Campfire Baking
Summer means many things to many people but for some, it undoubtedly means heading out in the RV or pitching a tent somewhere remote. This does not mean one cannot bake though. All through history men and women have used fire to bake, modern people (you and me) have just been lucky that someone figured out how to control fire and use it in a large metal box that fits in your cupboard. Before this accomplishment, cooks used the camp oven or what we call the Dutch oven today. The term Dutch oven derives either from the method perfected by the Dutch for making the pots or from the nationality of the people typically selling the pots. Most Dutch ovens are cast iron, some are coated with enamel and some not, but others may be aluminum or ceramic. The heat of the oven is determined by coal placement, which is under the oven and on top of the lid. With a little practice, the heat can be controlled very much like a conventional oven.
There are many good sources for recipes and tips for Dutch oven cooking. A few of the sites are:
The MacScouter - Scouting Resources Online
Northwest Dutch Oven Society
Lone Star Dutch Oven Society
International Dutch Oven Society
Japanese Dutch Oven Society
A few manufacturers of Dutch ovens are:
Camp Chef
MACA Supply Company - Personalized lids
Lodge Manufacturing
Le Creuset - who refer to their ovens as “French Ovens”
Additional information sourced from Wikipedia articles Outdoors Cooking and Dutch oven. Pictures from the MACA Supply Company and Lodge Manufacturing websites.
