Camp Dutch Oven Loaf
One loaf of real yeast bread, baked in coals. Flour, water, oil, and two hours you were going to spend sitting anyway.
- calories
- 195
- weight
- 1.9 oz
- cal / oz
- 103
- protein
- 5 g
- serves
- 8, scales
- prep
- 15 min
- cook
- 45 min
- total time
- 60 min
- water
- 270 ml cold
- cost
- $
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dinner
- Lunch
- Dutch oven
- Campfire coals
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Vegetarian
- Vegan
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- Real dishes
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Actual cooking
Ingredients
| Bread flour | 3 cups | pack a spare half cup for the board and for sticky dough |
|---|---|---|
| Instant yeast | 1 1/2 tsp | instant, not active dry, so it needs no proofing |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp | |
| Salt | 1 1/4 tsp | |
| Olive oil | 1 tbsp | plus a little more to grease the pot |
| Water | about 1 1/8 cups | lukewarm, not hot |
Method
- Heat the water until it is barely warm to a finger. Hot water kills the yeast, so pull it well before a simmer.
- Dump the premixed flour, yeast, sugar, and salt into a bowl. Pour in the water and the tablespoon of oil and stir until it holds together as one mass.
- Knead on a clean surface for three minutes, dusting with the spare flour whenever it sticks to your hands. Stop when it is smooth.
- Oil the dutch oven, put the dough in, and put the lid on. Let it rise somewhere out of the wind until it has roughly doubled. Warm afternoon, an hour. Cold morning, closer to two.
- Press it down, shape it into a round, and let it sit covered for another 30 to 45 minutes while you build the fire down to coals.
- Set the pot on about 8 coals and put 15 to 18 on the lid. Bake 35 to 45 minutes, rotating the pot and the lid a quarter turn every 10 minutes so it does not scorch on one side.
- It is done when the top is brown and it sounds hollow when you knock on it. Tip it out and let it cool before cutting or the inside will be gummy.
This is ordinary sandwich-loaf bread moved onto coals. Nothing in it needs refrigeration, so the whole dry side of the recipe travels as one bag mixed at home. The only real changes from a kitchen version are instant yeast instead of active dry, so there is no proofing step to babysit, and olive oil instead of butter, which means no cooler.
The dutch oven is doing the work of an oven by trapping steam under the lid, which is what gives you a crust instead of a dry brick. Coal placement matters more than count: most of the heat belongs on top, because coals underneath will burn the bottom long before the middle sets. Rotate the pot and the lid in opposite directions every ten minutes and the loaf bakes evenly even over an uneven fire.
Packing
Flour, yeast, sugar, and salt go into one zip bag at home, shaken to combine. Oil rides in a small leakproof bottle. Bring a second small bag of plain flour for kneading.
Variations
- Split the dough into eight rolls and bake 20 minutes instead. Faster, and easier to share.
- A tablespoon of dried rosemary or garlic powder in the dry mix costs nothing to carry.
- No dutch oven: shape it into flatbreads and cook them in a dry skillet, four minutes a side.
https://mealswithmaria.site/budget-friendly-bread-recipe-your-friends-and-family-will-love