As per the title, has anyone baked bread (not bannock, but that would be interesting too) in a Dutch oven over a fire. If so, what was you recipe and how long did it bake for?
Thanks for reading,
Andy
Thanks for reading,
Andy
Bread in a Dutch oven?
- Thread starter AJB
- Start date
I just use Tesco's crusty white bread mix. Add water knead it leave it for 30 mins then cook it for around 30 to 40 minutes depending on the fire. Just keep an eye on it. Its done when the bottom sounds hollow when tapped.
Cheers Bill, you've opened yourself up to questions now 
Do you put anything in the oven to stop it sticking - flour, oil?
Do you hang over a fire or place in the embers, with or without embers on the lid?
Anyone roasted any meat in theirs?
Do you put anything in the oven to stop it sticking - flour, oil?
Do you hang over a fire or place in the embers, with or without embers on the lid?
Anyone roasted any meat in theirs?
I haven't tried it yet but I've got a 6ltr dutch oven on the waiting list in the group buy - I'm mightily jealous of you getting yours already!!
I've got big ideas for my oven and plan to bake bread in it before anything else! Here's my plan...
I've got a (lovely, tried and tested) no knead recipe for wholemeal bread - I'll post it if you'd like me to.
Anyway, I'll mix it all up in a bowl, while the oven is either hangin from a tripod or sitting on hot cooking fire, warming up.
[Or it might work well to start with the oven cold to give the bread some rising time... unless that will dry it out too much... hmmmm... I'll have to think about that.]
Inside the oven I'll put one of my large bottomed cooking pans - upside down.
It will have to be large enough to take the dough without it falling off the sides but small enough to fit in the oven, it will also have to be short enough to leave space for the dough to rise a bit, without hitting the lid.
Using that will hopefully stop the bread from burning on the bottom.
I'd put oil on to that upside down pan and then put the dough on top.
I would put some hot charcoal on the lid too and check it after 20 minutes.
I've no idea if that'll work. But I make tons of bread and this is how I would do it, in theory, with a dutch oven!
Looking forward to hearing others ideas!
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Now playing: Bert Jansch/Bonny Portmore - The Ornament Tree (Bonny Portmore) via FoxyTunes
I've got big ideas for my oven and plan to bake bread in it before anything else! Here's my plan...
I've got a (lovely, tried and tested) no knead recipe for wholemeal bread - I'll post it if you'd like me to.
Anyway, I'll mix it all up in a bowl, while the oven is either hangin from a tripod or sitting on hot cooking fire, warming up.
[Or it might work well to start with the oven cold to give the bread some rising time... unless that will dry it out too much... hmmmm... I'll have to think about that.]
Inside the oven I'll put one of my large bottomed cooking pans - upside down.
It will have to be large enough to take the dough without it falling off the sides but small enough to fit in the oven, it will also have to be short enough to leave space for the dough to rise a bit, without hitting the lid.
Using that will hopefully stop the bread from burning on the bottom.
I'd put oil on to that upside down pan and then put the dough on top.
I would put some hot charcoal on the lid too and check it after 20 minutes.
I've no idea if that'll work. But I make tons of bread and this is how I would do it, in theory, with a dutch oven!
Looking forward to hearing others ideas!
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Now playing: Bert Jansch/Bonny Portmore - The Ornament Tree (Bonny Portmore) via FoxyTunes
I have.
I used a commercial bread mix and put it in a metal bowl
I put a metal rack in the bottom to keep the bowl away from direct contact.
I baked for about 20 mins.
It was great.
I used a commercial bread mix and put it in a metal bowl
I put a metal rack in the bottom to keep the bowl away from direct contact.
I baked for about 20 mins.
It was great.
Hi,
When I do mine I put a bit of olive oil around the inside of the dutch oven and pre heat it on the fire before putting the well kneaded dough in it. My dutch oven's got little legs and a rim on the lid so you can have embers underneath and on the top. Don't be tempted to try and speed up the cooking by cranking up the heat though, it should be a pretty low, constant heat.
Good luck!
When I do mine I put a bit of olive oil around the inside of the dutch oven and pre heat it on the fire before putting the well kneaded dough in it. My dutch oven's got little legs and a rim on the lid so you can have embers underneath and on the top. Don't be tempted to try and speed up the cooking by cranking up the heat though, it should be a pretty low, constant heat.
Good luck!
Yep loads!
First attempt 2 game birds............ cooked but burnt on the outside!
