View Full Version : Trail Baking?
Firemarshal Bill
08-03-2007, 10:29
Has anyone had any success with baking any kind of bread using a single pot/pan on the trail? I've seen it done "cowboy-cookin" style with a large cast iron dutch oven with hot coals placed on top, but I'm thinking of something on a smaller scale for one or two people.
Midway Sam
08-03-2007, 10:38
There is the Bakepacker (http://www.bakepacker.com/). I have no first hand experience, but I am sure someone who does will come along soon...
sixhusbands
08-03-2007, 10:41
I made the Grands type rolls ontime after a day in town. I used a 2 quart pot with a lid ,spread olive oil on the pot and put on a simmer flame of my Pocket Rocket until done. the bottoms were brown , but they were mighty tasty.
I tried frozen bread dough the same way and had simlar results. Low flame is the key . Enjoy!
Check this out
http://www.minibulldesign.com/myadventure/
Hikes with a stick
08-03-2007, 12:33
I've used it alot, and I take it with me almost every time. I have baked italian bread, pizzas, cupcakes, omeletes, and a few other things in it. I've also used it to heat stuff up, like the zataran's complete meals.
You cook everything inside a plastic bag, so cleanup is easy. And when you are done cooking, you have hot water left over for dishes or a hot drink. Its almost like a back country microwave, you can reheat almost anything in it.
However, when you bake something in it, it will not brown. If you need the browning to occur, you can always brown it for a minute or two in frying pan or other pot before eating it. Cooking with the bakepacker does use alot of fuel as well, some breads and cakes can require 15+ minutes, and that does not include getting the water boiling. Omeletes are quick and foolproof, they take about 8 to 9 minutes.
Has anyone had any success with baking any kind of bread using a single pot/pan on the trail? I've seen it done "cowboy-cookin" style with a large cast iron dutch oven ...............................
i take my E-Z Bake trail oven & Betty Crocker Trail cookbook with me every hike! Dont leave the kitchen without it!:D
headchange4u
08-03-2007, 15:11
Check out this thread on Sabar's UltraLight baking method (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?t=24749). It's kinda like a DIY Bakepacker. I have used it several times with great results.
I started using oven bags to bake in but I picked up some Ziploc Zip n' Steam (http://www.ziploc.com/?p=b13) bags to try out. I will let you know how they work
Doc_of_the_bay
08-03-2007, 16:30
I like using a homemade Bakepacker-like gadget, too. It makes nice cakes, muffins, pineapple upside down cakes, cobblers, etc.
I also bake biscuit dough in a skillet. Mix up dough in a zip-lock bag (Bisquick works fine). Then either roll pieces of it into individual biscuits or pat the whole lump of dough into a cake half-an-inch to an inch thick. Put it in a skillet over low heat (coals or a low flame on a camp stove). When it's brown on the bottom and starting to rise nicely, flip it over and brown the other side.
I judge the heat this way: If I have the right amount of heat, the first side should brown in about 7 minutes. If it looks like it's browning too quickly I turn down the heat. If it's browing too slowly (very unusual, except for one time when my stove ran out of fuel and went out) turn it up.
Baked at this temperature, your bread should get done all the way through without burning on the outside.
How much dough you can bake depends on a couple of things, e.g. how big your skillet is, what utensils you have available to use for flipping.
Check out this thread on Sarbar's UltraLight baking method (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?t=24749). It's kinda like a DIY Bakepacker. I have used it several times with great results.
I started using oven bags to bake in but I picked up some Ziploc Zip n' Steam (http://www.ziploc.com/?p=b13) bags to try out. I will let you know how they work
My dorky Fauxbaker, which I thought might last 1 trip is now on it's uh...15 or 16 th trip. I have even used the metal disc part as protection between an alchy stove and a wood table last week, in a pinch. The project cost me nothing but 15 minutes of my time...and it rocks!:banana
Last week on our last PCT section hike I made both a chocolate peanut butter cake and fudgy brownies. Our thru hiking buddy Dave, that we met on the trail was loving the brownies - who wouldn't? Heh!
