Finally got to use my shiny new reflector oven and folding fire bowl

  • 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.

tombear

On a new journey
Jul 9, 2004
4,494
556
54
Rossendale, Lancashire
Yeah it was bought many months ago when i was flush and i did make a rather nice waxed canvas case for it but ive finally made the time to try out my folding reflector oven! I pre mixed
4 cups of fresh self raising flour
a heaped table spoon of well in date baking powder
1/4 a teaspoon of salt
1/2 cup of desiccated coconut
1/2 a cup of cranberries
2 heaped table spoon of white sugar
nearly a full cup of sultanas
and rubbed in 2 or three table spoons of vegetable oil.

At the cooking site (far end of the top back garden) I mixed in about a 1/3rd of a pint of warmed milk (you may need more or less but you're aiming for a dough that just doesn't stick to your hands when shaping it for the pan. you want to kneed it as little as possible so mix the dry ingredients well. in this case it was a 8" non stick shallow cake tin. I forgot to oil it but miraculously it didn't stick in the slightest.

Since i wanted to minimize smoke and try the thing out i built a fire in my equally shiny and folding fire bowl, like a veg steamer "flower" without the holes, from thin splits of seasoned logs, sycamore i think as i wanted to make flames rather than hot coals. what would have been better would have been masses of really thin kindling such as you get hanging dead from lower branches. As it my first go i erred on the side of caution so the fire wasnt as brisk as it could have been but it did the job in the end.

GcNyU22.jpg


The handle on the top was very use full, didn't heat up significantly and meant you could lift the lot away , turn the dish and put it back in a second or two. On that point we observed that the back of the damper browned almost as quickly as the front so while baking slowly we hardly needed to turn it at all. With hotter flames this may not be the case. Towards the end I raised the bottom of the oven to the height of the top of the fire bowl to see if that speeded up the baking, which I think it did.

fG5YzLH.jpg


the bottom browned slightly faster than the top but did not burn at all and the whole thing raised beautifully and was to my taste deliciously moist with slightly crunchy crust. Ff course I could only have a tiny bit being on a harsh diet but every one else has wolfed it down with a son swiping a quarter of it for the drive to the Yorkshire Dales for his belated D of E expedition just now, Herself will see the rest off today.

In the field i would have mixed in half a cup of milk powder and used warm water to hydrate it and mixed it in the zip lock bag.

Herself has ordered me a 8" mesh Pizza tray which will be lighter and less bulky to carry although the non stick cake pan is more versatile. I'll mainly be baking on it rather than roasting etc. I suppose i could flatten a disposable foil tray and reshape it before use but that doesn't quite sit right with me these days.

Fastest results would I think come from placing it at a suitable distance from a larger camp fire but I don't really do those anymore, Id rather sit closer to a smaller fire and fiddle with it.

When we finally get the parlour sorted and the open fire in use I'll use that for practice when we will have fires anyway.

I like it and its certainly light enough and small enough to carry in a pack or satchel, in its case it's 2lb 2oz.

ATB

Tom
 

tombear

On a new journey
Jul 9, 2004
4,494
556
54
Rossendale, Lancashire
The guy who makes them has a free pattern on his site for you to make your own.

It's very quick to set up and put away.

I'm wondering if worth making a very light draught proof cover for it would ma,e it suitabe for rising bread in, a spare shirt tucked around it or some thing? If I carried loaf tins I've loads of those hotel shower caps to put over them but i'd rather make cottage loaf style stuff on a flat tray thats easy to carry.

There's probably someone who makes a slot together 2lb bread tin, wouldn't be hard to make one i suppose.

ATB

Tom
 
  • Like
Reactions: CLEM and Toddy

tombear

On a new journey
Jul 9, 2004
4,494
556
54
Rossendale, Lancashire
thje 8 inch pizza mesh arrived arrived yesterday. previously id never heard of them but by the number of folk selling them on ebay in all sorts of sizes they have been a thing for a while.

W1rAX4U.jpg


it slipped into the case lovely, just need some non torrential rain weather to try it out.

ATB

Tom
 
  • Like
Reactions: Reallybigmonkey1

Robson Valley

Full Member
Nov 24, 2014
9,959
2,664
McBride, BC
Just a caution if you make your own pizza yeast dough. Unroll the dough on the pizza mesh (several patterns). Do NOT press down on the dough as you load the sauce and toppings. The dough will extrude through the holes/mesh and expand a little. Those little dough nipples will bake harder that the pizza crust edges.
Off the heat, you will discover that our entire pizza is welded to the sheet and you will have to chisel it off.