Best method for me (this is good with most meats)... Hang oven above fire (Via STRONG adjustable means)
Put a trivit in the bottom of your oven, splash of water with whole wild garlic put meat on trivit put lid on put embers/ larger burning sticks on top and let it cook.
Remove the lid periodically to check how it is cooking.. (good quality leather glves are a must for this)
This methodhalf steams half roasts the meat so it will be lovely and tender
Cheers Bill, you've opened yourself up to questions now
Do you put anything in the oven to stop it sticking - flour, oil?
Do you hang over a fire or place in the embers, with or without embers on the lid?
Anyone roasted any meat in theirs?
I normally dust some flour over the dough and a bit more around the inside of the oven. I cook it in embers that i pull to the side with some on top.
i got one at the Wilderness gathering and it took over all the cooking (except Brews)
they do loverly bacon even the cheap watery stuff comes up nice
then a wip and in with some bannock mix had raisens and Orange choccy bits in etc as well as lots of other stuff the Baconny taste added to the flavor ( then i like Pork scratchins and Flake bars at teh same time )
we also did a massive Chilli with Bison and Elk mince i brought my home grown dry chilly etc and stuff to make a sauce ( dont do jars any more )
then Piece of the resistance
2 roast Poussins ( baby chickens as a whole one didnt fit ) roasted with Onion potato garlic and carrot etc
use some carrot,oinion & garlic cloves as a trivet to lift the meat then potatos round and between etc splash of oil over teh top more garlic etc
lid on and over teh fire ( embers ) was dropped on to the ground after a while and embers etc put on top think it was about 1 hr 40 ish
tender moist chicken crispy skin caramalised onions luverly potatos
i am also trying to find a bread suitable ie dosnt need rising etc or perishable ingrediants i was recommended a Soda bread which i tryed in the oven at home
still trying to break it up to chuck away
mine is a size 10 which i think is a 4ltr (its a lot of chilli )
would like it deeper to fit a normal size chicken in but will probably try them halved next time not sure but he ones deep enough look massively heavy
they do loverly bacon even the cheap watery stuff comes up nice
then a wip and in with some bannock mix had raisens and Orange choccy bits in etc as well as lots of other stuff the Baconny taste added to the flavor ( then i like Pork scratchins and Flake bars at teh same time
)we also did a massive Chilli with Bison and Elk mince i brought my home grown dry chilly etc and stuff to make a sauce ( dont do jars any more )
then Piece of the resistance
2 roast Poussins ( baby chickens as a whole one didnt fit ) roasted with Onion potato garlic and carrot etc
use some carrot,oinion & garlic cloves as a trivet to lift the meat then potatos round and between etc splash of oil over teh top more garlic etc
lid on and over teh fire ( embers ) was dropped on to the ground after a while and embers etc put on top think it was about 1 hr 40 ish
tender moist chicken crispy skin caramalised onions luverly potatos
i am also trying to find a bread suitable ie dosnt need rising etc or perishable ingrediants i was recommended a Soda bread which i tryed in the oven at home
still trying to break it up to chuck away
mine is a size 10 which i think is a 4ltr (its a lot of chilli )
would like it deeper to fit a normal size chicken in but will probably try them halved next time not sure but he ones deep enough look massively heavy
One of my favorite meals when camping at some Living History events is sausage gravy over hot biscuits. We brown our sausage in the dutch oven, pour off most of the extra grease. Then we make a typical white (flour/milk) gravy and mix it all in. On top of this we then take a tube of those pre-made biscuits from the grocery store, pop the tube open, then lay the individual biscuits right on top of the bubbling sausage gravy. Use the small diameter biscuits in a tube, and they all should fit. Then the hot lid goes back on top, with more hot coals on top of it. The moist heat inside lets those biscuits puff up, and bake. The hot top browns them. Check occasionally.
When you can't stand it any longer, pull the lid off, take a large spoon, fish out a biscuit or three, halve them, and ladle on the sausage gravy!
You can do just those tube type biscuits in the D/O, but you have to be more careful about burning/scorching them. Still great with real butter/jam/honey or even real maple syrup!
Mikey - that grumpy ol' German blacksmith out in the Hinterlands
When you can't stand it any longer, pull the lid off, take a large spoon, fish out a biscuit or three, halve them, and ladle on the sausage gravy!
You can do just those tube type biscuits in the D/O, but you have to be more careful about burning/scorching them. Still great with real butter/jam/honey or even real maple syrup!
