old homemade corn beater (Ka-no-na). This beater

is made by hollowing out a log or stump and beating with a pole with the piece the size of the tree left at the top to give it weight.To make the Bean Bread, boil dry beans in plain water until tender. Pour boiling beans and some of the soup into the cornmeal and stir until mixed. Have pot of plain water on the fire boiling. If you want bean dumplings, just make mixture out in balls and cook in the pot of plain water, uncovered, until done. Eat these dumplings plain, with butter, meat grease (the Indian's favorite), wild game, hot or cold, as suits one's fancy. If you want broadswords you should mold the dumplings flat in the hand and wrap in corn blades, cured corn fodder, or hickory, oak or cucumber tree leaves. Tie with a stout reed unless able to tie the wrappings. Drop this into the boiling water, cover, and boil until done. Do not put any salt in Bean Bread or it will crumble.

Di-s-qua-ni Chestnut Bread

Prepare the meal the same as for Bean Bread but use chestnuts instead of beans. Cut the chestnuts in small pieces before cooking them.

Nu-nv-a-su-yi-ga-du Sweet Potato Bread

Prepare the same as for Bean Bread but use pieces of cooked but not over-cooked sweet potatoes.

Wild Sage Bread

1 package dry yeast

1 cup cottage cheese

1 egg

1 tablespoon melted shortening

1 tablespoon sugar

2 teaspoons crushed dried sage

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

2 1/2 cups flour

Combine sugar, sage, salt, baking soda and flour. Dissolve yeast in 1/4 cup warm water. Beat egg and cottage cheese together until smooth. Add melted shortening and yeast. Add flour mixture slowly to egg mixture, beating well after each addition until a stiff dough is formed.Cover dough with cloth and put in warm place until double in bulk (about 1 hour). Punch dough down, knead for one minute and place in well-greased pan. Cover and let rise for 40 minutes.Bake in a 350-degree oven for 50 minutes. Brush top with melted shortening and sprinkle with crushed, roasted pine nuts or coarse salt.

Tortilla

The Spanish language term tortilla [torˈtiʝa] can be used to mean several different dishes, depending on the area. In Mexican and Mesoamerican terms, a tortilla is a kind of unleavened bread, generally made from maize (corn) and with the introduction of wheat by the Europeans, also with wheat flour. This is the most common usage of the term in English.

In Spain, tortilla stands for omelette, and is thus made up of beaten eggs, with other ingredients added at will. The terms Spanish tortilla, tortilla española or tortilla de patatas all refer to a common recipe in Spain, an omelette with stir-fried potatoes and chopped onion, often served as a staple food in Spanish bars and cafés.

As an easy solution to both the problems of handling food in microgravity and preventing bread crumbs from escaping into delicate instruments, tortillas (of the American flavor) have been used on many NASA Shuttle missions since 1985. [1]

Tortilla making

The traditional tortilla has been made of corn or maize since Pre-Columbian times. It is made by curing maize in lime water, grinding and pre-cooking it, kneading it into a dough called masa nixtamalera, pressing it flat into thin patties, and cooking it on a very hot comal (originally a flat terra cotta griddle, now usually made instead of light sheet-metal).

Soaking the maize in lime water is important because it liberates the vitamin niacin and the amino acid tryptophan. When maize was brought back to Europe, Africa and Asia from the New World, people left out this crucial step. People whose diet consisted mostly of corn meal often became sick with the disease pellagra, which was common in Spain, Northern Italy and the southern United States. In Mexico, particularly in the towns and cities, most corn tortillas are nowadays made by machine and are very thin and uniform, but in El Salvador, Guatemala, or Honduras they are still often made by hand and are thicker. Corn tortillas are customarily served and eaten warm; when cool, they often acquire a rubbery texture.

