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New Brunswick·Ann's Eye

See how the Wolastoqey Grand Chief makes bannock bread

A few simple ingredients are all that's needed to make this bread.

Ron Tremblay adds his own twist to the fried dough

CBC News ·
A smiling man wearing black-framed glasses and a green shirt sits on a yellow armchair with a plate full of food. He holds up a biscuit.
Wolastoqey Grand Chief Ron Tremblay, who spent a lot of time as a child watching his mother cook, has been making bannock bread since the 1980s. (Ann Paul/CBC)

This is part of a series called Ann's Eye, featuring the work of Ann Paul, a Wolastoqey content creator. You can see more Ann's Eye pieces by clicking here.

Flour, salt, baking powder, water and lard. With those ingredients, Ann Paul says, you'll never go hungry.

They're the basics that make up bannock bread, items easily mixed together and dropped into the frying pan.

Ann, who also calls the bread lakalet, said after colonization, Indigenous people started making it after settlers forced them to live on reserves and rationed their food.

WATCH | Ron shares why his first time making bannock bread went horribly wrong: 

Ann’s Eye: How to make bannock

9 months ago
Duration 4:14
Wolastoqey Grand Chief Ron Tremblay shows Ann Paul how he makes bannock bread — with his own twist.

"We weren't allowed to go get our own moose or all the natural things we harvested or gathered," she said.

Bannock bread is still a staple in many homes today. Scroll through the photos and watch the video to see how Wolastoqey Grand Chief Ron Tremblay makes his. 

A man with grey hair braided down his back and wearing a camouflage-patterned shirt stands at a cluttered kitchen counter dumping flour into a mixing bowl.
Can you spot Ron's secret ingredient in the photo? Spoiler: it's cornmeal, for a healthier option. (Ann Paul/CBC)
A bespectacled man with grey hair braided down his back stands in front of a stovetop, holding a spatula over a pan filled with golden biscuits.
For this batch of bannock bread, Ron fried the dough in sausage grease. Ann Paul usually goes for Crisco oil. (Ann Paul/CBC)
Crispy pieces of golden bread are piled up on a plate in front of a carton of fancy molasses.
Bannock is delicious when dipped in molasses, Ann Paul said. (Ann Paul/CBC)
Crispy biscuit-style pieces of bread sit on a plate with utensils and two pieces of bacon and two sausage links.
Ann Paul said Ron's version of bannock bread was delicious. (Ann Paul/CBC)

Ann's Eye

Photographer Ann Paul brings an Indigenous lens to stories from First Nations communities across New Brunswick. Click here or on the image below to see more of her work. 

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