All the same, with maybe some apple wood smoke, there is no finer way to grill fish than on pizza screens.
 

tombear

On a new journey
Jul 9, 2004
4,494
556
54
Rossendale, Lancashire
For some reason ( my incompetence probably ) i can't get a link from e ay to work. A search on 8" pizza mesh filtered for UK sellers will get you there.

If i have trouble with it sticking i'll cut some pieces of baking parchment to fit, they won't weigh owt. Push comes to shove i'll just take the removable base from a 8 inch non stick cake tin and be careful the dough doesn't slip off.

ATB

Tom
 
  • Like
Reactions: Toddy

tombear

On a new journey
Jul 9, 2004
4,494
556
54
Rossendale, Lancashire
Yup and 10 quid cheaper but, and call me a big old softie, I kinda like that mines made by some guy in his shed in Sweden and not some sweat shop in China. Also I suspect the rivet on the back leg of the rip off one will need periodically tightening up. Still, a tenners a tenner!


Wish my metal bashing skills were up to it! Don't think it would work with wood...

Atb

Tom
 
Last edited:

JonathanD

Ophiological Genius
Sep 3, 2004
12,809
1,479
Stourton,UK
That’s what I liked about my original Bushbuddy wood stove. Made by hand in Canada.
Now that’s going back a fair few years. Mine is still going strong. Clem has it.

This reflector oven looks like a good piece of kit. Allow a man to cook some pies whilst out.
 
I have been looking at them folding fire bowls since I see a YouTuber use one. I like that they contain the fuel and that it adds to the no trace element of Bushcraft. Cake!! Such luxuries, think I could live outside all year with Cake and a cuppa!
Yeah it was bought many months ago when i was flush and i did make a rather nice waxed canvas case for it but ive finally made the time to try out my folding reflector oven! I pre mixed
4 cups of fresh self raising flour
a heaped table spoon of well in date baking powder
1/4 a teaspoon of salt
1/2 cup of desiccated coconut
1/2 a cup of cranberries
2 heaped table spoon of white sugar
nearly a full cup of sultanas
and rubbed in 2 or three table spoons of vegetable oil.

At the cooking site (far end of the top back garden) I mixed in about a 1/3rd of a pint of warmed milk (you may need more or less but you're aiming for a dough that just doesn't stick to your hands when shaping it for the pan. you want to kneed it as little as possible so mix the dry ingredients well. in this case it was a 8" non stick shallow cake tin. I forgot to oil it but miraculously it didn't stick in the slightest.

Since i wanted to minimize smoke and try the thing out i built a fire in my equally shiny and folding fire bowl, like a veg steamer "flower" without the holes, from thin splits of seasoned logs, sycamore i think as i wanted to make flames rather than hot coals. what would have been better would have been masses of really thin kindling such as you get hanging dead from lower branches. As it my first go i erred on the side of caution so the fire wasnt as brisk as it could have been but it did the job in the end.

GcNyU22.jpg


The handle on the top was very use full, didn't heat up significantly and meant you could lift the lot away , turn the dish and put it back in a second or two. On that point we observed that the back of the damper browned almost as quickly as the front so while baking slowly we hardly needed to turn it at all. With hotter flames this may not be the case. Towards the end I raised the bottom of the oven to the height of the top of the fire bowl to see if that speeded up the baking, which I think it did.

fG5YzLH.jpg


the bottom browned slightly faster than the top but did not burn at all and the whole thing raised beautifully and was to my taste deliciously moist with slightly crunchy crust. Ff course I could only have a tiny bit being on a harsh diet but every one else has wolfed it down with a son swiping a quarter of it for the drive to the Yorkshire Dales for his belated D of E expedition just now, Herself will see the rest off today.

In the field i would have mixed in half a cup of milk powder and used warm water to hydrate it and mixed it in the zip lock bag.

Herself has ordered me a 8" mesh Pizza tray which will be lighter and less bulky to carry although the non stick cake pan is more versatile. I'll mainly be baking on it rather than roasting etc. I suppose i could flatten a disposable foil tray and reshape it before use but that doesn't quite sit right with me these days.

Fastest results would I think come from placing it at a suitable distance from a larger camp fire but I don't really do those anymore, Id rather sit closer to a smaller fire and fiddle with it.

When we finally get the parlour sorted and the open fire in use I'll use that for practice when we will have fires anyway.

I like it and its certainly light enough and small enough to carry in a pack or satchel, in its case it's 2lb 2oz.

ATB

Tom
 

BCUK Shop

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

SHOP HERE