Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting Fresh Baked Muffins

OK, here's a fun one: An ultralight baking kit. Weighs about 1/2 pound, excluding the muffin/cake/biscuit mix.

Makes pretty good muffins. Here's with a 4" one:


And here's a 5" one:


Maybe a little esoteric for hunting, but for family camping, it's been a hit with my wife and daughter.


Then again, fresh baked biscuits wouldn't hurt before a hunt, now would they?


The set up fits into a 1.3L titanium pot which then becomes in effect a lightweight dutch oven. Here's a cake I baked for a friend's birthday:


Here's a write up on the cooking system: The Bobcat Stove System.

For baking, I swap out the alcohol stove and use an ESBIT stove instead: The Epicurean ESBIT stove. If you follow the links in the article about the Epicurean stove, there's an article I wrote that goes step by step on how to bake muffins. It's actually pretty easy, but you come out looking like a cooking genius.

HJ

That is really cool Jim.

I found a few guys that are baking with the Trangia system as well, I will let you know how it turns out.

Jim I love reading your write ups on the stoves. Another great article. I hope life has settled back down for you and your family. Keep up the good work

Actually, it is. Basically it's a dutch oven that weighs about 1/2 pound. I've got all the stats in the article, but it's like 7 ounces for the "dutch oven" and 3 ounces for the 4" baking pan. A bit more for the 5" baking pan. 10 ounces for baking. That's not too bad. And it's really not bad in terms of the "hassle factor". I've mainly used the "just add water mixes." I'm not typically willing to spend hours and hours on food prep although on family trips, I spend a lot more time on food since my wife and daughter aren't into "roughing it" and I'm not going to be doing all that much serious exploration with them along anyway. Food then becomes fun. Gotta say that I do like biscuits still hot in the morning.

Down side is probably that titanium pot which is a bit pricey. The pot of course can be used, well, as a pot (in addition to being a lightweight dutch oven). Ti does very well over wood fires.

Really? Interesting. No reason why it shouldn't work if you set the simmer ring low enough. Is it dry baking or steam baking? Love to hear more about it.

HJ

I am seeing a few different methods, but this is the one that I am going to try.

Just follow the picture tutorial by clicking newer.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/35874807N00/6546303079/in/photostream/

We bake large muffins in our normal cook pot on our normal stove (MSR dragonfly), and just throw one of these heat dispersing plates under it from the "outback oven." Seems to work ok, although we do usually need to flip the muffin, which can get complex at times. We've done pizza too. A light and easy system.

http://www.mec.ca/AST/ShopMEC/HikingCamping/CookwareUtensils/PRD~4000-241/outback-oven-10quot.jsp

I like the idea of the "top hat" insulator thing. Maybe take an old hot pad from the kitchen and cut it into a circle and sew the edge up tight? I'll give it a shot.

Thanks, Irving. I've been able to find work for all of 2013 so far, but the project I'm on ends at the end of the month. We'll see how it goes from here.

HJ

Wow! He's doing some nice stuff. That chocolate cake looks fabulous.

I wonder how big that aluminum pot is? Four quart? A little big for some trips maybe, but boy is he doing some fantastic looking stuff. I'd like to experiment with some breads and that stuffed bread he made. That looks pretty sweet.

I'd like to find a 5" x 2.5" (or there abouts) silicone baking pan. I'm thinking the silicone would be lighter.

HJ

Interesting. So you don't use the "hood" from the Outback oven? Just the "Scorch Buster" plate? That's not bad in terms of "overhead".

I'd be worried that the hot pad might catch fire (although I guess if it did it wouldn't hurt anything). Carbon Felt like I used can stand a lot of heat, is light, and has good insulative properties.

HJ

And since this is a thread on baking, here's the Adventures in Stoving "spokesmodel" with a muffin.



HJ

You could bake a small loaf of regular bread, using a no-knead recipe if you were so inclined.

Seems like a nifty widget with cool results.

I guess one of the nice things about the set up is that I've barely scratched the surface. I'm thinking a chicken pot pie would be good. The crust would be a lot of work, but if one used bread instead and made like a calzone or stuffed bread, I think that would be really tasty.

Yeah. Like chocolate chip.

If I could find some carbon felt, I'd do that. Maybe I'll ask around. If the hot pad was just on top of the lid I don't think it would burn? I might extend it down the sides of the pot maybe an inch or two by sewing on a strip all around. Just thinking here.

Yes, we just take the heat dispenser plate, and not the rest of the outback oven, so it's minimal "overhead" but again, our muffins do require flipping. That can be an adventure! The plate can be used flipped on either side. One side gives a bigger gap to the stove flame, so gives you even lower heat.

I'm guessing you could even make a dispensing plate from some old scrap metal that will withstand heat, but we already had one laying around so I didn't experiment.

Jim I read your article, but I'm still having trouble seeing this one. So you put a pan in a pan with just heat on the bottom? Is it the air space above doing the baking. I just got a backpackable dutch oven but this is interesting.

Yes, you put a pan in a pan. Then of course a lid on the outer pan with a carbon felt insulator on top of the outer pan's lid. Then on the sides, you've got a windscreen, and the pot fully nestles down inside the windscreen. It's really a little mini dutch oven.


HJ

Sorry, one last question. Any idea what the distance is between the bottom of the pan and the ground? Trying to figure out if my trangia stove on simmer would work with the kit.

If I get a chance, I'll look it up tonight when I get home. It might not be until tomorrow that I get time.

One caution: Temperatures are much higher in baking, possibly even double, than they are in boiling. The max temperature in boiling is generally 212F (unless you're below sea level in Death Valley or something). In baking, the temperatures could get up to 400F or even higher if one were to set the simmer ring too high on an alcohol stove. I warped the heck out of my Ti pot doing some baking experiments with alcohol.

So, if you're going to try baking with the Trangia, start with the simmer ring as low as possible. If you get an aluminum pot too hot, it can warp or worse.

HJ

Well, you could try it. It might get a little blackened around the edges. Even if it burst into flame, all you'd lose is an old hot pad, so why not? Keep a bucket of water nearby in case you need to douse it.

The first stoves from MSR included, or so I am told, a tin can lid for, you guessed it, use as a diffusion plate for simmering.

HJ