Traditionally throughout Mesoamerica from Pre-Columbian times into the mid 20th century, the masa was prepared by women using a mano (a cylinder shaped stone like a rolling pin) and metate (a stone base with a slightly concave top for holding the corn).Most people agree that traditional stone-ground, handmade tortillas taste better, but these have been supplanted by cheaper, less labor intensive, and machine-ground corn flour tortillas. Most restaurants proud of their traditional fare will have at least one person bent over a hot comal, turning out an endless stream of piping hot, handmade tortillas.The wheat flour tortilla was an innovation after wheat was brought to the New World from Spain while this region was the colony of New Spain. It is made with an unleavened, water based dough, pressed and cooked like corn tortillas. These tortillas are very similar to the unleavened bread popular in Arab, eastern Mediterranean and southern Asian countries, though thinner and smaller in diameter. In China, there is the laobing (烙餅), a pizza-shaped thick "pancake" that is similar to the tortilla. The Indian Roti, which is made essentially from wheat flour is another example. Tortillas vary in size from about 6 to over 30 cm (2.4 to over 12 in), depending on the region of the country and the dish for which it is intended.Among tortilla variants (without being, strictly speaking, tortillas) there are pupusas, "pishtones, gorditas, sopes, and tlacoyos. These filled snacks can be found in Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras. They are smaller, thicker versions to which beans, chicharrón, nopales or other ingredients have been added. They are customarily cooked on a greased pan. In Argentina, Bolivia and southern Chile, the size of the tortillas is smaller. They are generally saltier, made from wheat or corn flour, and roasted in the ashes of a traditional adobe oven. This kind of tortilla is called Sopaipilla (not to be confused with a puffy fry bread of the same name common in New Mexico, United States). In Chile and Argentina it may also be sweetened after being cooked by boiling in sugar water.

Inca Bread

Maize (corn), quinoa (a type of grain), and potatoes were often present at meals. Inca bread was made from cornmeal or

potato flour rather than wheat.  A common method of food-preservation was freeze-drying, a highly advanced technique that was far ahead of its time. Mashed and freeze-dried potatoes, or chuños (CHUN-yos), could be used to make bread.

Adobe or Pueblo Bread

Pueblo bread; pueblo adobe bread A Native American bread made by the pueblo-dwelling Indians of the Southwest and baked in the adobe ovens common to their dwellings. The bread's made from unbleached flour, salt, yeast, water, lard or shortening and sometimes sugar and/or eggs. A hot fire is started in the adobe oven and allowed to burn out. The ashes are immediately removed and the bread is then baked.

Adobe or Pueblo Bread

Yield: 2 loaves

1 pk Active dry yeast (1/4 oz)

¼ c Lukewarm water

1 ts Salt

3 tb Vegetable shortening, melted

1 c Cold water

4 ½ c All purpose flour

In a large bowl, soften the yeast in the lukewarm water. Mix the salt, 2 tablespoons of the shortening, and the cold water together and add to the yeast mixture. Sift in the flour gradually, beating well after each addition for a smooth consistency. You will probably have to knead in the final cup of flour. Shape the dough into a ball, brish lightly with the remaining shortening, and cover with a dry cloth. Set the bowl in a warm place until doubled in bulk, anout 1 hour. Punch the dough down and, on a floured board, knead about 5 minutes. Shape into 2 round loaves on a well greased baking sheet. Cover with a dry cloth and set to rise another 45 minutes. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Bake the loaves on a cookie sheet 50 minutes, until they are light brown and sound hollow when tapped. This is an adaptation of the traditional recipe that is still being used by almost every Native American family.

Second-generation Adobe Oven Bread

PREP AND COOK TIME: About 3 1/4 hours, including about 1 1/2 hours for rising

MAKES: 1 loaf, about 2 1/2 pounds

2 cups warm (about 110°) water

2 teaspoons sugar

1 package active dry yeast

About 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup whole-wheat flour

About 1/2 cup cornmeal

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 large egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon water

1. In a large bowl, combine warm water and sugar. Sprinkle the yeast over the water; let stand until yeast softens, about 5 minutes.

2. Stir together 4 cups all-purpose flour, the whole-wheat flour, 1/4 cup cornmeal, and salt. Add 1/2 the flour mixture to bowl. Beat with a spoon or mixer until dough is well moistened. Stir in remaining flour.

3. To knead with a dough hook, beat at medium speed until dough begins to pull from bowl sides and is not sticky when lightly touched, 10 to 15 minutes. If dough sticks, beat in more all-purpose flour, 1 tablespoon at a time. Remove dough hook.

To knead by hand, scrape dough onto a well-floured board. Knead until very elastic and no longer sticky, 10 to 15 minutes. Add flour as required to keep dough from sticking to the board. Wash and oil bowl, then return dough to bowl.

4. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let dough rise in a warm place until doubled, 1 to 1 1/4 hours.

5. Briefly knead dough with dough hook or on a lightly floured board to expel air. Shape dough into a smooth ball or oval loaf. Set smooth side up on a baking sheet dusted with about 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour. Dust loaf top lightly with more flour, drape with plastic wrap, and let stand until puffy, 30 to 40 minutes. Refrigerate loaf if it is ready before adobe oven is.

Brush with beaten egg before slipping loaf into the oven.

6. When adobe oven has cooled to about 350°, transfer loaf to a cornmeal-coated bread paddle. Make slashes about 1/2 inch deep across the loaftop in several places with a very sharp knife or razor, then brush with beaten egg; take care not to let egg run onto paddle.

7. Slip loaf from paddle onto clean oven floor. Close oven door. Check temperature in 5 minutes; if above 450°, remove door until oven drops to 350°, then close. After 10 minutes, spray loaf all over with water; close door. After another 10 minutes, spray loaf with more water; close door.

8. Continue baking until loaf is rich golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped, 40 to 60 minutes more. Pull loaf onto oven hearth to cool. Serve warm or cool.

Cassava - Manihot esculenta, a low-protein, starchy staple.

In regions where cereal grains cannot be grown, people often rely upon starchy vegetables (roots, tubers, or rhizomes) to supply most of their calories. Such foods are called starchy staples. While such crops often have high yields, their primary disadvantage is their very low protein content (<1%). Cassava, also known has manioc, is a tropical, starchy staple of South American origin. Potatoes and yams are other starchy staples. Cassava has another disadvantage; the fleshy roots contain poisonous compounds (cyanogenic glycosides - compounds that liberate cyanide) that must be removed. Shredding the roots and squeezing out the juice removes much of the toxic compounds. Heat used to dry the resulting flour removes the remaining compounds. The resulting flour, called farofa, is very bland, rather like corn meal and flour. The flour can be mixed with water and the dough cooked on a large griddle to make large cassava flat-breads. In many areas, cassava breads and farofa are the staple, sometimes only food, consumed for considerable periods of time. The resulting diet results in chronic protein deficiences.The purified starch can be used as a thickening agent. You know gelatinized pellets of cassava starch as tapioca. There would be little taste if sugar and vanilla flavoring were not added.

Cassava Bread

Flat, white, round biscuit-like bread made by Amerindians in Guyana.

Ingredients

Bitter cassava

Salt to taste

Preparation

1. Peel, wash and grate the cassava. Squeeze out as much of the juice as possible, using either a matapee or by wringing in a towel. The juice can be used for making cassareep.

2. Leave in lumps and allow to dry slightly in open air.

3. Pound, sift and add salt.

4. Heat a griddle and a metal hoop of the size of cake required.

5. Put enough of the cassava meal to a depth of about 1/8 - ¼ inch in the hoop.

6. Cook until set, using moderate heat. Remove the hoop,

7. level the surface and press firmly. Turn onto the other side and cook.

8. When cooked through, remove the cake and sun-dry until crisp.

Note: Cassava bread may be lightly toasted and butter spread on one side for a delicious snack.

Cassava Bread (Baked)

Ingredients

1 cup fresh cassava meal

2 tablespoons counter flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1/3 cup milk

1 tablespoon lime juice

1 egg

Directions

1. Mix together all the dry ingredients in a large bowl then add egg and milk to produce a thick batter. Stir in oil and lime juice.

2. Pour one half of batter into well greased non-stick frying pan.

3. Cook on moderate heat for about 5 minutes. Turn and cook for a further 5 minutes.

Cooking time: 10 minutes

Serves: 8

Corn Bread

Cornbread was first discovered by Europeans during the European exploration of North America. Native Americans were using ground corn for cooking long before the European explorers arrived in the New World. Europeans who had to use the local resources for food fashioned cornmeal into cornbread. Cornbread was popular during the American Civil War because it was very cheap and could be made in many different forms. It could be fashioned into high-rising, fluffy loaves or simply fried for a fast meal.

