Dutch Oven Baking Powder Biscuits
Flour, powdered milk, and shortening. Hot coals do the rest.
- calories
- 210
- weight
- 2.2 oz
- cal / oz
- 95
- protein
- 4 g
- serves
- 8, scales
- prep
- 15 min
- cook
- 15 min
- total time
- 30 min
- water
- 180 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.
- Breakfast
- Dinner
- Dutch oven
- Campfire coals
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Vegetarian
- Nut free
- Real dishes
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Actual cooking
Ingredients
| All-purpose flour | 2 cups | sift it at home, sifted flour measures lighter |
|---|---|---|
| Baking powder | 2 tsp | |
| Salt | 1/2 tsp | |
| Shortening | 4 tbsp | butter works but needs a cooler; shortening does not |
| Powdered whole milk | 3 tbsp | stands in for 3/4 cup fresh milk |
| Cold water | 3/4 cup | about 180 ml |
Method
- Build a bed of coals and set the lid aside to preheat. You want roughly 400 degrees for baking: on a 12-inch oven that is about 17 coals on the lid and 8 underneath.
- Stir the flour, baking powder, salt, and milk powder together in a bowl or a gallon bag.
- Cut the shortening in with two spoons or your fingers until the mix looks like coarse gravel. Do not work it smooth.
- Add the water a splash at a time, stirring only until a shaggy dough pulls together.
- Dump it onto a floured lid or cutting board and knead about thirty seconds. Any longer and the biscuits go tough.
- Pat the dough half an inch thick and cut rounds with a can or a cup.
- Lay them in the oven in one layer, not touching. Bake 12 to 15 minutes until the tops are dry and gold.
- Lift the lid to check at 10 minutes, and rotate the oven and lid a third turn each to even out hot spots.
Fresh milk does not survive a camp trip, so this uses powdered whole milk mixed straight into the dry ingredients and cold water added at the fire. The dough behaves the same, and there is nothing to keep cold. Shortening replaces butter for the same reason: it sits in a jar at ambient temperature for weeks.
The two things that decide whether these come out right are fat temperature and handling. Cold, distinct lumps of shortening turn into steam pockets in the oven, which is what makes a biscuit flaky instead of dense. Kneading past thirty seconds develops gluten and undoes that. Heat management matters just as much: most coals go on the lid, or you scorch the bottoms before the tops set.
Packing
Combine flour, baking powder, salt, and milk powder in one zip bag at home. Shortening travels in a small screw-top jar and does not need a cooler. Bring a little extra flour for the board.
Variations
- Stir a handful of shredded hard cheese and a pinch of pepper into the dry mix.
- Add sugar and dried blueberries for a sweeter version alongside coffee.
- Skip the cutting and drop spoonfuls straight into the oven. Rougher, faster, same bread.
https://www.boyscouttrail.com/content/recipe/baking_powder_biscuits-1842.asp