Saskatchewan Sweet Rolls: A Blueberry Bannock Recipe For The Adventurous Vegan

For years I have chased a connection to my ancestors. Growing up in a particularly Caucasian community as an indigenous youth, I had very little connection to my heritage. Although my paternal grandmother was a full-blooded Cree woman, her assimilation as a child had been thorough and complete. After being adopted from a residential school my grandmother was raised entirely away from her culture, leaving our connection to the past irrevocably severed. She was stripped of her language and retained none of the ancestral knowledge that should have been passed to her descendants. I have always felt this left a great chasm of unanswered questions in my life. Something essential was missing. History, connection to my truest self, lay vacant in my heart.

Over the years I began to seek out a connection through food. Baking had always been a special part of my life, so it felt like the obvious place to start.

With no real experience in indigenous cooking, I began scouring recipes and testing out new ideas. I made some truly inedible creations, but each step was a learning experience. In the end, my masterpiece became a fusion of western and indigenous influences, much like myself.

Dough Ingredients:

3 cups of your preferred flour

¼ teaspoon of salt

6 teaspoons of baking powder

3 tablespoons of margarine (or your favourite vegan butter substitute)

1 cup of canned or fresh blueberries (you can substitute the same amount of any other fruit)

1 cup of water (to start)

Notes:

Your choice between fresh or canned fruit will alter the necessary amount of water due to the additional liquid in canned fruit. I used a jar of whole blueberry preserves for this recipe. The sweetness of the canned fruit adds a little extra something to the dough. If you choose a fresh fruit you will want to blend it with about a tablespoon of sugar to add sweetness before mixing it into your dough.

Preparation:

Sift your flour and baking soda into a large bowl.

Combine margarine (slightly melted) with your fruit mixture then add ½ a cup of warm water.

Make a small crater in the centre of your dry mixture and pour in your liquid ingredients.

Mix your dough with a large spoon or knead by hand.

Slowly add the additional ½ cup of water as you stir.

Your dough should be thick enough to roll into “snakes” without turning to mush, but not so thick that it has a flaky appearance. If your dough is too thick, slowly work in two tablespoons of water at a time until you get a flexible, almost stretchy quality to the dough. If you have a bit too much liquid, no worries! Just add a ¼ cup of flour at a time until you are back to that perfect workable dough consistency.

Baking:

preheat your oven to 350 as you begin shaping your sweet rolls.

Place a layer of parchment paper on your pan to prevent sticking.

Roll your dough into “snakes” 12- 15 inches long and curl them into spirals (like a cinnamon bun).

This recipe is also great for braiding instead of creating the bun shape. Braided ropes pull apart nicely for dipping!

Place your rolls about three inches apart. They don’t spread much but they will need a smidge of room to expand.

Bake for 15-20 minutes (if you prefer larger rolls increase time to 25-30 minutes

Icing:

Combine 2 cups of icing sugar with 3 tablespoons of corn syrup, 1 teaspoon of vanilla and ¼ cup water to create a deliciously sweet glaze. You can also keep your icing extra thick for dipping by reducing the liquid ingredients.

Allow the sweet rolls to cool before adding icing to prevent it from melting off.

Redpath does not use any animal product or by-product in their sugar refinement process so this is my go-to vegan-approved icing sugar!

For a list of other viable vegan-friendly sugar options check out this list from Ordinary Vegan

Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoy this unique taste of the prairies. If you liked this article please consider leaving a little heart and sharing it on your social media!