Dutch Oven Pumpkin Spice Cornbread
Canned pumpkin, cornmeal, and coals. Dessert for the night the fire is already going.
- calories
- 420
- weight
- 5 oz
- cal / oz
- 84
- protein
- 7 g
- serves
- 6, scales
- prep
- 10 min
- cook
- 30 min
- total time
- 40 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
- Breakfast
- Dutch oven
- Campfire coals
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Canoe / raft
- Vegetarian
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Actual cooking
Ingredients
| Yellow cornmeal | 1 1/2 cups | |
|---|---|---|
| All-purpose flour | 1 cup | |
| Brown sugar | 1/2 cup | |
| Baking powder | 1 tbsp | |
| Pumpkin pie spice | 2 tsp | cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, clove |
| Salt | 1 tsp | |
| Powdered whole egg | 3 tbsp | equals two eggs |
| Canned pumpkin puree | 1 cup | not pie filling, which is already sweetened |
| Vegetable oil | 1/3 cup | plus a spoonful for the pot |
| Water | 1/2 cup |
Method
- Build a fire early and let it burn down. You want coals, not flames, and you want about 25 of them.
- Oil the inside of a 10-inch dutch oven and set the lid nearby, upside down, to warm.
- Dump the dry premix into the pot. Add the pumpkin, oil, and 120 ml of water. Stir until no dry cornmeal is left, then stop. Overmixing makes it tough.
- Set the oven on 8 coals and put 17 on the lid. More heat on top than underneath, or the bottom scorches before the middle sets.
- Bake 30 minutes. Rotate the pot a third turn every ten minutes and rotate the lid the other way so no one spot cooks harder.
- Check with a stick or a knife. It comes out clean, it is done. Let it sit five minutes before cutting or it falls apart.
Cornbread is the right camp bake because it needs no rise time and no gluten development. You mix it, you cook it, it is done in half an hour. Canned pumpkin does two jobs here: it carries the spice, and it holds enough moisture that the crumb survives uneven coal heat without drying to sand.
The home version wants butter, eggs, and buttermilk. Powdered whole egg and oil replace all three and none of them need a cooler. Coal placement is the only real skill involved. Most of the heat goes on the lid because the pot bottom sits closer to its heat source and will burn first if you load it evenly.
Packing
Cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, spice, salt, and the egg powder go in one gallon bag at home, shaken to combine. The pumpkin can and the oil ride separately. Carry a small can opener.
Variations
- Stir in 1/2 cup of dark chocolate chips or dried cranberries after mixing.
- No dutch oven: pour the batter into a foil pan, cover with foil, and set it on a grill grate over low coals for the same 30 minutes.
- Skip the sugar and spice, add a can of green chiles, and it becomes dinner bread.
https://www.lodgecastiron.com/pages/our-top-recipes-for-pumpkin-spice-season