A Challenge A bit of backyard bushcraft....

  • Hey Guest, Early bird pricing on the Summer Moot (29th July - 10th August) available until April 6th, we'd love you to come. PLEASE CLICK HERE to early bird price and get more information.

Van-Wild

Full Member
Feb 17, 2018
1,399
1,221
44
UK
The wife isn't feeling well. Just out of another op and now feeling rather under well. This means that time at home is more important than nights out in the forest. But that doesn't mean we can't still experience the fresh air and have some learning experience does it.....?

My boy wanted to play in the garden. I wanted fresh air, so we went out to have a kick about. As it always seems to happen, I decided to light a fire. My boy wanted to cook pancakes but seen as I have recently been watching YT channels searching for exciting campfire recipes, I thought it would be cool to have a crack at baking bread in my recently gifted 14cm zebra. So I got the fire lit...

5f33df73f1b11288b389b8d66465b49b.jpg


Next thing to do was find something to absorb the direct heat from the fire and turn my zebra into an oven. Most things call for baking stones, but I have none of these magical things so I smashed up an old terracotta cheese dish (shhh don't tell my wife!).

0657aafe005a3ddd29f0623f50af4155.jpg


As the fire got going I put together the mix. I went down the route of Ray's 'cake like bannock' recipe with a tweak of my own...

1 cup of SR flour
1 egg
3/4 cup of milk
Salt
1 tbls of sugar
1 tbls of vanilla paste

I mixed it all into a wet dough and put it in a tinfoil tray.

82ac867a6b97c156cf6bd873748a01ca.jpg


I put the zebra into the coals to warm up and then got the dough in.

df24cf970474143e14fbfeed15bd84f6.jpg


Propping the lid closed with a stick, I left it for a half hour before taking it out and jabbing a stick in it. No wet dough, and with a crisp golden top, it was good to go.

667822bd48450f7bc48f055984607650.jpg


Bread on a split log, standard bushcraft picture...

14a3c1c624c750282c6492774b588dba.jpg


I cut it into slices and shared the lot with my boy. We devoured the lot in minutes!. For a first go at this type of cooking I am happy with the result and I'll definitely be trying it out on my next camp out.

It had started to chil and now hot chocolate would be in order. I filled the now tarnished zebra with water and put it into the flames. It was at this point that I realised the pot had warped very slightly in the heat during the baking. Not to worry though, I now have a pour spout.....

53825aba0ce70864d39aa31fcc035ca1.jpg


We sat in fast fading light, sharing the sweet hot chocolate, chatting away with each other as only a father and son can. We didn't need to go out into the forest to experience the enjoyment of the outdoors. We had lit a fire together, baked bread and shared a warming drink. After a while, it got too cold for him and he has a football match tomorrow so it was time for bed. But not before a well needed shower as we both now stank of wood smoke much to my wife's chagrin.....

Night night all.

Sent from my SM-G970F using Tapatalk
 

Barney Rubble

Settler
Sep 16, 2013
552
280
Rochester, Kent
youtube.com
Well done, that bread looked great. You really can't knock a bit of back garden bushcraft, especially when you're getting the kids involved. I'm often found in my back garden or shed messing around with something remotely crafty or bushcrafty. Recently, I've been dabbling in some spoon carving, trying (and failing) to get an ember from my bow-drill set, experimenting with different tinder materials, messing around with camping kit and naturally undergoing some 'extensive testing' of my various camping stoves.

It serves as a perfect compromise, when for whatever reason, it's not practical to get out to the countryside.
 

Van-Wild

Full Member
Feb 17, 2018
1,399
1,221
44
UK
Well done, that bread looked great. You really can't knock a bit of back garden bushcraft, especially when you're getting the kids involved. I'm often found in my back garden or shed messing around with something remotely crafty or bushcrafty. Recently, I've been dabbling in some spoon carving, trying (and failing) to get an ember from my bow-drill set, experimenting with different tinder materials, messing around with camping kit and naturally undergoing some 'extensive testing' of my various camping stoves.

It serves as a perfect compromise, when for whatever reason, it's not practical to get out to the countryside.
Sounds like I may not be the only one who regularly packs, unpacks and then repacks rucksacks in the garage/shed......

Sent from my SM-G970F using Tapatalk
 
  • Like
Reactions: Barney Rubble

Robson Valley

Full Member
Nov 24, 2014
9,959
2,664
McBride, BC
Makes perfect sense to me to do all the experimentation with kit and recipes at home, if you can.
I, for one, don't like surprises in the field. If you've got one, a back garden is a classroom for bushcraft.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Janne

Barney Rubble

Settler
Sep 16, 2013
552
280
Rochester, Kent
youtube.com
I thought you were going to say "it serves as a perfect compromise when you need to get away from the missus" :)
Well, I was trying to be diplomatic, but since you put it like that...yep you're spot on!!

Sounds like I may not be the only one who regularly packs, unpacks and then repacks rucksacks in the garage/shed......

Sent from my SM-G970F using Tapatalk
Absolutely not, that's all part of the fun isn't it!
 

BCUK Shop

We have a a number of knives, T-Shirts and other items for sale.

SHOP HERE