Dutch Oven Soda Bread
Four ingredients plus a soured milk, baked in coals. No yeast, no rising time, no waiting.
- calories
- 330
- weight
- 4 oz
- cal / oz
- 83
- protein
- 11 g
- serves
- 8, scales
- prep
- 15 min
- cook
- 60 min
- total time
- 75 min
- water
- 480 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
- Dutch oven
- Campfire coals
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Vegetarian
- Nut free
- Real dishes
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Actual cooking
Ingredients
| Whole wheat flour | 4 cups | |
|---|---|---|
| White flour | 1 cup | plus a little for the board |
| Rolled oats | 1/2 cup | |
| Baking soda | 1 tsp | |
| Salt | 2 tsp | |
| Powdered milk | 2/3 cup | reconstitutes to 2 cups, no cooler needed |
| White vinegar | 2 tbsp | a small bottle also handles cleanup |
| Water | 2 cups | cold |
Method
- Build your coals early. You want 13 on the lid and 7 underneath a 9-inch dutch oven, which holds it near 375F. Set the empty oven near the fire to warm while you mix.
- Whisk the powdered milk into 2 cups of cold water in a cup or small pot. Add the vinegar and leave it alone. It will thicken and look curdled. That is correct.
- In your largest pot, stir the flours, oats, baking soda, and salt together.
- Pour in the soured milk and stir until every bit of flour is damp. The dough will be sticky.
- Dump it onto a floured surface and knead about 10 minutes, until it stops tearing and goes smooth.
- Shape a round loaf that fits the oven with a little room, drop it in, and cut an X about a quarter inch deep across the top.
- Lid on, coals on. Bake an hour. Rotate the oven a third turn every 15 minutes and the lid the other way, or one side burns.
- Tap the crust. A hollow sound means done. A dull thud means give it another 10 minutes.
Soda bread does not need yeast, which means it does not need warmth, time, or a place to rise. Baking soda plus acid makes the gas the instant they meet. That is the whole trick, and it is why this is one of the few breads worth attempting in a fire ring.
The original calls for fresh milk. Powdered milk and water does the same job and survives a hot car, so that is the swap here. The vinegar sours it on contact and gives the soda something to react with. Do not mix the wet into the dry until the coals are ready, because the rise starts immediately and waiting costs you loft. The 10-minute knead is not optional either. Whole wheat is most of this loaf, and without the gluten worked up it bakes into a brick.
Packing
Combine the flours, oats, baking soda, salt, and powdered milk in one gallon bag at home. Vinegar rides in a small screw-top bottle. In camp it is one bag, one bottle, and two cups of water.
Variations
- A handful of raisins and a tablespoon of sugar in the dry mix makes it a breakfast loaf.
- Swap half the vinegar for lemon juice powder if you already carry it.
- No dutch oven: shape into flat rounds and cook them in a covered skillet over low coals, 8 minutes a side.
https://www.boyscouttrail.com/content/recipe/irish_soda_bread-1240.asp