Baking on a camping stove: The pot-within-pot method (Pic Heavy)

[PineMartyn]

I thought I would show a baking technique through some photos I took about 8 years ago to demonstrate how to bake using a backpacking or camping stove. The photos show me doing so with a Trangia kit, but this can be done with virtually any camping stove and even over a bed of coals from an open fire.

When canoe tripping my wife and I have used this technique to bake breads, muffins, cinnamon rolls, biscuits, cakes, even panzerotti. There's no need to buy a special-purpose Outback Oven or reflector oven for baking, and no need to settle for bannock when you're in the mood for fresh bread after a week in the bush. All you need is an ordinary camping stove and two differently-sized pots as shown in the photos below. My wife and I have been baking this way in the bush for years and years. So far we've only had good results; every bit as good as what one can make with an Outback Oven and better than with a typical reflector oven. You CAN have your cake and eat it too.

For those who are wondering where I got the aluminum pot shown in my photos, it's just the cheap large pot that comes in World Famous' camping mess kit. The one in the photos is one I've used since I was a boy.

And here are a few photos of some things we've baked using the pot-within-pot technique.

I will be uploading a video to my YouTube channel soon showing this baking technique.

Hope this helps,
- Martin

 

[baldtaco-II]

Good stuff. Have you ever put a bit of water in the larger pot to create steam for the crust?

 

[PineMartyn]

Good stuff. Have you ever put a bit of water in the larger pot to create steam for the crust?

baldtaco-II,

No, I haven't, but I know others who have done so, so it's something I want try out myself at some point. I know that some people think the water is necessary to avoid scorching their pots, but I have been doing this for years with the same two pots and never had a problem. However, it surely can't hurt and some people report that adding a little water in the bottom of the outer pot can actually produce a better crust when you want one.

Thanks,

- Martin

 

[Joe Real]

Great tip, thanks

 

[sideways]

That's a very good idea. Thanks for sharing.

 

[fishshooter]

Nice. Thanks for posting.

 

[Shotgun]

That is by far the best camp cooking I've seen. Thanks for sharing!

 

[neeman]

Thanks

And just one filling of the Trangia stove is enough to bake the bread?

And how many cups of flour in this dough?

 

[taldesta]

Taking the wilderness experience down to the basics of actually gathering/cooking food with minimal equipment or lack thereof is absolutely crucial in survival situations, yet, not often expanded upon. Good post. Trusting that more is to come. It is good to know the basics of recognizing, gathering, preparing food ... and using tools in all these applications. Because food is so absolutely basic to long term survival, the gathering and cooking posts might well be integrated. Food thread beckoning?

 

[PineMartyn]

Thanks
And just one filling of the Trangia stove is enough to bake the bread?
And how many cups of flour in this dough?

neeman,
Yes, I just fill the standard Trangia burner (not their mini model) right up, put the reducing ring on it in the wide-open position, and let it go until the burner's empty. That's for bread, which has about the longest bake time of anything we bake in the bush. Cinnamon rolls and such don't take anywhere near as long to bake.

You asked how much flour we use in that loaf, here's the recipe we usually use:

Basic Bread Dough
Ingredients:
-1 cup warm water
-1 package active yeast
-1 teaspoon of sugar
-1 teaspoon salt
-3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

Instructions:
- Combine the water, yeast, sugar, and salt into a small bowl or cup and let rest for 20 minutes, or until the yeast becomes active and frothy.
- Place the flour into a pot or bowl, mound up the flour, and make an indentation in the center. Pour the water and yeast mixture into the indentation and stir the flour into the liquid with a stiff spoon or carved stick. Continue to stir until it is thick enough to handle.
- Turn the dough out onto a work surface, such as a canoe paddle, which you have lightly floured, and knead the dough for about 10 minutes. The dough should become smooth and supple. If it is sticky, knead in a small amount of flour.
- Place the dough into a lightly oiled bowl and cover it with a cloth bandana. Set the bowl, covered, in a warm area and allow the dough to double in size, this should take between 45-60 minutes.
- After the dough has risen, push the air out of the dough. At this point, the dough may be utilized as the base for any sort of bread or pizza.
- Bake using the pot-within-pot method or a reflector oven.


Hope this helps,
- Martin

 

[SunnyBunny]

Thanks for the great informations.

 

[neeman]

Martin,

Thanks

 

[HikingMano]

Thanks for sharing that! Gonna have to give it a go sometime:thumbup:

 

[The Warrior]

Very cool. I have a Trangia set up, perhaps I'll give it a whirl sometime.

 

[newadventure]

Martin, that is way cool - thanks for passing it along! I have never used a triangia, so don't know how long it burns on a fuel load. If one were doing this using different fuels (ie bed of coals), what is the approximate baking time? I'm sure its variable, but a rough estimate would be good to know. Thanks so much - great post, pictures, and descriptions!!!
Fred

 

[PineMartyn]

newadventure,

Thanks for that generous praise. I'm not actually certain how long it takes for the full burner to be consumed because I just light it and let it go. Once the flame's out, the bread's too hot to eat and needs to cool off in there anyway, so I've never been very concerned about marking the time. I asked my wife if she remembers exactly how long it takes and, like me, she's never noted the time either, but our sense of it is that it usually takes close to an hour for the burner to be completely used up. But how long you leave things to bake depends on what you're baking. A loaf of bread takes the longest - close to an hour. A cake takes about 40 minutes, if memory serves. You'll just have to experiment a bit.

It might reassure you to keep in mind that you're dealing here with a truly tiny oven and a small flame, so the temperatures are not extreme. As such, it's not like your home oven where you can easily burn what you're cooking by letting it go too long by just a few minutes. You have more latitude. Don't sweat it. Just make sure the heat is low. The temperature will rise nicely in that tiny oven. Try not to peak under the lid or foil if you can help it (I sometimes do).

Hope this helps,
- Martin