Pizza, Damper & Cake out bush!

[slick41st]

Hi,

I normally only walk where I can flyfish, and I don't eat brown trout, so wanted to make sure on a 8-12 day trip that I had decent food along the way.

For a decade now I've been using the Outback camp oven (7" size I think). It is really simple to carry some flour, pizza sauce sachels, and topping and eat a beaut meal most nights. It really doesn't weigh much - a couple of hundred grams. I think they all got sold off real cheap and no longer brought in because I found the shop staff I had run into had no idea about how good these products were - this is probably more of a reflection on the reps who sold them to shops and shoudl have demo'd there capabilities.

We regularly enjoy pizza, damper and rolls (takes a lot of work to find the right flour), and maple syrup corn bread. For pizza you can either make your own bases (preferred but takes some time, or use pita bbread for instant results and faster meals. The pan it comes with is excellent size and depth, nonstick and usually means you can avoid bringin a pot too. The 'oven part is just some silver lined material and is very light. The stove only needs to be on really low, so a noisy dragonfly is the best, but the fuel conservation can be extreme by placing the 'oven' over your billy when brewing up.

Happy to share a cook up if anyone is interested. This is a way underrated product.

Regards, Slick

[Son of a Beach]

G'day Slick... Welcome to the forums.

I'd like to see some pictures of this, as I'm finding it hard to imagine exactly how you do it. It sounds like a great idea, as good food makes extended bushwalking trips so much more enjoyable.

[slick41st]

Thanks SoaB, Just found another gear review: http://www.wildernesscooking.com/outback-oven-ul.htm
whilst trying to find pics.

I am a total shocker for taking photos whilst walking/fishing, just too busy fishing to worry about takin pics. Paid for it severly one day after landing a 10+lb fish and not having the camera with me as I didnt use it for the last three trips (that is the line I draw with everything except safety gear).

http://www.backcountrygear.com/catalog/ ... cfm/BP1800 shows a low res image of the parts.
http://www.backpacker.com/gear/1970 shows a good shot of end product and a gear review.

Here is the manufacturers website - Good photos: http://www.backpackerspantry.com/products.asp?dept=23
& http://www.backpackerspantry.com/prodin ... ber=167002
What you need is the manual, the pot parka, the scorch buster & riser bar, and the 10" pan (I think mine was a 7 or 8" one though). You make it topless and lighter by discarding the aluminium cover and temperature probe, I have never used those.

But for all of this - the proof is in the cooking and eating!!Mmmmmmmm.

Regards, Slick

[ninjapuppet]

some kind camper on the overland recently gave me several buns of freshly baked bread between Pelion and KiaOra hut. oh sooo soft!

I really wondered how he managed, so i searched, came across about 6 different camp ovens designs. the 2 most popular types seem to be the backpackers' Pantry (270 grams)
http://www.wildernessdining.com/bp167000.html

and the bemco backpackers oven (700gm).
http://www.backpackeroven.com/specs.php


I'm not sure if the weights are correct, but freshly baked scones and cakes is sure a nice treat if the weight is split up within a group. i cant find any reviews comparing these 2 and wonder if anyone has any more comments to add to compare different types.

[dancier]

I've seen a few variations of the camp oven but this guy has it covered, if you search through his list of videos you'll see other prototype ovens as well.

http://www.youtube.com/user/minibulldes ... 7goX2VoSDE

[tas-man]

I have enjoyed some great freshly cooked scones on a mates reflector oven, that somewhere I might have a slide or two of it, but as the design has been around for a generation or two, here are some frames from a Fred Smithies colour film taken on a trip to Frenchamns Cap in 1936, camped at Lake Vera. My mates reflector oven was made out of thin aluminium sheet in four flat pieces, with a wire tray that was supported by the side pieces, and a wire "U" shaped prop that supported the back of it as it faced the glowing embers.

Picture 1.jpg (47.68 KiB) Viewed 10641 times

Picture 2.jpg (181.06 KiB) Viewed 10641 times

Picture 3.jpg (179.25 KiB) Viewed 10641 times

Picture 4.jpg (176.37 KiB) Viewed 10641 times

Picture 5.jpg (180.69 KiB) Viewed 10641 times

Here's a link to some more info about reflector ovens etc.
http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/store ... &langId=-1

. . . . and here's a link to a design to build yourself.
http://www.kayak2go.com/reflectoroven.PDF

Last edited by tas-man on Wed 17 Mar, 2010 1:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[ninjapuppet]

Dancier, it appears to be a nice lightweight setup but somehow, i got a feeling those muffin might be a little soggy from steam seeping in?

[dancier]

Dancier, it appears to be a nice lightweight setup but somehow, i got a feeling those muffin might be a little soggy from steam seeping in?

Certainly a compromise when you cook with steam but it does the job. I mostly use a pressure cooker at home and sometimes bake a pudding, the exposed surfaces are always sticky but it never lacks in quality.

If you want to save yourself some weight them all you need is a few rocks, tin foil pan for the cake mix and the normal cooking gear to bake something nice, have a look a the vid below.

http://www.youtube.com/user/minibulldes ... CxRZ5LaqnY

[CoffeeLover]

Have never thought of making pizzas when camping, but really it sounds like a great idea. Will give it a try next time we go

[flatfoot]

I've been a fan of trailcooking.com for some time. They like a product called the BakePacker. This uses freezer bags for the cooking to avoid washing up.

I've ordered a BakePacker and will post a report once I have a chance to test it out at home.

I think those powdered self-saucing pudding mixes would be great using this technique.

I also looking forward to trying out savoury and/or sweet muffin mixes. Check out this post on making savoury pizza muffins: Faux Baker: Part 5