Mikey - that grumpy ol' German blacksmith out in the Hinterlands
This is basically Doris Grant's No Knead Bread recipe with a tweak... Makes a reasonable loaf for 2 people for a couple of days
500g wholemeal flour
1 tsp Doves farm quick action dried yeast
1 heaped tsp fine sea salt
1 heaped tsp demerera sugar
All of that can be pre-mixed and bagged up at home. It shouldn't cause the yeast to react.
400ml hot water.
I say hot water because it's going to be cold when you make this outdoors and I think the extra heat will help.
1. Empty your flour mix into a largish bowl and warm it up over the fire for a few moments.
2. Take it off the heat but keep it close to the fire and add half the water. Mix well with one hand.
3. Add more water until it feels like a sticky, but not gloopy, doughy mess. You may not need all the water - you may need more. Judge based on the feel of the dough.
4. Put the dough into your greased metal bowl (see Graham S's post).
5. Then cover the bowl and leave it close to the fire for half an hour to rise. It would be a good idea to turn the bowl every now and then VERY gently to spread the love of the heat a bit. Try and protect it from bangs, the wind and cold, or it'll take ages to rise.
6. You can be preparing your oven while you wait.
7. After half an hour carefully check the dough - it should have doubled in size. If it hasn't, then leave it for as long as it needs to double in size.
8. Then really carefully, without banging the bowl or getting a draught on it, put it in the prepared oven and cook for 30mins. A hot bed of embers with a few put on the lid should do it I reckon.
9. I'd probably check it after 20 mins to see how it's getting on. It's ready when you can tap the bottom of the loaf and it sounds hollow.
If you can, try and let the loaf cool for an hour before tucking in. I find it can be a bit doughy if you jump right in there. Which I always do anyway with a huge knob of butter and lashings of honey... drooool...
Hope that makes sense!
500g wholemeal flour
1 tsp Doves farm quick action dried yeast
1 heaped tsp fine sea salt
1 heaped tsp demerera sugar
All of that can be pre-mixed and bagged up at home. It shouldn't cause the yeast to react.
400ml hot water.
I say hot water because it's going to be cold when you make this outdoors and I think the extra heat will help.
1. Empty your flour mix into a largish bowl and warm it up over the fire for a few moments.
2. Take it off the heat but keep it close to the fire and add half the water. Mix well with one hand.
3. Add more water until it feels like a sticky, but not gloopy, doughy mess. You may not need all the water - you may need more. Judge based on the feel of the dough.
4. Put the dough into your greased metal bowl (see Graham S's post).
5. Then cover the bowl and leave it close to the fire for half an hour to rise. It would be a good idea to turn the bowl every now and then VERY gently to spread the love of the heat a bit. Try and protect it from bangs, the wind and cold, or it'll take ages to rise.
6. You can be preparing your oven while you wait.
7. After half an hour carefully check the dough - it should have doubled in size. If it hasn't, then leave it for as long as it needs to double in size.
8. Then really carefully, without banging the bowl or getting a draught on it, put it in the prepared oven and cook for 30mins. A hot bed of embers with a few put on the lid should do it I reckon.
9. I'd probably check it after 20 mins to see how it's getting on. It's ready when you can tap the bottom of the loaf and it sounds hollow.
If you can, try and let the loaf cool for an hour before tucking in. I find it can be a bit doughy if you jump right in there. Which I always do anyway with a huge knob of butter and lashings of honey... drooool...
Hope that makes sense!
Smashin Hen, thank you. Mike, I think bits of yours will be a bit lost on us in the UK, but it sounds good
Smashin Hen, thank you. Mike, I think bits of yours will be a bit lost on us in the UK, but it sounds good
Aaah. I thought those carboard tubes of pre-made biscuit dough were kind of universally distributed and available "across the pond". As in the Pilsbury Doughboy varieties - those Poppin Fresh kind. The dough is all pre-mixed/made, and then frozen in that cardboard tube. You just thaw it out, crack the spiral seam on the tube, and then pull/peal out individual portions that then rise/bake up into biscuits. They are pretty fool-proof, unless you burn them! They have a wide variety of mixes - regular, blueberry, sourdough, etc. And they offer the same thing for dinner rolls. Instant bread that you just have to thaw and bake.
