Baking on the playa

jbelson · Post by **jbelson** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 11:33 am

I'm thinking about getting the brinkmann portable propane oven and was wondering if anyone has had experience with them. I've looked for reviews on it, but haven't seen any.
Have any of you baked out there (I'm talking food people)?
I'm still on the fence, not sure if I wanna go thru the trouble.

EvilDustBooger · Post by **EvilDustBooger** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 11:45 am

I haven`t baked at BM, but I`m sure the smell of fresh baking bread would be a splendid addition to the sights and sounds and a great way to interact with your neighborhood. Fresh bread would make nice gifts.
I remember how good those steaks smelled grilling on the Esplanade last year, and this year we are bringing a smoker and hickory wood to flavor a few meals.....and for the fabulous aroma.....

I`ll keep my nostrils peeled for fresh bread smell!
Hope it works out for you!

Martiansky · Post by **Martiansky** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 11:50 am

I've been wondering the same thing. I've been looking at the Coleman foldable ovens that sit on top of your Coleman propane stove for baking. They run about $35.

Fresh bread would be wonderful wouldn't it? Slathered in butter....mmm.
Oh, sorry.

EvilDustBooger · Post by **EvilDustBooger** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 12:02 pm

Any one ever consider making Naan(spelling?)
It`s an Indian/Pakistani type bread cooked on a Tandoor thing or hot rocks....or something. It`s very tasty, great with various dishes and dips. It`s un-leavened type bread that is fairly easy and fast to make....as long as you get the cooker organized. The playa dust may present a challenge with any cooking operation but it might work really well in the desert environment. That`s where it originated....on the run , in the desert.....
It`s not exactly a really crusty-chewy french loaf but maybe a simpler method.....Just a thought.

theCryptofishist · Post by **theCryptofishist** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 12:13 pm

EvilDustBooger wrote:Any one ever consider making Naan(spelling?)
It`s an Indian/Pakistani type bread cooked on a Tandoor thing or hot rocks....or something.

Cow dung perhaps? Not that I recommend that, but sometimes I wonder how far persons will go in thier search for "authenticity."

eta: Yes, Naan is the spelling in the local indian restaurants.

missmann · Post by **missmann** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 12:16 pm

Actually, naan ain't that fast. It's usually yeast leavened, so there's kneading and rest-time involved. On the grand scale, it's still faster than regular bread, and it does bake really fast (like 3 minutes on a pizza stone or inverted cookie sheet in a 450 oven). If anyone is going to attempt naan, I'd suggest making sure you have a spray bottle with some water to mist the inside of the oven, coz it turns out better with a little steam in the oven.
Things that might be easier to pull off on the playa would be quick breads like scones, biscuits, and quickie cinnamon rolls. You could do up a dry mix for the scones and then just add the wet stuff (butter and cream) when you want to make them.

EvilDustBooger · Post by **EvilDustBooger** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 12:29 pm

theCryptofishist wrote:Cow dung perhaps?

..EUW....I hope that isn`t that distinctive flavor that I have grown to treasure down at the Taj Palace Buffet.

theCryptofishist · Post by **theCryptofishist** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 1:27 pm

EvilDustBooger wrote:
theCryptofishist wrote:Cow dung perhaps?
..EUW....I hope that isn`t that distinctive flavor that I have grown to treasure down at the Taj Palace Buffet.

I don't know--are you in Marlburo Country?

phil · Post by **phil** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 1:44 pm

I have a couple of recipes for bannock -- basically bread that you make, then drop on the griddle, cook, turn, cook, eat. One is regular flour and the other is cornbread. Similar to pancakes.

Louise made an oven out of a carboard box and some grill or other. Sat it on our regular BBQ grill and baked a pie. (This was at Eureka Dunes, though, not BM, so it may be off-topic here.) The box didn't catch fire, and she used an oven thermometer to measure heat and determine time to doneness.

See
http://www.cieux.com/bm/bread.html
for recipes and instructions on bannock.

Don't forget solar ovens. See
http://www.dotphoto.com/GuestViewImage. ... =19&IPP=24
for solar oven. Ian (the guy in the picture) made pizza at Eureka Dunes and at Burning Man -- entirely from scratch -- flour, whole cheese, the works. Mmmmmm.

theCryptofishist · Post by **theCryptofishist** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 2:49 pm

So is 4000' high enough for there to be changes in how the batter reacts?

Martiansky · Post by **Martiansky** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 3:49 pm

theCryptofishist wrote:So is 4000' high enough for there to be changes in how the batter reacts?

Let's find out!

Post by **AntiM** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 4:13 pm

I live around 4k, cakes and cookies need adjusting, quick breads and pizza dough less so, pies not at all.

Elemental666 · Post by **Elemental666** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 4:17 pm

Can you bake in a solar oven? The kind that is basically a foil lined box with a piece of glass for the top?

diane o'thirst · Post by **diane o'thirst** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 6:00 pm

Brinkmann...is that the thingie on Cabela's site with the small oven and two burners on top?

I was thinking of getting one of those.

Don't know about the solar oven, haven't tried it yet. Did make tortillas out there, as well as pizza (oh, the pizza stories I could tell you!

)

Be prepared for a LOT of people coming to schmooze with you, and dough proofs riotously on the Playa. It will triple in half the time and come shoggothing out of your proofing bucket. The way I handled hangers-on was I put them to work. "When's the bread gonna be ready?" was answered with "Get your ass in here and help me make it."

phil · Post by **phil** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 6:19 pm

So is 4000' high enough for there to be changes in how the batter reacts?

Not with the recipes I use -- no difference between here at 10 feet above sea level and 4 grand over sea level.

phil · Post by **phil** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 6:21 pm

Can you bake in a solar oven? The kind that is basically a foil lined box with a piece of glass for the top?

That's not what Ian used -- see the photo in the link I posted. His is an expensive, purpose-built solar oven. I've camped with him twice when he's baked pizzas, so it definitely works for that. Cakes, pies, turkeys, and such, I have no clue.

robotland · Post by **robotland** » Fri Jul 22, 2005 10:22 am

diane o'thirst wrote: It will triple in half the time and come shoggothing out of your proofing bucket. "

Mmmmm....Cthulhu bread!

diane o'thirst · Post by **diane o'thirst** » Fri Jul 22, 2005 10:46 am

We used to have a standing joke in bread class that if the dough jumped up out of the mixer and bitch-slapped your benchmate, the gluten was developed and it was ready to proof...