Types of cornbread

Cornbread is a popular item in soul food enjoyed by many people for its texture and scent. Cornbread can be baked, fried or, rarely, steamed. Steamed cornbreads are mushy, chewier and more akin to cornmeal pudding than what most consider to be traditional cornbread.

Skillet-baked cornbread

The most common variety, skillet-baked cornbread (often simply called skillet bread) is a traditional staple of rural cuisine in the United States, especially in the Southern United States including georgia and texas were slavry took place and involves heating bacon drippings, lard or other oil in a heavy, well-seasoned cast iron skillet in an oven, and then pouring a batter made from cornmeal, egg and buttermilk directly into the hot grease. The mixture is returned to the oven to bake into a large, crumbly cake. This bread will tend to be dense, meant more as an accompaniment than as a bread meant to stand on its own. In addition to the skillet method, such cornbread can also be made in sticks, muffins or loaves.

Corn pone

Corn pone (sometimes referred to as "Indian pone") is a type of cornbread, made of a thick, malleable dough made of cornmeal or hominy grits, shaped by hand and then baked or fried in butter, margarine, lard or bacon grease. Corn pone has been a staple of Southern U.S. cuisine, and has been discussed by many American writers, including Mark Twain. Typically corn pone is formed in two to three inch oval shapes and features a crunchy and/or chewy texture.

The term "corn pone" is sometimes used as a noun to refer to one who possesses certain rural, unsophisticated peculiarities ("he's a corn pone"), or as an adjective to describe particular rural, folksy or "hick" characteristics (e.g., "corn pone" humor or "Jess is going to have his cell pone with him"). The term is sometimes intended as a pejorative, often directed at persons from rural areas of the southern and midwestern U.S.

Hot water cornbread

Cooked on a rangetop, one frying method involves pouring a small amounts of liquid batter made with boiling water and self-rising cornmeal (cornmeal with soda or some other chemical leavener added) into a skillet of hot oil, and allowing the crust to turn golden and crunchy while the center of the batter cooks into a crumbly, mushy bread. These small (3-4" diameter) fried breads are soft and very rich. Sometimes, to ensure the consistency of the bread, a small amount of wheat flour is added to the batter. This type of cornbread is often known as "hot water" cornbread and is unique to the American South.

Jonnycakes

Pouring a batter similar to that of skillet-fried cornbread, but slightly thinner, into hot grease atop a griddle or a skillet produces a pancake-like bread called a johnnycake, johnny cakes, jonnycake, ashcake, battercake, hoecake, hoe cake, journey cake, mush bread, Shawnee cake, jonakin, and jonikin. The origin of the name is unclear, possibly from 'journey cake' as a bread easily prepared by travellers, or as a corruption of 'Shawnee cake', or based on a forgotten Indian word. This type of cornbread is prevalent in the American Midwest and South.

Cornbread arrived in North America long before the settlers established the first European colonies. The earliest makers of cornbread were the native tribes of the southern United States and Central America, who relied heavily upon corn as a food source. The first cornbreads were simple mixtures of cornmeal, salt and water, but many other ingredients have been added to recipes since.

Cornbread is unique because it is leavened (caused to rise) chemically, instead of through the use of yeast or other leavening agents. This is due to natural properties of cornmeal and corn flour.

Bannock

Bannock is a kind of bread, usually prepared by pan-frying. It is native to Scottish or Manx cuisine but was introduced during the fur trade to the Native American culture in Canada and much of the United States, where it is now so widespread that it is considered a traditional food.

     A bannock is a bread thinner than a scone. It is a form of flat cake, baked on a griddle and popular in Scotland, and is generally made of oatmeal and takes the form of a large oatcake. However, the meaning is not universal and some Scots use the term to refer to a wheat flour cake similar to a large thin scone.

     Scottish bannock is also quite popular in eastern Canada, especially in the Atlantic provinces.

The oldest and certainly the most famous of all Bannocks is The Selkirk Bannock, The first bannock is said to have been made by a Robbie Douglas who opened his shop in Selkirk in 1859. When Queen Victoria visited Sir Walter Scott's granddaughter at Abbotsford she is said to have refused all else with her tea save a slice of the cake - ensuring that the bannock's reputation was enshrined forever.

