Try this hearty “bread”—that’s more like a granola bar—when you’re out on the trail. It’s filling, high in needed calories, and it tastes great when slathered with peanut butter or jelly (or both!). Hudson Bay bread is a signature trail snack at Northern Tier.
HUDSON BAY BREAD
1½ lbs. margarine or butter
4 cups sugar
2/3 cups Karo syrup
2/3 cups honey
2 tsp. maple syrup
Cream together the above ingredients. Add the following while mixing:
1½ cups ground nuts (if no allergies)
19 cups of quick-cooking oatmeal
Heat oven to 325 degrees. Mix ingredients listed above in a large mixing bowl. Spread and press down the granola mixture in a sheet pan, 18 inches by 26 inches. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, or until lightly browned on the corners. Press down bread as soon as it is pulled out of oven—this keeps it from crumbling. Cut into desired-sized squares while warm.
Makes approximately 42 individual servings—great for a hungry troop.
WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE MAKE-IT-YOURSELF TRAIL FOOD? SHARE YOUR RECIPES IN THE COMMENTS BELOW.
EXPLORE MORE
Read more about the cold-weather camping training at Minnesota’s Northern Tier High Adventure Base.
Use these eight tips for staying warm to help keep your Scouts going when the temperature plummets.
Learn how to build sturdy snow structures when camping in the forth season.
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I’ve been making this recipe for every canoe trip I’ve made since 2003 when we did a trip through Northern Tier. It’s a home run every time.
However, if you want to make this at home, unless you have a huge mixer and oven, you must cut this recipe in half. With half a recipe, I bake it in an 11″ x 16″ air-bake pan (brownie-type pan). Turns out great every time. Don’t forget the peanut butter & jelly when it’s time to eat it.
Don’t forget to play with the flavors: We love sugar cinnimon, peanut butter with chocolate cover & pecan w/ marshmellow. Yummy!
* We use these for all of our BWCA trips.
Substitute Molasses for the Karo for more nutrition and more flavor. I used ground almonds for an additional nutrition boost. This recipe makes two (2) standard sized jelly roll pans worth of “bread”. The time shown (15-18 minutes) may be OK for a convection oven, but a conventional oven takes 30-35 minutes. My troop & sister pack leaders raved over this “hard tack” backpacking food.
After a long day of hiking or other Scout activities, there’s nothing like looking forward to a great camp meal. That’s why a cooking article and recipe ought to be a feature column in each and every issue of Scouting magazine. Everybody is looking for new ways to improve their camp cuisine .
Will not including the nuts mess up the consitancy? What is the “bread” like? Is it soft like bread or crunchy like a granola bar?
The Rest of the Story…
http://www.holry.org/essays/baybrd2.html
If you have a nut allergy try substituting unsalted roasted sunflower seeds for the ground nuts. I’ve done it and it works quite well.
What does a scout do if diabetes is an issue? Are there ways to make this without all the sugar and oats? Both raise blood sugar quickly.
There is a diabetic in my troop. His blood sugar gets low quickly on outings. bay bread should not be bad for diabetic scouts on strenuous outings
Typo? That should be 2 t. maple flavoring (e.g. Mapleine) not syrup. If using maple syrup instead, increase maple syrup amount & decrease Karo syrup.
Also…. Should be half-inch thick. Compact while warm (press down with a spatula) to minimize crumbling. Cut to 3.5″ squares, to fit within de-topped half-gallon milk cartons for rugged transport, and place in individual sandwich ziplock bags. Each bag is a serving.
Make sure to remind your Scouts to drink water after every bite or two, since bay bread will expand in your stomach when you take gulps and gulps of water after the bay bread.