Roman Oven

[ScanDgrind]

Hi guys,

Do you ever fancy some fresh bread when you're out in the woods?

Well do what the Romans used to do...

Just use a billy can with a lid as an oven, put your dough in it and place the billy in the hot embers of your fire, rake the embers up around and over the billy and leave it for about 40 mins to an hour. Cooking time obviously depends on the heat of the embers and surrounding conditions, wind, temp etc.

I carry flour with yeast and a pinch of salt already mixed into it. Just add water, knead the dough and add anything you can forage such as berries and nuts. In the months when the nuts and berries are not available I add raisens and nuts to the flour at home.

Cheers and good eating,

Tony.

[jakunen]

Isn't that like dampas? The stuff the scouts used to cook?

[Gary]

Yes Jak,

Dampers, bannocks etc are all cooked that way - the classic style is called a dutch oven.

[jakunen]

Got two ducth ovens in my kitchen. Cast iron though so not very lightweight.

In Croatia they cook a similar way arond the Ctine river/Omis area.
They fill a pan with cuts of kitchen, lamb, beef and goat and brown them. Add potatoes, onions, fennel, carrots and herbs then wine. They put what looks like a chinese hat on it and build the embers from the charcoal fire over it. 2 hours later one absolutely GORGEOUS meaty stew, served with local homemade bread and wine.

Excuse me, think I need to find me passport and catch a plane...

[al]

i used to be a baker so know about breads a bit , made a clay oven once and baked a lovely loaf , i used fresh yeast , top tip, if your going on small trips go to your local baker , a real one not a super market one , and ask for some bread improver and fresh yeast,you wont believe the results, it only works in the mixing stage as it holds the yeast back in the dough making a nice bold loaf spring up as the end reult, it can be used in all fresh yeast breads and at the very most all you need is a teaspoon to a pound of flour, cheers al

[jakunen]

My local asda store will give you fresh yeast if you ask them, for free.
Would they use the improver? Can you buy it from anywhere?
I bake all my own breads and have never seen it although a number of my books mention it...

[al]

super markets normally use all in one mixes in thier breads so im told, local craft bakers or masterbakers will have improver and ive never had trouble getting any from them ,being an ex craft baker they like to know you`re keeping up the craft, S500 is a good one and also tigris but the S500 is better , like i say you dont need much a bag of it will last for ages, i bake a lot at home and have had a jar in the cupboard for about 2 years , for rolls and sticks use a tad more but for loaves you dont need much , the actual ratio is 2 oz to 10 lb of flour for loaves , give or take a bit for personal preference, another good one is to take a small jar of pesto and olive oil , make the dough pour over the iol and pesto and chop it all up , leave it to rise then bake it off , end result georgeous marbled pesto bread , i make it at work some times and the smells drive people wild, also out of interest , if you`re baking at home you will get a much more superior resulyt if you use a mixer and beat the dough until its velvet smooth inside , this will generate heat to activate the yeast more and make a stronger dough :-D

[jakunen]

Hmm, interesting.
Thank god its only 45 mins til lunch. I'm starving with all this talk of food!
I'm trying a new bread with sunblush tomato and garlic. I always use olive oil as I find the bread is lighter and keeps longer, not that it gets much chance...

[al]

sunblush tomato and garlic is an absolute winner ,oh yes indeed , may i recomend some blue chees thrown in with that?:-D

[jakunen]

in the dough? or in the sandwich?

[al]

in the dough , you can pretty much throw anything in a dough , some you mix the dough first then fold it in other s yuo just chuck it in , stuff like cheese you can just cut back on the oil or fat a bit, just experiment with it, chutney in dough is also a winner

[jakunen]

Yeah, I already use flavoured oils, nuts, seeds, fruit, herbs, bacon. I sometimes add cheddar or something to the crust, but never thought to add blue cheese to the dough.

[al]

its very yummy , onions or onion granules are good too, should chuck some recipes up :-D

[jakunen]

its very yummy , onions or onion granules are good too, should chuck some recipes up :-D

May be not the best choice of words there mate...
I'll have a look thru me books, got over 600, including about 20 baking books...Yes I know, sad git but I LOVE cooking...

[al]

nothing sad about cooking mate , i love it , especialy when thers a bottle of red to help im a veggie but i cook meat better than my friends :-D

[jakunen]

Hmm, odd that. I'm a confirmed carnivore but cook better veggie than some friends who are veggies... :-?

[bushwacker bob]

I'm an omnivore but cook better than most people I know!
on the subject of 'field breads' a good container to cook bread in with embers is an earthen ware flower pot! clean of course and lightly greased, you can select bulb pots which are lower and wider than the typical flower pot and cover it with the appropriate sized watering saucer. then place it in heap of embers as previously described.

[Justin Time]

I've used a flower pot type thingy for baking in the oven, works a treat, probably bough it from Habitat though.....

[Ed]

Good tip :biggthump I've improvised a 'clay'oven using an earthen ware flowerpot on its side, and shoveled hot embers to cover it..... worked a treat :-)... make sure its completely dry though or it will crack. Place it near the fire and turn it occasionaly to dry it out 'slowly' while the fire dies down to hot coals and embers ready for cooking.

Ed

[Stuart]

dont try this with an aluminium billy though, many aluminium containers become very malable (bendy) after being dry heated

[al]

clay pots heated uare good for fresh naan breads, like a tandori oven innit, clay pipes too ,the ones they put in roads

[bushwacker bob]

Nans, pitta and chipatis are all unleaven breads with little or no raising agents and are easy to produce in the field with a bit of flour and baking powder. I have cooked chipatis on an upturned wok with great success......I'm starting to smell a bushcraft curry :idea:

[Roving Rich]

Al, fancy doing a demo at the meetup ? :-D
please please please please
:-D :-D
Rich

[Quill]

I like the flower pot idea. Two questions though. Do you plug the holes in the bottom of the flower pot, if so with what? And excuse a dumb Yank, but what is a billy? Coffee can or something like it? Sorry that is 3 questions.

[Gary]

Billy is a cooking pot which hangs (via a bail arm) over your fire. It is a term poached from the Australians - la la waltzing Matilda!

As for the holes why worry with covering them, ash cakes and such are cooked on the embers and coals.

And I guess if you cont like the black crispy bits you can always scrap em off with your knife.

One question I have is how do you pack them in your bergen without breaking them? :shock:

[Keith_Beef]

Billy is a cooking pot which hangs (via a bail arm) over your fire. It is a term poached from the Australians - la la waltzing Matilda!

As for the holes why worry with covering them, ash cakes and such are cooked on the embers and coals.

And I guess if you cont like the black crispy bits you can always scrap em off with your knife.

One question I have is how do you pack them in your bergen without breaking them? :shock:

You wear your flowerpot on your head, like Bill and Ben did.


Keith.

[atraildreamer]

Hmm, odd that. I'm a confirmed carnivore but cook better veggie than some friends who are veggies... :-?

"Vegetarian" - from the Native American (Indian) language.
Meaning: "...lousy hunter."