:D
I have two blog entries on the Fauxbaker on my website....I am thinking they are probably listed in the above thread on the Fauxbaker.
shelterbuilder
08-03-2007, 18:22
I haven't done this in years, but I've had better results with quick-bread mixes than with anything else. I'd put the mix in a smaller-sized, lightly greased pot, put the pot inside a larger pot with some water and a couple of small stones in the bottom (to keep the smaller pot bottom from making direct contact with the bigger pot). Cover the whole thing loosely with a tin foil dome (heavy-duty foil works well and is reusable many times) and cook over your stove until a thin twig stuck into the middle of the bread comes out "clean". The product won't be browned, but it will be hot and delicious.
Hikes in Rain
08-04-2007, 09:40
Long, long ago, along the Reserection Trail down on Alaska's Kenei Penensula, I baked individual birthday cakes inside oranges. Sliced off a "top", about a quarter of the way down, hollowed out the orange and filled it about 2/3 of the way with instant cake mix. Replace the top (don't hollow it out), wrap in foil, and bake in the campfire coals. Juice drips down from the top to flavor the cake. Huge hit around the campfire!
And there's always bannock, a large buiscuit backed over and beside a fire in a skillet.
NICKTHEGREEK
08-04-2007, 10:01
Outback oven -that is assuming baking means a brown crust, and that firm thunk when you tap a well baked loaf. A bit of a load for one person both in weight and cube (far less than the dutch oven or iron skillet) but pays off for couples or more. You can really get good quality items baked with some practice
Monkeyboy
08-04-2007, 22:03
I made the Grands type rolls ontime after a day in town. I used a 2 quart pot with a lid ,spread olive oil on the pot and put on a simmer flame of my Pocket Rocket until done. the bottoms were brown , but they were mighty tasty.
I tried frozen bread dough the same way and had simlar results. Low flame is the key . Enjoy!
Next time you try this....put a couple of rocks at the bottom of the pot and put a tuna/chicken can on top, with the biscuit inside. It allows convection inside the pot.
Also good to make a mini pineapple upside down cake inside the tuna can!
Has anyone had any success with baking any kind of bread using a single pot/pan on the trail? I've seen it done "cowboy-cookin" style with a large cast iron dutch oven with hot coals placed on top, but I'm thinking of something on a smaller scale for one or two people.
I used an egg poacher to bake a simple biscut.
Egg poacher thread in total Fresh Eggs On The Trail (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?t=21733&highlight=egg+poacher)
Post #19 baking with the poacher (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showpost.php?p=323768&postcount=19)
Farr Away
08-07-2007, 17:10
In Girl Scouts, we 'baked' biscuits by wrapping biscuit dough around a stick and holding it over hot coals.
Midway Sam
08-07-2007, 17:13
In Girl Scouts, we 'baked' biscuits by wrapping biscuit dough around a stick and holding it over hot coals.
Ahhh, biscuits on a stick. Goes great with omlettes in a bag!
Hikes in Rain
08-07-2007, 19:33
Hey, I've done both of those. Well, sort of. Bread twist wasn't tight enough, it fell into the fire. Same book also told me about bacon and eggs in a paper bag. Omelet flambe'. I think I need to work on technique.
Midway Sam
08-07-2007, 20:49
Hey, I've done both of those. Well, sort of. Bread twist wasn't tight enough, it fell into the fire. Same book also told me about bacon and eggs in a paper bag. Omelet flambe'. I think I need to work on technique.
Paper bag!? Really? When we do omlettes in a bag, you scramble two (or more!) eggs in a quart size ziploc freezer bag, add a splash of milk, and your favorite omlette fillings (bacon, sausage, cheese, onions, peppers, tomatoes) and then seal it and drop it in a pot of boiling water for 10 mins or so. Open the bag and out pops a perfect omlette.
johnny quest
10-29-2007, 13:25
i did some experimenting with baking this weekend. i carry two snowpeak titanium cups, the 700 and 1400 with lid. i placed about an inch of water in the 1400 and the 1400 on my giga at low heat...which for the giga is still pretty hot.
inside the 1400 is a 1 inch by 5 inch piece of gutter screen, held in a circle by a small paper clip. the 700 sits on this circle. a cathead sized dollop of just-add-water-biskit mix goes in the oil-coated 700. the 1400 lid goes on the top.
after abotu 10 minutes i had a cathead biskit! no browning but it was pretty good.
