Baking Bread and Camp Cooking

peatop

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Sep 30, 2021
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Hi everyone, I've been planning to live out of my camper I bought on my return from a trip away in March, I'm so far ready but have been held up by covid issues here in Vic, my planned departure was mid to end November but now not sure, however this being a baking-bread-and-camp-oven-cooking thread I thought about some of what's been posted so far.

I have been baking bread on and off since my late teens and buying bread became an issue when I was not consuming enough of a bought loaf and it was going moldy, so I gave up buying it to make it as required, I have a camp oven (new) but haven't used one since I was young, younger? much younger and I'm thinking this thread is the answer to my prayers lol
 

mikerezny

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Sep 11, 2016
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Hi,
baking bread and damper on the chippie when we are camping is still continuing. The dampers are coming out really well, the bread is also good, especially now the proving is done on the warm bench above the fridge. Almost ideal temperature: around 22C.

I usually bake 8 rolls at home before we leave: four round and four long. Put them in the freezer so we have some bread as soon as we arrive.
It has become a ritual: two bread rolls for lunch on arrival. two for hamburgers, two for bacon and egg burgers, and the last two for lunch when we go for a long walk. magic!

We are now well and truly completely self-sufficient with bread when we go camping.

We are also self-sufficient at home cycling around 5% wholemeal loaves, sourdough and overnight fermentation cobs, damper, chappatis.
Latest addition this year will be short baguettes. Only done once, but the art is in shaping them up. Need a lot more practice.

Taking a break from making sourdough / levain to get back into the overnight fermentation cob from the book by Ken Forkish: Flour, Water Salt, and Yeast. Haven't made a loaf since last December.

Mix the dough the night before. Set it on the benchtop to prove for 12 hours. Next morning shape into a ball and put into a bowl lined with a floured teat towel. Prove for another 75 minutes and into the oven at 245C for 45 minutes.

This is probably the best one yet. Still 30 minutes to go before it is cool enough to cut!

take care
Mike
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1DayIll

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Apr 26, 2016
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South Morang, Victoria
Hi,
baking bread and damper on the chippie when we are camping is still continuing. The dampers are coming out really well, the bread is also good, especially now the proving is done on the warm bench above the fridge. Almost ideal temperature: around 22C.

I usually bake 8 rolls at home before we leave: four round and four long. Put them in the freezer so we have some bread as soon as we arrive.
It has become a ritual: two bread rolls for lunch on arrival. two for hamburgers, two for bacon and egg burgers, and the last two for lunch when we go for a long walk. magic!

We are now well and truly completely self-sufficient with bread when we go camping.

We are also self-sufficient at home cycling around 5% wholemeal loaves, sourdough and overnight fermentation cobs, damper, chappatis.
Latest addition this year will be short baguettes. Only done once, but the art is in shaping them up. Need a lot more practice.

Taking a break from making sourdough / levain to get back into the overnight fermentation cob from the book by Ken Forkish: Flour, Water Salt, and Yeast. Haven't made a loaf since last December.

Mix the dough the night before. Set it on the benchtop to prove for 12 hours. Next morning shape into a ball and put into a bowl lined with a floured teat towel. Prove for another 75 minutes and into the oven at 245C for 45 minutes.

This is probably the best one yet. Still 30 minutes to go before it is cool enough to cut!

take care
MikeView attachment 68153View attachment 68154
so when are you going away next and where do we meet you for our bread supplies?
 
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Drover

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Nov 7, 2013
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They do look yummy, eat so little bread nowadays its just not worth me doing anymore, :blue: :blue: :blue: :blue:
 

Crusty181

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Feb 7, 2010
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Mentone, VIC
Hi,
baking bread and damper on the chippie when we are camping is still continuing. The dampers are coming out really well, the bread is also good, especially now the proving is done on the warm bench above the fridge. Almost ideal temperature: around 22C.

I usually bake 8 rolls at home before we leave: four round and four long. Put them in the freezer so we have some bread as soon as we arrive.
It has become a ritual: two bread rolls for lunch on arrival. two for hamburgers, two for bacon and egg burgers, and the last two for lunch when we go for a long walk. magic!

We are now well and truly completely self-sufficient with bread when we go camping.

We are also self-sufficient at home cycling around 5% wholemeal loaves, sourdough and overnight fermentation cobs, damper, chappatis.
Latest addition this year will be short baguettes. Only done once, but the art is in shaping them up. Need a lot more practice.

Taking a break from making sourdough / levain to get back into the overnight fermentation cob from the book by Ken Forkish: Flour, Water Salt, and Yeast. Haven't made a loaf since last December.

Mix the dough the night before. Set it on the benchtop to prove for 12 hours. Next morning shape into a ball and put into a bowl lined with a floured teat towel. Prove for another 75 minutes and into the oven at 245C for 45 minutes.

