Out of sandwich bread? Need some pronto for lunch? Look no further.
As people who like to prepare for disasters—so that they aren’t quite so disastrous—we have lots of contingency plans. Plan A, Plan B, Plan C. Some of us get quite a ways down the alphabet. I think we’re up to H for methods of keeping my husband’s insulin cold. Anyway, as bread is pretty important to us, we’ve got dozens of recipes and methods for cooking it. Yeast bread, quick bread, bucket bread, flat bread. Whole grain. White. Loaves, buns, rolls, wraps.
Most are baked in the oven with our dear friend electricity. Some, like tortillas and naan, cook on the stove, sometimes with gas, but again, electricity is more commonly used, especially in this country.
But what if the power was out—no oven. Perhaps the oven died and a repairman can’t come out for weeks, even if the oven can be repaired. Maybe we don’t have a Dutch oven and charcoal to work with. And what if we really wanted something closer to sandwich bread than flat bread. Could we bake bread on a camp stove? As long as we can keep the temperature pretty low, the answer is a definite yes.
In the interest of full disclosure, I didn’t actually make these breads on a camp stove. It’s raining here right now and I’m not feeling all that great. However, when I’m trying something new out, it’s been my observation that it’s best to follow the instructions as given before making modifications, and cooking on a camp stove would definitely qualify as a modification. After making these breads in my kitchen, I have no doubt I’d be able to replicate them on a good camp stove. In fact, some of them I would prefer to make on a camp stove instead of using a Dutch oven and charcoal. They’re pretty good.
Quick Bread #1
1 cup + 2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoons powdered milk
¾ teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons oil
½ cup water
In a small bowl, combine dry ingredients well. Add oil and water and stir into a sticky ball. Lightly dust counter with flour and place dough on top of the flour. Lightly sprinkle flour on top of the dough and carefully roll it out to between ¼ and ½” thick. Cut circles (or other shapes) about 3” in diameter.
Place dough circles in a dry non-stick skillet and cover. Bake on stove on low heat for 5 minutes on each side. (My stove has settings for low, 2-10, and high. The sweet spot for me is between 2 and 3.)
Makes approximately 10 pieces of bread about 3” in diameter.
There really isn’t too much difference between these two recipes. The first incorporates more flour in the original mixing of the dough and cuts the dough out with a biscuit cutter; the next uses additional flour for hand shaping the dough and has a bit more baking powder and oil. It also calls for letting the dough rest a little bit before baking.
Quick Bread #2
1 cup flour, plus additional flour for shaping
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons powdered milk
2 tablespoons oil (any fat—shortening, butter, lard, bacon grease)
½ cup water
In a small bowl, combine dry ingredients well. Add oil and water and stir into a sticky ball. Dust counter with flour and place dough on top of the flour. Lightly sprinkle flour on top of the dough and divide into 4 equal pieces. Use additional flour as needed to shape into four balls and flatten them. Let them rest for 2-3 minutes.
Preheat a skillet with a well-fitting lid on low heat. Carefully transfer dough to the skillet and cover. Bake on stove for 5 minutes on each side. (My stove has settings for low, 2-10, and high. The sweet spot for me is between 2 and 3.)
Family reviews: Blueberry Girl, Ellie, and I all think it’s really good, especially hot and buttered. (Like most bread.) It would work for a sandwich, but would not be our go-to for a hamburger bun. However, we would still happily eat it with a hamburger if regular buns weren’t available, especially if it were hot and fresh. Considering that it takes a couple of hours to make hamburger buns, and about 15 minutes to make these, and I can see these being used in the future for hamburgers.
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Front or back burner? Just curious. With our stove the smaller back burners go lower than the front.
ReplyDeleteIn NC when our oven went out but the stove still worked, we used our grill for an oven. Tricky in winter, but doable.
Have you posted before about keeping insulin cold?
Thanks for sharing all your knowledge.
Be safe and God bless.
Well, my back burners are smaller, so the heat wouldn't be as even.
DeleteYou know, I don't even know if I've done a post specifically on keeping insulin cold. I'll have to take a look. If there isn't anything, I'll get working on it!
That works. Will be hit and miss the first time I try it anyway as ours are only low, medium and high. Our old stove had the numbers. I miss that stove.
DeleteAnd thank you for the insulin information in advance!
Looking forward to the many ways of keeping medicine cold.
ReplyDeleteAs Iron sharpens Iron.