Maple Cornmeal Biscuits
Skillet biscuits with cornmeal and maple, mixed dry at home and baked over coals.
- calories
- 320
- weight
- 3.2 oz
- cal / oz
- 100
- protein
- 5 g
- serves
- 8, scales
- prep
- 20 min
- cook
- 15 min
- total time
- 35 min
- water
- 60 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
- Dutch oven
- Campfire coals
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Canoe / raft
- Vegetarian
- Nut free
- Real dishes
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Actual cooking
Ingredients
| Stone ground cornmeal | 3/4 cup | |
|---|---|---|
| All-purpose flour | 1 1/4 cups | |
| Baking powder | 1 tbsp | |
| Salt | 3/4 tsp | |
| Whole milk powder | 2 tbsp | reconstituted at camp, stands in for the cold milk |
| Powdered shortening or solid coconut oil | 6 tbsp | butter works if you have a cooler |
| Maple syrup | 1/4 cup | decant into a leakproof bottle |
| Maple extract | 1/2 tsp | optional, pushes the maple past the sugar |
| Cold water | 1/4 cup, plus more as needed |
Method
- Build a fire and let it burn down to coals. You want steady heat, not flame.
- Stir the milk powder into 1/4 cup cold water, then pour it over the cornmeal in a bowl and let it sit while you do everything else. This is the step that keeps the biscuits from going gritty.
- Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt in the pot. Work the shortening in with your fingers until the biggest pieces are pea sized.
- Stir the syrup and extract into the wet cornmeal, then dump that into the flour and mix until it holds together. It will look dry and feel damp. Add water a spoonful at a time only if it won't come together.
- Pat the dough about an inch thick in a greased dutch oven or skillet and cut it into eight wedges.
- Lid on, 8 coals under and 16 on top. Bake 13 to 15 minutes, rotating the oven a quarter turn halfway. Done is dry in the middle and browned at the edges.
This is a home biscuit rebuilt for a fire. The cornmeal soak is the part worth keeping: dry cornmeal in a biscuit stays sandy, and giving it liquid twenty minutes ahead softens the grain so the crumb comes out even. Milk powder plus water does that job as well as cold milk does, which removes the only refrigerated ingredient.
The fat has to be solid when it hits the flour. Cold pieces of shortening leave pockets that turn to steam and lift the biscuit; melted fat just makes it dense. On a warm day, keep the shortening in the shade until the last minute. Coals on top do most of the browning, so bank them there rather than underneath, or the bottoms burn before the middle sets.
Packing
Combine the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt, and milk powder in one bag at home. Fat and syrup ride separately. If you carry butter, it needs a cooler and it needs to stay hard.
Variations
- Brown sugar in the dry mix if maple syrup is too heavy to carry.
- Split the leftovers and fry them in the skillet the next morning.
https://www.lodgecastiron.com/blogs/recipe/maple-cornmeal-biscuits