This is probably the best one yet. Still 30 minutes to go before it is cool enough to cut!

take care
MikeView attachment 68153View attachment 68154
Great effort Mike, nice colour and beautiful crumb. If only I could constantly get that outcome from with my sourdoughs, Id be pretty content
 
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mikerezny

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Sep 11, 2016
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Great effort Mike, nice colour and beautiful crumb. If only I could constantly get that outcome from with my sourdoughs, Id be pretty content
Hi @Crusty181,

my last two sourdough cobs were not as good as the previous ones. But I am now on the case.
I rejuvenated my starter a couple of days ago and am making a loaf today to bake first thing in the morning.

I suspect I am going to have to pay more attention to maintaining the starter. I have a couple of ideas.

take care
Mike
 

mikerezny

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Sep 11, 2016
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Hi @Crusty181,
just baked a sourdough cob this morning and we had some for lunch.

This is now my 8th sourdough cob. It turned out better than the previous two which were not as good as I would have liked.
Quite a different taste to the long fermentation cob I baked earlier this week. Both are really quite diffferent.

I believe the issue is in how I maintain my starter. The previous two were done after the starter had been in the fridge unfed for three weeks or more.
The case with all my previous ones were with a starter than had only been in the fridge for a week.
I usually just feed it once the night before I will build the loaf.
This time, I fed it for two consecutive evenings before I built the loaf.

So, after several months, me and my starter, "Little Jack" are forming a bond and seem to be developing a relationship!

I will try to make a levain/sourdough cob once a week and build up the strength of the starter.

take care
Mike
 

Crusty181

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Feb 7, 2010
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Mentone, VIC
Hi @Crusty181,
just baked a sourdough cob this morning and we had some for lunch.

This is now my 8th sourdough cob. It turned out better than the previous two which were not as good as I would have liked.
Quite a different taste to the long fermentation cob I baked earlier this week. Both are really quite diffferent.

I believe the issue is in how I maintain my starter. The previous two were done after the starter had been in the fridge unfed for three weeks or more.
The case with all my previous ones were with a starter than had only been in the fridge for a week.
I usually just feed it once the night before I will build the loaf.
This time, I fed it for two consecutive evenings before I built the loaf.

So, after several months, me and my starter, "Little Jack" are forming a bond and seem to be developing a relationship!

I will try to make a levain/sourdough cob once a week and build up the strength of the starter.

take care
Mike
I think youre on the money, i keep my starter a little more active, 3 or 4 days in the fridge before a cycle but I discovered its need upto three days to get it back upto a appropriately healthy state. Havent had a chance lately to test my theory.
 
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mikerezny

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Hi @Crusty181,
Ok, its been three days since I last used my starter.
Took it out of the fridge last night, fed it, and left out out on the bench.
This morning it had risen about 50%. Note, since I use only plain flour, the growth is not as vigorous as that using wholemeal or rye flour.
But, more importantly, the starter now had its familiar "goopiness" again. Yeah!!!
Prepared another cob today and I am really pleased with the feel of the dough.
It is now in the fridge and will be baked off tomorrow morning.
Fingers crossed.

This bread making is really addictive.

Going camping on Monday, so it will be yeasted white cobs, dampers, and a chapatti or two for 11 days.

By the way, have you got or used one of these cast iron combo ovens?
https://www.bcf.com.au/p/campfire-cast-iron-quart-combo-cooker/601031.html

At home I have been using a round pyrex dish and turning it upside down and baking on the lid.
First half of the bake with the lid on to capture the steam in the loaf to help with the oven spring and then the last half of the bake with the lid off to form the crust.

take care
Mike
 

Crusty181

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Feb 7, 2010
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Hey @mikerezny, how'd the loaf turn out. I use bakers flour for the bread but i keep my starter with a 30/70 wholemeal/plain flour blend.

I use a cast campoven at home whilst i wait for an upside down pyrex to pop up locally on Marketplace. Im reluctant to use a cast camp oven camping because i transitioned to a spun Bedourie very successfully years ago and i dont want the weight of a cast oven in the van again, but normal yeast bread isnt a challenge in the Bedourie. Im yet to take a shot with a sourdough in the Bedourie, theres way too much work at this point to take the punt. I do take Philbit (my 3 year old start) camping with me, i just dont bake with it yet
 

mikerezny

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Sep 11, 2016
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Hey @mikerezny, how'd the loaf turn out. I use bakers flour for the bread but i keep my starter with a 30/70 wholemeal/plain flour blend.

I use a cast campoven at home whilst i wait for an upside down pyrex to pop up locally on Marketplace. Im reluctant to use a cast camp oven camping because i transitioned to a spun Bedourie very successfully years ago and i dont want the weight of a cast oven in the van again, but normal yeast bread isnt a challenge in the Bedourie. Im yet to take a shot with a sourdough in the Bedourie, theres way too much work at this point to take the punt. I do take Philbit (my 3 year old start) camping with me, i just dont bake with it yet
Hi @Crusty181,
I use a Pyrex casserole dis with lid that works using the lid as a base and the main dish as the top cover.
I can't find the capacity, but it is probably around 3l.
The outside diameter of the main dish is 22.5cm.
Seems like you can buy something similar for around $21 from Woolworths or Big W.