I have heard (and going to try) using the new silicon cupcake cups. They say they can take the heat...
going to try to mix up the bisquik and water, pour into cupcake cup and place into SnowPeak Ti pan... will post results as soon as I can!
johnny quest
10-29-2007, 15:59
ive never heard about that but am very interested! are these silicon cups something you can get anywhere? im busy trying to expand my cooking repertoire for next year.
You can buy them almost anywhere, Target, Kroger, etc... I bought one, cut it into a "2 cup" size where it fits into my pot. I use a coil of folded up aluminum foil on the bottom, then put on top of that a circle of heavy duty aluminum foil with holes punched in it (as a heat diffuser - same concept as the bakepacker) and put the silcone muffin cups on top of that. Put a lid on your pot, and cook over a very low flame. Some put water in the bottom fo the pot but I don't. It hasn't ruined my cookware or anything but only shows normal wear. The key is a LOW flame. I have cooked biscuits, muffines, and a pizza that way. Bon appetite, you will like the silicone cups.
johnny quest
10-29-2007, 16:16
well i use a giga rocket...im not an alcohol catfood can guy. so low heat is relative. i will keep trying with my "steambaking" but i really appreciate the slicone cup tip. would you say they are reusable?
Jim Adams
10-29-2007, 16:58
I've baked on a grate over coals with the dough in alum. foil. works good if you turn it every couple of minutes.
geek
ps. has anyone ever tried the bunt cake pan stove from 15 years ago in CANOE magazine?
Today 16:16johnny questwell i use a giga rocket...im not an alcohol catfood can guy. so low heat is relative. i will keep trying with my "steambaking" but i really appreciate the slicone cup tip. would you say they are reusable?
Yes, the silicone cups are reusable
CoyoteWhips
10-29-2007, 22:29
I cut the lip off of the strainer of my KMart grease pot; inverted and dropped in the bottom of the pot, it's a steamer.
Two or three tablespoons of water steams up nicely over three tea candles. Takes about thirty minutes to bake up to three biscuits.
budforester
10-29-2007, 22:50
I have a Bakepacker, and my little solo cup/pot will make steamed- biscuit- in- a- bag. I miss the crust! my preference is bannock or hoecake in my fry pan.
I added a third part to the Fauxbaker (http://www.freezerbagcooking.com/thefauxbaker.htm) in the past couple weeks. Scroll down the page to get to my recent fun :)
johnny quest
10-30-2007, 11:08
that was great...thanks. so they have aluminum cupcake liners too? i just learned they had silicone liners yesterday. so which would be best?
If you eliminate the water in the bottom of the pan and just use dry heat it will brown up nice. I made this recommendation in this or another thread awhile ago.
johnny quest
10-30-2007, 12:45
what does that do to your pot? youve done this?
that was great...thanks. so they have aluminum cupcake liners too? i just learned they had silicone liners yesterday. so which would be best?
You can get the A. Liners in the baking section at most grocery stores. They are very thin, so crumple up to nothing when done. I just peel it off my finished cupcake. I am thinking it is Reynold's that makes them.
The silicone ones are reusable, but you will need to wash them.
what does that do to your pot? youve done this?
I bake in a Ti pot, so I wouldn't do it dry. Just don't want to warp a $60 pot!
what does that do to your pot? youve done this?
I use an aluminum pot, no problems at all. In the other thread I posted about this, someone tried it in some different pots with good success in all. I do not know if a titanium one was in the mix.
shelterbuilder
10-30-2007, 21:01
If you eliminate the water in the bottom of the pan and just use dry heat it will brown up nice. I made this recommendation in this or another thread awhile ago.
Has anyone considered the possibility of using an aluminum foil tent over the pot? This has to be raised off of the ground so that the entire stove doesn't overheat - you just want to capture the heat around the baking pot itself - and of course, the flame has to have oxygen, so again, raise the tent off the ground.
