Camp Pie Dough
Flour, fat, and cold water worked into two crusts on a tailgate, then baked in a dutch oven.
- calories
- 400
- weight
- 2.4 oz
- cal / oz
- 167
- protein
- 4 g
- serves
- 8, scales
- prep
- 25 min
- cook
- 40 min
- total time
- 65 min
- water
- 120 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.
- Dessert
- Dutch oven
- Campfire coals
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Vegetarian
- Vegan
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- Real dishes
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Actual cooking
Ingredients
| All purpose flour | 2 1/2 cups (325 g) | |
|---|---|---|
| Sugar | 1 tsp | |
| Salt | 1/2 tsp | |
| Vegetable shortening | 8 oz | sticks, not the tub; it holds shape without a fridge |
| Apple cider vinegar | 1 tsp | carried in a dropper bottle |
| Cold water | 1/2 cup | straight from the cooler or a cold stream |
Method
- Cut the shortening into half-inch cubes and set it in the cooler, or in the shade if the morning is cold. Warm fat makes a tough crust.
- Dump the premixed flour, sugar, and salt into a large pot or bowl. Add the vinegar to the cold water.
- Work the cubes into the flour with your fingertips or two forks, about thirty seconds. Stop while the pieces are still pea-sized and visible.
- Add the water a splash at a time, tossing with a fork after each one. Stop the moment the dough holds together when squeezed. You may not use it all.
- Press into two disks between sheets of parchment. Handle them as little as you can. Rest them in the cooler at least an hour.
- Roll one disk out on the parchment, line the dutch oven or a pie pan set inside it, fill, and top with the second crust. Cut vents.
- Bake with coals underneath and on the lid, roughly a third below and two thirds above, 40 minutes. Rotate the oven and lid a quarter turn every ten minutes so it does not burn on one side.
Pie dough is a temperature problem, not a skill problem. Solid fat left in visible pieces turns to steam in the oven and pushes the flour apart into layers. Warm fat blends into the flour instead and you get a cracker. Everything here is aimed at keeping the fat cold in a place with no refrigerator: cubed early, rested in the cooler, handled fast.
Two changes from a home version. Shortening replaces the two sticks of butter because it stays firm at camp temperatures and does not need the cooler to survive the drive. And the stand mixer is gone, so the fat gets cut in by hand for about thirty seconds. The vinegar is not for flavor. It slows gluten from tightening, which buys some margin if you overwork the dough by headlamp.
Packing
Flour, sugar, and salt go into one bag at home, already measured. Shortening sticks stay in their wrappers in the cooler. Parchment sheets travel flat against the side of the bin.
Variations
- Butter in place of shortening if you have a reliable cooler. It tastes better and it fails faster in heat.
- Skip the pie and cut the rolled dough into strips, brush with oil and cinnamon sugar, and bake them flat for about 15 minutes.
https://www.theseasonalhomestead.com/easy-pie-dough-recipe