One other "bread" we make from them in a D/O is Frybread. We take any bread dough (or those tubes of pre-made dough/rolls/biscuits), roll or pull/pat them out thin, and then fry them in 1 to 2 inches of hot oil. When browned on one side, flip them over. And don't crowd them in the oil - one or two at a time. When done, drain on paper towels and dust with powdered sugar mixed with cinnamon. You are basically making a donut, just not in that classic shape. A great "treat" when away from your "normal" life. Or take your frybread and lay in on a plate. Then cover it with typical taco toppings/fillings - lettuce, onions, cheese, sauce, meat, etc. They are now calling this an Indian Taco over here. You can try to roll it up, but most people just eat it with a knife/fork on the plate.
Just some variations of "bread" cooked/baked in a D/O.
Mikey - that grumpy ol' German blacksmith out in the Hinterlands
Thanks Mike, but biscuits are up there with other such culinary mysteries as Grits and Succotash only ever heard of accompanying Possum on the Beverly Hill Billies and other such cultural documentaries
Ive got a pretty good idea what they are, but you cant buy them over here!
Ive got a pretty good idea what they are, but you cant buy them over here!
My turn for a question. Where to get a suitable trivet for the bottom of the dutch oven and what does it look like? Or is that two questions?
Here we bake bread for the next day on all the canoetrips in a dutch oven.
The basic recipe goes like this:
-200gr of flour for every person
-the needed amount of yeast
-salt and perhaps some other spices
To this you can add raisins and sunflower seeds
or dried tomatoes and feta
etc.
But usually it's just normal bread, tastes fine for me with enough butter on top.
The dough grows in a pot that stands next to the fire, shouldn't be too hot though. In the pot there's ofcourse flour so that the dough doesn't stick when you want to get it out. And you turn the pot once in a while so it is heated evenly. After a 40-60 minutes it should have grown a lot.
The dutch oven is heated over the fire so it is completely dry (could be moisture there from washing it), and then you add some cooking oil so the bread won't burn on the bottom. You can also just put a layer of flour on the bottom of the oven instead of oil. Depends on what you have. Now put the dough inside, making sure it doesn't touch the sides. You can have some flour on top of the dough to protect it from burning but it's not needed if you bake the bread carefully. Before you've started baking you've made sure to have a good fire that produces a lot of coals. Now these coals are raked out of the fire and the dutch oven stands on a layer of coals. Not too many though, the heat should mainly come from the coals that you put on top of the lid. It's easy to burn the bottom. On the lid you put as many coals as you can on the sides, so you have the coals in a ring. If you put a lot of coals on the midde of the lid the bread will burn easilier on the top. Laying the coals in a ring on the outside of the lid also distributes the heat better down to the sides of the oven. Often the fire is quite close to the dutch oven so then you have to turn the oven once in a while. After an hour the bread should be ready.
Well it's all quite obvious
The basic recipe goes like this:
-200gr of flour for every person
-the needed amount of yeast
-salt and perhaps some other spices
To this you can add raisins and sunflower seeds
or dried tomatoes and feta
etc.
But usually it's just normal bread, tastes fine for me with enough butter on top.
The dough grows in a pot that stands next to the fire, shouldn't be too hot though. In the pot there's ofcourse flour so that the dough doesn't stick when you want to get it out. And you turn the pot once in a while so it is heated evenly. After a 40-60 minutes it should have grown a lot.
The dutch oven is heated over the fire so it is completely dry (could be moisture there from washing it), and then you add some cooking oil so the bread won't burn on the bottom. You can also just put a layer of flour on the bottom of the oven instead of oil. Depends on what you have. Now put the dough inside, making sure it doesn't touch the sides. You can have some flour on top of the dough to protect it from burning but it's not needed if you bake the bread carefully. Before you've started baking you've made sure to have a good fire that produces a lot of coals. Now these coals are raked out of the fire and the dutch oven stands on a layer of coals. Not too many though, the heat should mainly come from the coals that you put on top of the lid. It's easy to burn the bottom. On the lid you put as many coals as you can on the sides, so you have the coals in a ring. If you put a lot of coals on the midde of the lid the bread will burn easilier on the top. Laying the coals in a ring on the outside of the lid also distributes the heat better down to the sides of the oven. Often the fire is quite close to the dutch oven so then you have to turn the oven once in a while. After an hour the bread should be ready.
Well it's all quite obvious
Ok, a question, if you can bake the bread in the oven on just a layer of flour to stop it sticking, why can't you let the dough rise in there too?
Then simply move the oven closer to the fire when the dough is ready?
Then simply move the oven closer to the fire when the dough is ready?