Has anyone considered the possibility of using an aluminum foil tent over the pot? This has to be raised off of the ground so that the entire stove doesn't overheat - you just want to capture the heat around the baking pot itself - and of course, the flame has to have oxygen, so again, raise the tent off the ground.
I think this would only be necessary if the entire pot contained the food to be baked. So far, I have used the pot as the oven and placed a cooking "sheet" inside of the pot. The pot absorbs heat from the stove (I use an alcohol) and then radiates it inside to the food. The convection of heated air inside the pot around the item being baked is also obvious. The idea of baking is to minimize the conductive heat from the stove/oven, hence the coil, or stones or whatever rack system is used to elevate the food from the bottom of the pot. Of course if one doesn't use a lid for their pot, the use of foil would be critical to achieve the oven effect.
I've used it alot, and I take it with me almost every time. I have baked italian bread, pizzas, cupcakes, omeletes, and a few other things in it. I've also used it to heat stuff up
You cook everything inside a plastic bag, so cleanup is easy. And when you are done cooking, you have hot water left over for dishes or a hot drink. Its almost like a back country microwave, you can reheat almost anything in it.
I've used one and had success with it. It does state in the owners manual that it isn't recommended to use the water for drinking, though.
johnny quest
10-31-2007, 09:37
whats wrong with the water???
ok, so last night i cooked some bisquick in a silicone cupcake liner (damn them things are pricey!) over...4 tea candles just to be different. it worked ok, though it took forever. but here is the exciting part. ok, mildly interesting part.
we were having stew last night. i took the remaining bisquick batter that wouldnt fit in the silicone liner (did i mention how pricey them things are?) and dolloped the excess into a small pot of the stew. made fairly decent dumplings. so the personal finding of my experiment is that if i feel the need for bisquick on the trail i will make dumplings. baking takes too long.
Johhny, personally I wouldn't drink the water in the pan...just because it has been percolating around the metal pieces used to hold up the bag or liners. No thanks on it ;) The metal I use in my Fauxbaker....it isn't exactly high end metal!
As for the dumplings? Heck yes! I do a chicken dumplings recipe on "cooking" trips that is very good! You make the dumplings up in a quart bag, snip the corner and dribble them into the hot liquid. Yum!
budforester
10-31-2007, 10:30
whats wrong with the water???
I have even greater concerns about leachings from the plastic.
johnny quest
10-31-2007, 10:36
maybe im to que sera sera but i wouldnt think the metal would leach too much. i thought the plastic bags were found to be safe wether used in the microwave or in boiling water. PLUS the very small amount that i would be baking now that i see how long it takes...i aint skeered.
now that orange mud puddle water i drank from that time.....now that will probably come back to haunt me. but i was thirsty.
Not that I am worried about leaching, it is more taste! For my Fauxbaker I use metal flashing...which isn't exactly food grade ;)
And I'll add.....I also end up with only about 1/4-1/2 cup water at the end. So just enough to rinse my spoon with. But I'll pass on drinking it :p
budforester
10-31-2007, 10:50
Tasting is a fairly sensitive means to detect stuff. I'm like Sarbar... use that "free" hot water for washing.
SouthMark
10-31-2007, 10:58
Sarbar, I made one of your Fauxbakers. Carried it on an overnighter this past weekend to the Sipsey Wilderness. I used the paper lined foil cupcake bakers to bake bacon biscuits Sunday morning. I placed precooked bacon around the inside of the cupcake bakers before adding the biscuit mix and baked three (fit perfectly) in my K-mart greese pot. I tried the Fauxbaker without using any water in the bottom. It worked great and actually browned the bisuiits. It took about 25 minutes. No harm to the pot or the Fauxbacker. Boy were they good.
budforester
10-31-2007, 11:02
Wow, that sounds good. I must try some experiments.
Southmark..ok, that sounds good! Yum..bacon :D
Ok, I'll try it without water, just not in my good Ti pan!
SouthMark
10-31-2007, 14:35
Yes, might not be good in a Ti pot. I did try it at home with my MSR .85 Ti pot. While it did not appear to do any damage, the pot did turn blueish on the bottom during cooking.
