Keeping baked goods fresh on the playa

[joya]

Is this possible?

I am thinking of things like brownies, etc.

I've done a search but obviously not correctly.

Any suggestions? I've never brought a perishable to the playa, but am thinking it would be nice to enjoy some baked goods of sorts while we're there.

I'd most likely have to bake whatever I make at least a week and a half in advance of actually getting there (damn schedule constraints)... so I wonder do I freeze what I want to bring and then try to keep it cool in a cooler or something? I dunno...

Thanks for any advice you can impart on this subject. :)

thanks!

[Nitevenus]

I would say anything if you can keep it cool and dry. Wrapped in paper towel and in zip lock or air tight container. Heat causes moisture to form inside containers. If you freeze ahead of time, cool completely before freezing in air tight container. Once thawed separate in layers with paper towel. You may have to change out paper layers for dry ones. Bread doesn't stand much of a chance without staying cool or mold forms quickly. Black Rock Bakery camp has solar ovens and they are planning cookie and brownie days. They invite people to come to their camp and bake. Check the theme camp explainations.

Same goes for some fresh veggies, cool and fairly dry. I wrap lettuce, cauliflower, brocolli with paper towel and then into large zip locks so it stays loose. Keep all away from wet melted ice and you can enjoy perishables.

[ygmir]

one might think, keeping things fresh on the playa no different, than keeping them fresh anywhere?
What would be done, at home, to keep them?

Unless, you're talking about doing like those nutty Norwegians a couple of years ago and burying a fish to find the next year.

[joya]

hmmmm... cool and dry. Okay, I'll give it a shot. Thanks Nitevenus.

ygmir, when I'm home I keep brownies, etc. in the freezer... not possible on the playa

[ygmir]

hmmmm... cool and dry. Okay, I'll give it a shot. Thanks Nitevenus.

ygmir, when I'm home I keep brownies, etc. in the freezer... not possible on the playa

well.....dry ice? just sayin', you can replicate, and low tech, most of what you do at home.
not hacking on you.

[jpstiffin]

One year I was lucky enough to camp next to a couple from Nevada. They brought homemade chocolate chip cookies that they kept in a plain tupperware container. They were marvelous and were just as good on Thursday, as they had been the previous Monday.

[joya]

hmmmm... cool and dry. Okay, I'll give it a shot. Thanks Nitevenus.

ygmir, when I'm home I keep brownies, etc. in the freezer... not possible on the playa

well.....dry ice? just sayin', you can replicate, and low tech, most of what you do at home.
not hacking on you.

hey, it's okay ygmir. didn't think you were hacking. :)

heh, I'm scared of dry ice! I think I'm going to freeze off one of my digits. Maybe it's time to confront that fear though.

OR... it sounds like cookies might keep better than brownies. Thanks jpstiffin.

[C.f.M.]

Last year I splurged on a lot of gluten-free baked goods. They all went rotten before I could eat them.

I never would have guessed, given the dry climate, that'd happen.

Best I could tell, all this...condensation or whatever welled up inside the packaging and rotted it.

[mudpuppy000]

Last year I splurged on a lot of gluten-free baked goods. They all went rotten before I could eat them.

I never would have guessed, given the dry climate, that'd happen.

Best I could tell, all this...condensation or whatever welled up inside the packaging and rotted it.

I think that might have something to do with it. I had bagels and left the bag open to let any moisture out. They were also in a storage container in my car (shaded) so I don't think they got too hot. Then again bagels seem to take a while to get moldy...

[Savannah]

I've kept whole grain bread edible for the week by opening it up for 20 or 30 minutes every day to let the condensation out (point the open end away from the direction the wind is coming from). This year I'm bringing tortillas as well, and using the same trick. I tend to concentrate meals involving bread to the first 4-5 days just in case, though.

I think brownies and cookies would keep for the same amount of time in tupperware, shaded. As in the default world, though, brownies or cookies taste better within the first few days of existence anyway.

[portaplaya]

Keeping it cool is important because heat creates humidity in the air tight container, and then heat plus moisture = mold.

Airtight is important because the super low humidity of the playa will dry out bread products to an inedible state in about 2-3 hours.

Our camp served English tea time, with cookies and cakes. Ice chest and zip-lock bags were enough for the whole week. Although we did freeze them before packing since that meant that the ice for traveling lasted longer.

[LittleJack]

I advocate just baking on site. So much tastier! Here are 3 ovens to consider, from least to most expensive:

Coleman Camp Oven (sits on your camp stove), $39.95 http://bit.ly/akQBTI
Coleman Portable Oven (propane powered), $129.99 http://bit.ly/9stEAA
Camp Chef Camping Outdoor Oven with 2 Burner Camping Stove (hardcore full propane kitchen), $172.46 http://amzn.to/9rAgZd

If you decide to go this route, I prefer brownies or chocolate chip cookies, and I'm staying in Hushville.

-Little Jack

[LyraS]

I advocate just baking on site. So much tastier! Here are 3 ovens to consider, from least to most expensive:

Coleman Camp Oven (sits on your camp stove), $39.95 http://bit.ly/akQBTI
Coleman Portable Oven (propane powered), $129.99 http://bit.ly/9stEAA
Camp Chef Camping Outdoor Oven with 2 Burner Camping Stove (hardcore full propane kitchen), $172.46 http://amzn.to/9rAgZd
-Little Jack

That first little oven is so cute!! I was also planning to bake several batches of cookies before arriving, I hadn't thought of baking on-site...

And joya, a friend told me her cookies were just fine in tupperware containers kept out of direct sunlight.

[joya]

Our camp served English tea time, with cookies and cakes.

mmmm, that sounds nice.

thanks all for the tips... think I'm either going to try the dry ice or just try keeping things as cool and dry as possible. I'll be sure to bring enough to share too!

Can't wait! ...

[peachandpapa]

We use the Coleman Camp Oven that sits on the burner. It works great, but it only fits an 8"x8" pan. We bake scones, cookies, and small pizzas a few times during the week.

[Boijoy]

My neighbor one year had one of those little coleman ovens & made cinnamon rolls one morning. they were awesome! I took cookies and brownies one year & keept them on ice in ziplocs. they were fine.