Baking Bread?

[hikingprincess]

Has anyone ever baked bread in or on the campfire? If so how do you do it? I know that a lot of bakeries bake in fire type ovens and would be interested in trying this.

[lbean]

I have never even baked bread in the oven. Although If I could find someone who knew how to bake bread over the campfire then I would take them on every single trip with me!

[dinosaur]

If you can carry a Dutch Oven, you can bake bread. But, the easiest way is to make the bread dough, press it flat (you can do this on the ground or a large flat rock using wax paper), cut it into strips about 3/4 of an inch wide, wrap it around a stick like a spring leaving a space inbetween the wraps and then hold it over your fire like you were delicately roasting a marshmallow (that means don't dip it into the flames). If you're too lazy to make the dough, this also works on the canned biscuit dough you can buy off the grocer's shelf.

[woodsman]

The wife baked bread a few times at home, let's just say that we prefer to buy from the store. As far as baking bread while camping is concerned I do not see the point, I'd rather fry some meat.

[faye]

I have never tried baking bread at the camp. We don't have a Dutch oven grill to use for baking bread, so we would just buy bread from our local bakery store.

[Grandpa]

We used to make "twist bread" aka "stick bread" as explained above by Dino, when we were boyscouts. We used bisquick to simplifiy the dough process. But then I grew up and married grandma. She can make the best yeast bread I have ever eaten with her dutch ovens. (even better than the bread she bakes at home in the regular oven)

I still make a little stick bread just to teach the grandkids, and being older and lazier, use the ready made biscuit dough from the grocery store. I have also used those tubed biscuit dough, pressed out flat and thrown them directly on the coals for a few seconds, then flip them with a stick. They come out amazingly clean and not half bad eating as well.

[craig]

I usually avoid preparing complicated foods while camping. Baking bread is surely a complicated procedure. All the preparations and procedure; I wouldn't do it.

[Grandpa]

Originally Posted by craig

I usually avoid preparing complicated foods while camping. Baking bread is surely a complicated procedure. All the preparations and procedure; I wouldn't do it.

Back in my youth, about 30 years BMH (before mountain house) we had to find foods that were as simple and light weight as possible. (A can of pork and beans was HEAVY to a 12 year old) Bisquick was a mainstay for bread and pancakes, along with other such light weight things to carry.

[Pathfinder1]

Hi...


Bannock, a type of bread that has been made over campfires for decades, if not centuries, is easy to make:

1 tsp baking powder
3 Tbl butter or oil
1 C whole wheat flower
2 Tbl milk powder
pinch salt
1 tsp sugar
water to make a stiff dough

Roll dough into one inch dia. strips...or a bit larger...and twist the raw dough around a well peeled stick. Hold over the fire's heat until dough is lightly browned.

Dough can easily be made ahead of time.

My bill is already in the mail.

[ppine]

Pathfinder1, thanks for the reference to bannock. Old-timers mix the dough right in the flour sack. Good with tea on a cold day wrapped around a stick. Add whatever you can find for variety.

Baking bread is pretty easy in a Dutch. Use lots of top heat, and little bottom heat. I like to use an aluminum pie plate set on a few small rocks in the bottom of the pan especially for anything like sweetbread that has sugar in it. It makes for easier clean up and prevents burning.

Biscuits and rolls are handy in the outdoors. If you have some left over they can go in the shirt pocket for later.