SouthMark
10-31-2007, 14:38
Oh I forgot. I have your book. You are THE Queen of Cuisine.
If I made bacon biscuits for my husband he'd be so happy :D Thanks for an idea I hadn't thought of! He'd love it served with eggs!
When he comes with my son and I, I usually do real trail cooking versus my normal style :)
budforester
10-31-2007, 15:39
My biscuit got baked. I first procured an aluminum muffin liner custom- sized for my half-liter camp cup (squashed a sheet of foil over the end of a jar). I whipped up a quarter- cup of biscuit mix, used cooking spray, and plopped the dough in the “muffin tin”. A crumpled bit of foil raised the tin off the pot’s bottom. Baked at low heat on the kitchen range, 15 minutes was not enough; at 25 minutes the dough was done, but the top was not brown. There was, however, a nice crust around the sides and bottom; it was light and tasted just like a biscuit. Pleased with that result, I’m roped into more testing. Need some fine- tuning. Gotta try it on my alcohol burner Gotta increase the portion size, but keep it from growing out of the tiny pot; maybe up to ½ C biscuit mix. Thanks for sharing the ideas, guys.
budforester
11-13-2007, 12:32
My field- test results: dry- baked tins of biscuit and cornbread in 16 oz stainless steel camp- cup. The breads rose well, were done in the middle, and browned on top. Unfortunately, both of them scorched on the bottoms. My alcohol burner was too hot, even rigged for simmer. The heat discolored the cup’s bottom and I would be afraid of that much heat on aluminum. I’m not familiar with titanium, and it’s too costly to experiment with. Bottom line is that I can’t give up my fry- pan, yet; back to the drawing board.
Well you can put a can cover on stove then pot lose some heat but not burn bottom of pot or put a z type alum 1/2 in. hi in the first pot then some water the the other pot on that with cover with a Little vent to let out some steam it bake but be a little wet not dry like real baking. Also first pot put small stones in first pot no water the other pot in then a cover over the first.
budforester
11-13-2007, 16:34
Well you can put a can cover on stove then pot lose some heat but not burn bottom of pot or put a z type alum 1/2 in. hi in the first pot then some water the the other pot on that with cover with a Little vent to let out some steam it bake but be a little wet not dry like real baking. Also first pot put small stones in first pot no water the other pot in then a cover over the first.
Thanks, I'll first try the can cover to moderate the heat a little and still get browning... I like the crust. I've seen that z- aluminum and a coil of that would be great with either dry- bake or steam... gotta go shopping.
Ridgerunner50
11-13-2007, 21:46
My Uncle uses one of these ovens he has had for 30 years or so ! Optimus mini oven (http://www.base-camp.co.uk/Optimus/minioven.htm) He swears by this little oven and makes all kinds of desserts. :) They discontinued it for awhile but just recently brought it back at a pretty hefty cost. Seems like it would be easy to fabricate using a bunt/cake pan and maybe a foil pie pan for a lid. Just need to come up with a heat deflector for the bottom:-? Put your collective noggins to work! ;)
budforester
11-28-2007, 10:50
Found this idea on the Louisiana Hiking Club newsletter; there’s a link on LHC website (http://www.hikelouisiana.org/). Karla bakes trail goodies in a pan of non- stick aluminum foil crimped to the rim of her cook- pot, suspended over boiling water. Aha! That would avoid direct steam contact! Lacking her non- stick foil, I greased a sheet of the regular stuff. I found it easier to form the pan by mash- fitting it to the interior of my solo pot/cup. Slipped the foil out, added a layer of water to the pot, floated the foil “pan”, and rolled foil ends over the pot- rim at that level. This worked for my camp- cup and my Ti bowl… one size fits all. Covered with lid or sheet of foil, I simmered single servings of biscuit dough and pancake batter for 15 min. Crusts were tender and did not brown, but the products were acceptable. Now I have an excuse for field- testing.
2Questions
12-01-2007, 17:35
Hey Sarbar!!
