Up Close and Personal with the Polar Bears – Churchill Wild lets you meet them Face to Face

Every day at Seal River Lodge brings something new, but two factors always remain the same. One is the food. Two is the Great Ice Bear.

You never go hungry, and every day brings a new culinary delight. Whether it’s a hearty soup to warm you up after the morning hike and photo shoot with two playful polar bears, or fresh artisan bread coming out of the oven only minutes before it is served at your table – it’s always special.

The Great Ice Bear, also referred to as Nanuk, the local Inuit name for polar bear, are the main reason people visit the lodge. These great white bears of the North are constantly around the lodge, and because this is the only place on the Hudson Bay that you can literally “walk” with the polar bears, guests have the opportunity to meet them face to face.

For example, last week one of our guides had the chance to “talk” with one of the young polar bears who seemed to be interested in what Andy had to say. A little while later he cautiously approached the fence. All that could be heard was the sound of camera shutters, as guests took picture after picture. Inside the lodge you could hear lodge owner Mike Reimer singing what always seems to be his motto at this time of year.

“Bears to the left of me, bears to the right, here I am… stuck in the middle with Bears.”

Interested in trying some of our Artisan Bread for yourself?  Here is Helen Webber’s recipe for what she calls Shaggy Bread.

“I have tried a number of recipes for Ciabatta breads,” says Helen, “And all of them have been delicious, but none have been this EASY and delicious!”

Shaggy Bread (Ciabatta Bread Recipe)

Ingredients

• 3 cups Warm Water
• 1 ¼ Tbsp. Sea Salt, Kosher Salt or 1 Tbsp. Table Salt
• 1 ½ Tbsp. Yeast, instant or regular
• 6 cups Flour – Unbleached or All Purpose – I often substitute 1 cup of some type of whole grain flour for a total of 6 cups

Preparation Instructions

1. Mix the water, salt and yeast, stirring to dissolve in a 16-cup container preferably with a lid.  I use a gallon ice cream pail.
2. Add the six cups of flour and stir with a wooden spoon until all the flour is moistened.  It should look like shaggy dough when you’re done.  It will not be a smooth like regular bread dough and it will be quite sticky.
3. Cover with lid (don’t put it on tightly) or plastic wrap and let sit in a warm place for two hours. Then refrigerate until ready to bake.
4. Cut off about a third of the dough and shape into a ball on a well floured counter.  Place on a baking sheet that has been well sprinkled with cornmeal.  The whole sheet doesn’t have to be covered with cornmeal, just an area a little larger than the dough ball.  Be sure the top is well covered with flour.
5. Let rise for 40 to 50 minutes on the counter. Slice the top two or three times.
6. Begin preheating the oven to 450 degrees about 20 minutes before it is time to bake the bread. Place a broiler pan on the floor of a gas oven, or on the bottom rack of an electric oven.
7. When the oven is hot, place the bread on the rack above the pan and then immediately throw a cup of hot water into the pan. Close the oven quickly. Bake for 20 minutes and then reduce the oven to 400 degrees and bake for another 20 minutes.
8. Remove from the pan and cool on a rack.