Camp Bread Recipe

Before you head out to camp mix the dry ingredients together, fill and label bags. I like to use the gallon sized bags even though this will fit in a quart size bag.

The gallon is big enough to mix the dough and after kneading it you can use the bag for raising the dough in.

My recipe makes a half sized loaf. I am still working on this recipe. I have made some breads, adding powdered eggs, honey (honey in condiment packages is great for this), and have tried a few that I liked with tomato powder and basil flakes. I really wish that I would have written those down. You can basically adapt any recipe to suit your tastes.

1 1/4 Cup Flour (I used All-purpose for this)

2 1/4 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/8 teaspoon dry yeast

2 teaspoons powdered milk

The label on this should read "Bread Dough". For your own good label that

Bring an extra quart sized bag with a few cups of flour in case you should need more during kneading and for other cooking projects.

Once you get to camp start your fire and boil some water. Pour 1/2 Cup of that water into a cup with 2 teaspoons of butter or shortening.

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Right now I have to tell you that I forgot that step before kneading and had to add in 1 teaspoon of olive oil as I was kneading. Then before I put it into the plastic bag to raise I smothered butter all over it. If you mess up, improvise!

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Let that cool to just warm and pour right into the bag. I prefer to mix with one hand and hold the bag with the other in case I need a clean hand to grab more flour. Try to get in the habit of mixing and kneaded with your non-dominate hand. There is a very good reason for that.

Once you have a good ball going in there you can take it out and knead it on a clean smooth surface, floured if necessary.

Once the dough is smooth and elastic it is ready to put back in the bag to raise.

It took me a long time to understand what smooth and elastic felt like, because I never really kneaded it long enough to get to that point. 15 minutes of kneading or more may just be what it takes. Kneading the dough does all kinds of magical things to it that you can learn about elsewhere if you desire. If you want to get good at it, close your eyes and feel it.

Dough needs a still and warm place to rest. You won't have much success with it if you put it in your back pack and start hiking. However, if you have to be on the move, you can make a "bun in the oven" pack to hold it in next to your belly. For the guys out there you can call it your "beer belly bag".

When the dough has risen to twice it's size it is ready to bake or slow roast over a campfire as with bread twists. Then there are some of us that also like to deep fry it.

You can use powdered eggs to make an egg wash for it.

Roll it in flour to ash bake it.

Brush melted butter on it.

There really is so much variety that you can do with breads.

If you are low on flour there are many wild plants that can help you stretch your flour supply.

I will do a post on that later.

Being at camp you will not have the ability to watch the temperature while you are baking your bread so you will have to eye and ear it. Golden brown crust and a hollow sound when tapped on and it is done. You can also check with a toothpick as you would a cake.

You can also take your own bread recipes and divide them by 1/4th as most recipes I have come across are for 2 loaves. For recipes with eggs in them, the powdered eggs are much easier to divide.

I have not tried powdered butter with this yet, but that is on the to do list.

I hope I have given you enough ideas to help you be more cozy at camp.

Thank you for stopping by.

Please feel free to comment.

Dee Dee

Cooking Camp Bread

Few things are more satisfying than eating freshly baked bread when you are out camping.

I like to mix all the dry ingredients together and put in plastic bags to be able to have a couple of loaves or bread sticks. You can add your water right into the bag and mix the dough in the bag.

We have made stone ovens to bake in, which can be a lot of work, and the bread turns out much like what a brick oven makes. Good stuff!

You can tote in a camp oven, which is a heavy and bulky addition to a backpack. These can be nice as they have a temperature gauge.

But let's get primitive for a moment.

I am talking bread sticks with a twist, literally.

The way to make bread sticks for over a fire is to wrap your bread dough around a stick that has had the bark stripped off (make sure you use a good wood for this as some woods can be poisonous) and then you can roast if over hot coals.

I like to use Y shaped branches stuck into the ground on each side of the fire to cradle the bread stick stick on. It makes it easy to turn the stick for even heating and lets me work on the other foods for the meal.

And then there is Ash bread.

Ash bread is where you start a fire on a fairly flat rock and once that goes to coals you move the coals aside, place the dough (well floured) on the rock, put a layer of hot ashes on the dough and then hot coals on top of the ashes. Once it is done you just brush off the coals and ashes. You can even cook roasts this way. Ash gives a wonderful flavor.

Most campers like to bring bannock for bread making. Bannock is quite wonderful and less complicated than my camp bread recipe, and quite possibly more versatile. There are several recipes for bannock out there or you can use Bisquick.

It is good to bring extra plain flour and some salt when you go primitive. Don't forget the butter, cooking oil/grease and a fry pan for the fried fish fillets to go with your bread!

I will update this post later with pictures and put my bread recipe on another post.

Thank you for stopping by.

Grab a warm slice and be cozy!

Dee Dee