I have a MSR Ti pot as well and am experimenting with the fauxbaker idea. I ended up making a collar that fits inside the fauxbaker but also does not touch the inside of the Ti pot. I cut notches in the collar and bent them outward 1/4" to keep the collar from touching. the collar measures about 2" tall. Using regualr Baggies I cut make about 1/2 cup size cornbread muffins that are perfectly round.
My question to you is how do you keep the bag from burning through when it touches the Ti Pot? Every time I tried it without the collar I had a mess to clean up.
Hmmmm...my bags didn't melt (I has plenty of water in the pan though) but! try idea #3 in the series....use the aluminum cupcake liners - they work great! And you don't need a bag except to mix up the mix.
2Questions
12-01-2007, 18:00
I read over your instructions on them. Sounds great. I'll give them a try. Thanks.
wystiria
12-19-2007, 16:31
Do they not make the outback oven anymore? I use mine ALLL THE TIME! and its light weight so when myself and DH go out it always comes. I make calzones (jiffy pizza dough, vacume sealed sauces, pepperonie and cheese sticks or hard cheese), brownies (they have come a long way with the add oil ones) CINNAMON ROLLS! allll sorts of things. depending on how far we have to hike that trip :)
wystiria, they still make the Outback Oven as far as I know....but, like many things if there is only 1 person or you go UL/minimlist, the OO might be too much to carry :) Group wise, the OO and also the Bakepacker are nice items.
WritinginCT
12-13-2008, 21:16
I've had really good luck baking in my greasepot pan over a cat stove :) I use a small copper cookie cutter to raise a little teflon bundt pan off the bottom of the pot. I prefer moister baked goods so I do use some water in the bottom of the pot. One normal dose of fuel and I have perfect cake/biscuit.
I never considered the silicon version of the bundt pan. Might be worth a looksee.
The Bisquick "Honey" Biscuit mix is just awesome if you haven't tried it! It's a "complete" mix than comes in an envelope and only needs water added. There are little pieces of honey in the mix that melt when it bakes adding just a perfect amount of sweetness. Dropping in some dried apples, raisins, or nuts makes for either a wonderful hot breakfast or an evening treat. 1/2 an envelope is the perfect amount for that bundt pan.
brooklynkayak
12-16-2008, 14:16
Next time you try this....put a couple of rocks at the bottom of the pot and put a tuna/chicken can on top, with the biscuit inside. It allows convection inside the pot.
Also good to make a mini pineapple upside down cake inside the tuna can!
I've done something similar with yeast doughs, baking powder doughs, biscuit mix, muffin mix etc...
I found it works better if you add a tablespoon or two of water in the pot, it speeds up the baking time and bakes more evenly.
My particular hiking pot comes with an insert that nests at the top, so no rocks needed.
.
Also, it was only $6 US and weighs less than 10 ounces all together:
http://www.brooklynkayak.com/images/GLO4043.jpg
http://www.pearlriver.com/v2/FramesCat.asp?iGroup=333
Read about ash cakes on a sign along the AT and decided to try it. Ash cakes make a flour and water dough which is stiff and plop it onto the hot coals around the edge of the fire. believe it or not it cooks ! when its done just brush off the ash. I guess you could use a pot lid or tin foil greased to keep it out of the ashes.
superman
12-17-2008, 11:13
In 1974 my ex and I were in Glacier National Park. I was showing off to her which is why we had the stuff and deamonstrated that I could cook a lemon cake over a camp fire. I used an old frying pan over a nice bed of coals. It came out perfect and she made chocolate frosting. The stupid part was that it was BEAR COUNTRY. So we put out the word to everyone out there that we had lemon cake to share. People brought coffee and about 15 of us sat around a camp fire, eating lemon cake, drinking coffe and just talking. Different folks told what they were doing there. One of the guys was a school teacher from New Jersey who spent every summer traveling around the country learning and teaching indian culture. He explained some examples of what he was doing and it was very memorable.
Nicksaari
12-18-2008, 00:31
i am known to get baked on the trail from time to time. im sorry does this violate the rules of WB? i love to cook...
brooklynkayak
12-18-2008, 10:56
i am known to get baked on the trail from time to time. im sorry does this violate the rules of WB? i love to cook...
Baked before, baked while baking and baked after:banana