     Native Americans and particularly Métis, in western Canada and the northern Great Plains in the United States, adopted bannock in their own cuisine over the 18th and 19th centuries, most likely from Scottish fur traders. This simple source of carbohydrates was easy to make on the trail and neatly complemented high protein trail foods like pemmican. As a result, even today many Métis and aboriginal western Canadians routinely prepare this dish. In western Canada, bannock is more closely associated with native and Métis culture than with its Scottish roots.

     Native and Métis bannock is generally prepared with white or wheat flour, baking soda and water, which are combined and kneaded (possibly with spices, dried fruits or other flavouring agents added) then fried in rendered fat, vegetable oil, or shortening.

Authentic Native Cree Bannock Bread

Want a real taste of the Canadian North? Try this popular local recipe for authentic Native Cree bannock bread made with either currants or raisins!

First gather the following ingredients:

6 Cups of flour

1 Cup of lard

3 Tablespoons of baking powder

1 Tablespoon of salt

2 Cups of currants or raisins

3 ½ Cups of water

You’ll also need a medium sized mixing bowl.

In the bowl, mix the flour and lard together by hand. Then add the baking powder, salt and the currants or raisins. Once this is done, add the water and work the ingredients into a dough. Next, you have two options: the camp fire or the oven. To cook over a camp fire, divide the dough into four lumps and firmly wrap each lump around the end of a four foot stick and prop securely over the fire until golden brown. To cook in an oven, spread the dough out into a 16" square cake pan. Bake at 425 degrees for about 20 minutes or until golden brown.

How To Use Acorns For Food And Bread

There are many species of oak trees. Oak trees are found throughout. They prefer open woods and bottom land. Normally, they are divided into two major groups:

     Red Oak - The red oaks have deeply scalloped leaves with very pointed tips. The acorns from the red oak are very bitter. The acorns require two growing seasons to mature, have a hairy lining on the inside of the shell, and the nutmeats are yellow in color. Red oaks are also members of the black oak family. (Photo: Oak Trees - Quercus spp. Provide Acorns Rich in Protein and Oils)

    White Oak - The white oak also has leaves with deep scallops, but the tips are rounded. The acorns of the white oak are

less bitter than those of the red oak, and they require only one growing season. The inner portion of the white oak acorn shell is smooth, and the nutmeat is white in color. The chestnut oak is considered part of the white oak classification.

     NUTS: The nuts are gathered during the fall from September to October. When processed properly, acorns have a pleasant nutty flavor. Acorns are an excellent source of energy, protein, carbohydrate, and calcium. When collecting acorns, one should not be surprised that many of them must be discarded due to insects or mold, so more should be collected than are needed. If you spread a sheet of plastic under the tree and use only those acorns that fall within a one-day period, this seems to

reduce bug infestation, an especially important problem for acorns that are to be stored in their shell. The ripe tan-to-brown acorns, rather than the unripe green ones, should be gathered. The bitterness in acorns is caused by tannic acid which is water soluble. To remove this unpleasant taste,shell the brown, ripe acorns and remove any corky skin layers, dice the

meat; and boil the chunks in water from 15 to 30 minutes until the water turns brown. Then pour off the water and repeat the process until the water clears, indicating that the tannic acid has been removed. Periodically taste a bit of the acorns until you no longer detect any bitterness. (Native Americans would let the crushed acorn meat soak in a fast-moving,

clean stream for several weeks to remove the bitterness.) During the last boiling, salt water can be added; then the acorns can be deep fried or mixed in a soup. Also, finely chopped acorn meats can be added to bread and muffins, or the soft acorn nut can be added as a protein booster to cooked greens. After the leaching process, acorn meat can be frozen. To make

flour, the boiled acorn meat can be split in two and dried by slowly baking in a 200 degree oven with the door cracked to allow moisture to escape. Or, they can be dried in the sun. They are then crushed or ground and used as a thickener or as flour. Another method is to roast the fresh acorns to work well in a grinder or blender. After grinding, the course flour is placed into a cloth bag and boiled to leach out the tannic acid. Acorn flour can be used alone to make an acorn bread, but it is not very pleasing to most tastes. Acorn flour is more palatable when mixed with wheat flour or corn meal-one part acorn meal mixed with four parts corn meal for corn bread, or one to four parts wheat for bread. The acorn meal can also be heated in water to make a nutritious mush. Or add enough water to make a thick batter. Add a dash of salt and sweetener to improve the taste. Allow the batter to stand for an hour (or until thick) then pat into pancakes and cook or twist and bake on an open fire. The leached acorns, after they are roasted until brittle, can be ground and used as a marginal coffee substitute. In their shell, the dried acorns will store for a time. Some Native Americans stored acorns for several years in bags buried in boggy areas.

