Campfire bread

[DocG]

Very impressive set up in Bilmo's post. Thanks for sharing.

Ref the Zebra pot video, I've used a dustbin at Scout camp to create a bigger version that worked well - but it did need a lot of wood to get it going. Now that I've seen the excellent rocks in the bottom idea, I'll be adapting my version with them. The wire frame on the top is another good idea - not sure how I'll scale that up, but I like a challenge.

Somewhere I watched someone (possibly Mr Mears) make a small loaf in a steel Crusader mug (mk1 type, not the bigger alu one). I've been quite successful with that technique. Obviously you need a metal lid. I've always wrapped my basic dough - flour, water, salt, oil - in baking parchment. The parchment helps to keep the mug clean and it makes the loaf easier to remove. If you're baking alone, there's plenty in one batch. A steel Tatonka kettle (1.5l, I think) produces a 4 person loaf, but I've had more issues with underdone insides as the loaf gets bigger.

Keep up the posts - this is yet another brilliant source of shared ideas. Thanks to all involved.

All the best.

 

[bilmo-p5]

Very impressive set up in Bilmo's post. Thanks for sharing.

Thank you. A memory from my heavy camping period - lightweight was leaving the trailer at home!

Looking for something else last night, I came across this old thread, making bread in a Trangia-type stove.

FYI, this is the 'tea-light & Trangia' thread on CCS that Richard referred to.

 

[tombear]

Although I've done plenty of yeast bread in my Aussie camp ovens

http://southernmetalspinners.com.au/product/aussie-camp-oven-small-10-2/

the he big one will do a couple of 2lb loaves at once, or two 14 inch pizzas which is a crowd pleaser, I do prefer making variations of baking powder damper as it's much, much quicker and since we favour heavily flavoured, sweet fruit rich stuff ( just assume fun, bad for you stuff ) there's no great advantage flavour wise. I pre pack every thing apart from the liquids in a ziplock, mark with what it is and what volume of liquid is needed and when the times right, once the ovens are heating up mix in the bag and then as soon as it's good and hot it goes in in a greased non stick cake tray. Whenever I cN I try and use warmed up ingredients, especially liquids. Butter milk of milk that's on the turn seam to help the rising.

One thing though, baking powder does go off quicker than you!d think so I no longer buy it in bulk.

The Aussies seem to be masters of outdoors baking and there's several good books on the subject and numerous websites.

i highly recomend a thick leather welders glove for use when baking outdoors, the sort that come up to your elbow.

And yeah the real reason I prefer baking powder is I'm lazy! But it does build up your confidence when you are starting out!

ATB

Tom

 

[nic a char]

Excellent tombear cheers

 

[nic a char]

definitely, uilleachan

 

[bob_the_baker]

Meant to try something at the weekend, but between, dentists, rugby, the weather, work, the weather, rugby and the weather (did I mention the weather?) I didn't get a chance:

I was thinking of digging a small fire pit and lining it with rocks, get a good fire going and place a nice flat "cooking rock" in the fire as it starts to die down (on the top so it stays relatively clean), when down to coals, put the dough on the "cooking rock" and put some kind of roof over the pit (thinking big flat rock) and leave for 30 minutes or so and see what's happened.

 

[tombear]

If you can find a flower pot without a hole in the bottom (or can put a flat stone over the hole ) and invert that over the bit to be cooked on a pre heated flat stone then you can put coals on it and around it and that will act as a oven. In fact any fired pot will do just you can get big terracotta flower pots dirt cheap if you don't have one laying around already.

Dough directly on a hot roock will stick to it, a few similar sized stones under a baking tray ( I like the low sided round cake pans ) cures that. doesn't have to be pottery over the top back , well, from late medieval up into the 20th century, in poor rural areas up here in Lancashire, they used to rivet extended sides to cast iron frying pans and used them inverted over bakestones. Your average saucepan wasn't wide enough for the job, especially since prior to the mass production of cheep tinplate bread tins baked products tended to be flat and spread out like cottage loaves.

atb

tom

 

[MrSpeedyBiker]

Once at scouts we built a tiny oven out of mud and made quite a lot of bread in it.

we think we are superior, but nature always wins eventually.