Welcome! It’s Thursday after the 4th of July holiday and I’m just now sitting down to bat out this next story. For this episode of Camp Cooking, we will take you through our next adventure and one of my favorites so far: Dutch Oven Campfire Bread.
Who doesn’t love the smell of fresh bread baking or the delicious, soft, fluffy texture? It was like having Panera right at the campsite! I found a recipe to follow and dove right into it upon returning from my kayak trip on Sunday afternoon. The plan was to have the bread ready for when everyone was having dinner, and I could deliver a warm foil packet of bread to each of my family. So I set out to work.
Warm water, flour, yeast! I got a bit ahead of myself and took my first photo after I had mixed it up and scraped the sticky mess off my fingers. Note to self: bring the mixer with the dough hook next time. We are glamping, after all. And don’t forget a large bowl, cutting board and bread knife to make your life even easier.
So I kneaded the bread for a while and then let it sit to rise for an hour. But, the bowl was right below the air conditioner vent that was blasting cold air on this super hot, muggy day. I’m not a baker, but I thought it would be better to let it sit in a warmer environment.
So I took it outside and set it on the picnic table, and covered it with a towel. The below pic is after, and you can see just how much it had risen.
Into the Dutch oven and onto the coals. I placed the ball of dough on parchment paper in the Dutch oven to prevent anything from sticking, though the oven is seasoned with oil. The only issue is that the recipe does not specify how many coals to use, so I Googled the temperature to bake bread at (450 degrees? wow) for 45 minutes. Hmm.. OK. I then looked up how many coals I needed on the bottom and top when baking in a 10 inch Dutch oven at 450. 10 on the bottom and 19 on top.
In 40 minutes, the familiar smell of burnt toast began to waft from the fire pit.
Um, yeah, no. Too hot, too long, or both.
For the love of God.
Sigh. It was still edible. The inside was completely done, not doughy, and you could peel off the burnt parts. Bill prefers things a little burnt, thank God, as did my sister and brother-in-law. Tony, my brother-in-law, in fact told me the following, which made me so happy.
“You know, for hundreds of years, people baked bread this way, and things NEVER came out perfect all the time..”
Thank you.. I needed that! Plus, I’m sure they weren’t using measured charcoal briquets. 🙂
What wasn’t burnt turned out fabulous, that chewy, crusty texture of bread like you get from Panera. I look forward to doing this one again, I’m thinking with a few less coals, and I’ll check it at 30 minutes.
Ooooh.. With cheddar cheese and jalapenos too. 😉
I am sure your bread was delicious ! It’s not easy to bake in a dutch oven, takes some practice. I can relate to your bread, but what a great skill ot have, to be able to bake over a campfire. Good for you!
I can’t wait to do it again!
That bread was so good!
Glad you enjoyed!
My dad i use to have to call for the burnt corners and end. Carbon is tasty!
Ha! I learned about that, that weekend! I’ve seen charcoal supplements but never gave them any thought as to what they were for! My sister and bro-in-law schooled me on the benefits.
I can almost smell if from here, and it reminds me that I should make bread today!
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It was wonderful! I can’t wait to do it again and work on perfecting the formula.