Hmm, the sourdough was baked but the oven spring was not as good as I would have liked.
I suspect that I need to score the loaf. I don't usually do this. I use a ceramic dish as a proving basket and line it with a tea towel. In doing so, I can arrange to have four nice pleats around the side of the bowl. This has, in the past, provided fault lines on the top of the loaf that encourage it to bloom.
But that is not happening.
Still, has a nice taste, and still a work in progress.

take care
Mike
 
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mikerezny

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Sep 11, 2016
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Hi,
here is my latest and, by far, best attempt, at making white bread rolls.
These were made on the chippie and were better than anything I have attempted ising the oven at home.
Thought it might have been a one off fluke. So I baked another batch and they were as good as the first.
Really pleased.

Made the normal dough, 250g plain white flour. Divided into six pieces and rolled each into a ball. Put them into the same pie dish I usually use to make a cob on the chippie.

take care
Mike

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mikerezny

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Sep 11, 2016
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Hi,
well I think I have finally cracked a reasonable sourdough cob.
After talking to a fellow camper (actually a cyclist touring Australia) last week, he suggested some improvements which have made a big difference.

Basically, my starter is way to weak. If I used and fed it at least once a week, it would only just work. Otherwise I ended up with cobs that did not rise as much as expected.

A few changes: I used to feed the starter with plain flour, I now use 50% wholemeal + 50% plain. And if the starter is over a week old I feed it every 12 hours. I fed it three times this week since it has been in the fridge for about three weeks. After the third feeding it tripled in size in about 2 hours. Amazing!

The dough progressed and rose way better than any of my previous attempts and I got a good oven spring.
The crumb looks good and it tastes as good as it looks.

Really pleased
Mike

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Crusty181

Well-Known Member
Feb 7, 2010
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113
Mentone, VIC
Hi,
well I think I have finally cracked a reasonable sourdough cob.
After talking to a fellow camper (actually a cyclist touring Australia) last week, he suggested some improvements which have made a big difference.

Basically, my starter is way to weak. If I used and fed it at least once a week, it would only just work. Otherwise I ended up with cobs that did not rise as much as expected.

A few changes: I used to feed the starter with plain flour, I now use 50% wholemeal + 50% plain. And if the starter is over a week old I feed it every 12 hours. I fed it three times this week since it has been in the fridge for about three weeks. After the third feeding it tripled in size in about 2 hours. Amazing!

The dough progressed and rose way better than any of my previous attempts and I got a good oven spring.
The crumb looks good and it tastes as good as it looks.

Really pleased
Mike

View attachment 68172View attachment 68173
Hey Mike im pretty sure i added all that above somewhere. I noticed weak activity out of the fridge for a couple of days and the strong activity building over time feeding it daily. Ive not had a chance to test that theory, so im glad youve nailed it, looks great.
 
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mikerezny

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Sep 11, 2016
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Hi,
here, straight from the oven of Mike, is my second attempt at making French baguettes. The first attempt was not all that good.Basically as per the recipe for Daniel Leaders four hour baguettes which is based on the standard French Baguette Normal but adapted so it can me made in a home oven. It is a straight dough: standard plain flour, water, salt, and instant yeast. 333g of flour to make three 10" baguettes.

The instructions for preshaping and shaping the baguettes came from King Arthur Bakeries videos made by Martin:



It has been my ambition to make French baguettes that taste like the ones we have eaten many times throughout France.
I am happy with the result. The taste test came at lunch time. They tasted as good as they look.

I need to bake these a few more times to get shaping practice. Then I can make more complicated artisan dough used in the French Baguette Tradition.

take care
Mike

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mikerezny

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Sep 11, 2016
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Hi,
finally got around to making a Focaccia.

Really pleased with the result. Tasted really good and got a big thumbs up from my partner.

Followed the recipe, instructions, and video from Bake with Jack, but used only 2/3 of the quantity in the recipe:

Light and Fluffy no knead Focaccia — Bake with Jack

I will definitely be making this again!

Here are a couple of photos.

take care
Mike

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mikerezny

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Sep 11, 2016
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Hi,
fresh from the oven of Mike this afternoon: English muffins.
Some time ago, I tried a few times to make them from a recipe on the Bread Kitchen but with limited success so I lost interest.

I got interested again this week and hunted through the internet and found a recipe I was more comfortable with:
www.biggerbolderbaking.com/homemade-english-muffins/#recipe-video

This recipe takes from 12-18 hours and I am really happy with the result. Did a taste test and got the thumbs up from all four of us.

take care
Mike
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