Acorn Bread

The Indians mixed the acorn meal or flour with meat soup or water to make a stiff dough. Salt was added to the dough. The acorn dough was made into round loaves , wrapped in fern leaves, and placed in ashes for slow heat cooking that turned the bread black. Another method was to place the thick dough on a two forked stick and cook quickly over hot coals. If baking powder was available, the acorn meal was mixed with baking powder, salt, and water. This dough was either baked or fried in a pan. While not 'traditional' recipes these are still very good. Sent to us be SkyWarrior's Blood-Sister Lori.

Apache Acorn Bread

1 cup acorn meal (from 2-4 cups acorns)

1/2 cup cornmeal

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

3 tablespoons salad oil

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/4 cup honey

1 egg

1 cup milk

Equipment: 8 by 8-inch brownie pan, food processor or blender, wire cake tester or toothpick. Shell acorns with a nut-cracker and nut pick, discarding any with worms. Chop nuts to a coarse meal in food processor. Soak nuts in boiling water 30 minutes. Drain water, which will be reddish-brown. Taste a little bit of the meal. If it is still bitter and astringent,repeat Step Three. When nuts lose their bitter taste, spread meal out on a baking sheet and put it into a 300 degree oven, so that the meal dries out and toasts slightly, being careful not to let the meal burn. (you can skip this step, but it adds flavor.) Measure one cup meal and combine with cornmeal, flour, salt, and baking powder. Combine honey, beaten egg, and milk. Add milk mixture to dry ingredients and mix just until all dry ingredients are moistened. Grease the 8 x 8 pan, and pour in the batter. Level off with a spatula if necessary. Pour into greased 8 X 8 inch pan and bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 30 minutes.Test for doneness with a wire cake tester or toothpick. Serve cut into squares. Contributor: Carolyn Niethammer.

Acorn Bread

6 T. cornmeal

1/2 c. cold water

1 c. boiling water

1 tsp. salt

1 T. butter

1 pkg. active dry yeast

1/4 c. lukewarm water

1 c. mashed potatoes

2 c. all-purpose flour

2 c. finely ground leached acorn meal

Mix cornmeal with cold water, add boiling water and cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add sale and butter and cool to lukewarm. Soften yeast in lukewarm water. Add remaining ingredients to corn mixture, along with yeast. Knead to a stiff dough. Dough will be sticky. Cover and let rise in warm place until doubled in bulk. Punch down, shape into two loaves, cover and let rise until doubled in bulk. Bake at 375 degrees F for 45 minutes.

Burning Tree Acorn Bread

1 cup acorn flour

1 cup all purpose flour

1 tbl baking powder

1/2 tsp Salt

3 tbl Sugar

1 pc egg; beaten

1 cup milk

1 tbl oil

Mix together, acorn meal, white flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. In separate bowl, mix together egg, milk, and oil. Combine dry ingredients and liquid ingredients. Stir just enough to moisten dry ingredients. Pour into a greased pan and bake at 400F. for 30 minutes. NOTE: Acorn flour purchased at any Korean Store. Contributor: Burning Tree Restaurant

Culinary Ash

Culinary ash is made from burning the wood of certain trees until there is only ash left. Many types of trees and bushes found in the Southwest can be used; the Navajos use juniper primarily and the Hopis use green plants such as suwvi or chamisa bushes. The green twigs, when burned, produce an ash with a high mineral content. When used in cooking, it increases the food's nutritional value. When culinary ash is mixed with boiling water and corn,the alkaline level in the ash reacts with the corn and changes it to a more intense color. After the water has cooled, the corn changes again - to something close to its original color. Besides the leaching of corn, ash was used as a leavening agent in bread products. If you live in an area where culinary ash is difficult to obtain, baking soda can be used as a substitute, although it doesn't have the high nutritional content of ash. Substitute 2 tablespoons baking soda for 1 cup ash.