Very Frugal Gourmet

Surely this was a dream. Breakfast deep in the backcountry had always taken on an unappealing familiarity: cold granola, sticky oatmeal, something unidentifiable dumped into lukewarm water in hopes it would dissolve completely before I tried to swallow it. But this cold Wind River morning, waiting for the sun to crawl over the ridge before abandoning the security of my bag, unfamiliar aromas sat me upright under the sheltering tarp. There was fresh coffee, and—yes—the warm smell of baking yeast. . .

"Let's go," said the woman in the midst of my dream, standing at the camp stove and smiling. "Cinnamon rolls are almost ready."

Served hot, the melting butter dribbled over my fingers. "Great! Wonderful! Terrific!" I searched futilely for superlatives, knowing I had found a backpacking partner I didn't want to lose. That was over a decade ago, and we're still baking together. The longer the trip, the more we appreciate these freshly baked luxuries in our diet.

Option 1 - Stove-Top Baking

The Tools
You will need one deep (1-1/2'' to 2") non-stick fry-bake pan with a lid that fits snugly. Your batter or dough should not over-fill the pan. Half-full is a good gauge or the rising that ensues when you bake may cause the batter to overflow or minimally stick to the lid. The lid must fit tightly to ensure that you adequately trap the required amount of heat. If your pan is smaller than this, merely cut the recipes in half and proceed as directed. We like the large pan even for the two of us because if you are going to the trouble of baking, it's rewarding to have leftovers.

The Heat
You will need a source of bottom heat. In this case, a backpacking stove that simmers well. In preparation for Stove-Top baking, light your chosen stove and adjust it to a simmer. You should be able to hold your hand comfortably about 10 inches above the stove, but still feel your hand being warmed. Too hot is generally more of a problem than too cold.

Equally as important as bottom heat is a source of top heat. Traditionally, this is where you build a small, hot, twiggy fire on top of your lid. Recently, we have discovered the Pot Parka, a convection dome marketed by Traveling Light. We will discuss both options.

Stove-Top Baking With The Twiggy Fire
Gather a pile of pencil-sized or smaller twigs. Light your stove and let it run at its lowest heat. Put the baking pan, with secure lid, on the stove, and build a twiggy fire on the lid. Spread the fire out evenly on the lid, and feed it enough wood to keep it burning. It's almost impossible to generate too much heat on the lid. Every 4 to 5 minutes rotate the pan clockwise to ensure even baking on the bottom. Use a couple of sticks to make rotating the pan simple and painless. Total cooking time usually runs 30 to 40 minutes. After 20 to 30 minutes, or if you start to smell the rich aroma, carefully lift off the lid and check the progress, just to be safe. DON'T LIFT THE LID TOO OFTEN, or you will keep losing the heat needed to bake the goodie. When the dough is cooked, it has a firm crust and sounds hollow when you thump it. Set the pan off the stove, but continue to burn the twiggy fire on top until nothing is left except a fine ash that can be scattered harmlessly.

Stove-Top Baking With The Convection Dome
This item has revolutionized our Stove-Top baking. Follow the directions for baking with a twiggy fire only skip the twiggies. The convection dome, or Pot Parka, surrounds the fry-bake pan trapping all the heat around and on top of the pan. You have a light-weight mini-oven! Although the twiggy fire works great, the convection dome cuts down on baking time (about 30%), and the chance of fire. It folds neatly into the pan for travel. We love it and go nowhere without it. Basically, what you're doing is converting your pan into the Outback Oven.

Option 2 - Flip-Baking

Flip-baking is faster. You end up with a still tasty yet denser version of your stove-top baked bread. It is useful if you are in a rush, you forgot your convection dome (heaven forbid), twiggy supply in the area is low, or the fire danger is high. Merely oil your fry-bake pan, place the dough or batter inside, and flip carefully when it is done on one side. Cook until both sides are toasty and the middle is not gooey. Time per side depends on thickness of the dough and the heat of the stove. To prevent "black on the outside, goo on the inside," flip-bake over medium heat with the lid in place. We traditionally flip-bake pancakes, pan biscuits, chapatis, tortillas, johnnycakes, and many other things when we're too hungry to wait.

Essential Batter Mix

The initial Essential Batter Mix ingredients will vary little from pancakes to quick breads to pie crust. What will vary is the consistency of the batter and the additional ingredients (the ingredients that make it special). For example, pancake batter needs to be lumpless and pour easily; muffins and cakes need to be thicker but still pour if encouraged; and biscuit dough needs to be just that, dough (sticky, but you can form it into a ball and it stays there). These recipes will include some ideas about amounts of fluid needed, but the best plan is to add water slowly until the batter is the desired consistency.

B2's Essential Batter Mix
2 cups flour
1/3 to 1/2 Cup dry milk
4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 Cup margarine or shortening
1/2 tsp. salt (optional)
Water

How Much Water?

For Pancake Batter:
About 2 cups. Batter should run off spoon easily.
For Cake Batter About 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 cups. Batter should walk off spoon quickly.

For Muffin/Quick Bread Batter:
About 1 1/4 to 1-1/2 cups. Batter should drop off spoon into pan, but not in a huge rush. This batter is about twice as thick as pancakes.

For Biscuit Batter:
About 1 cup. This batter is quite stiff but still sticky You have to push it off the spoon or press it into a pan. It will not go anywhere by itself.

Important: Altitude

The thing that most seriously affects baking is altitude. The higher you go the less leavening agent (baking powder) you will need. So when making your Essential Batter Mix, either at home or on the trail, think about your altitude and adjust your ingredients appropriately. Also, buy double-acting baking powder. It releases its leavening in two stages so cakes won't rise too fast. If you do not adjust for the altitude your baked goods will expand out of your pan, crumble into a small pile, and be otherwise inedible without rolling them into crumb balls or eating them with a spoon.

Baking Powder: Use double-acting.
0-3500 feet: Use 4 tsp. per 2 cups of flour.
3500-6500: Use 3 1/2 tsp. per 2 cups of flour.
6500-8500: Use 3 tsp. per 2 cups of flour.
8500-10,000: Use 2 1/2 tsp. per 2 cups of flour.
Over 10,000: Use 2 tsp. and an extra egg (2 Tbs. powdered egg) per 2 cups of flour.

There are more exact adjustments, but this works. If the recipe calls for considerable sugar, many people cut back a tablespoon or two as they gain elevation. I don't usually worry about it, but using too much sugar at the high altitudes may make your cakes fall by destroying their cell structure.

Commercial Mixes
Commercial mixes are prepared for sea level—in fact most have altitude adjustments on the packaging. We discovered this when we built our cabin at 9200 feet. Our first cake mixes expanded like horror movie special effects all over the oven. To combat this dilemma, you must add extra flour to the mixes. Also, add some extra water to compensate or the extra flour and the fact that water evaporates faster at these drier heights. Please don't be overwhelmed. Use the guidelines below to adjust your commercial mixes before baking.

For every two cups of mix add:
3500-6500 feet: 2 Tbs. each flour and water.
6500-8500 feet: 3 Tbs. each flour and water.
8500-10,000 feet: 4 Tbs. (1/4 cup) each flour and water.
Above 10,000 feet: 4 Tbs. (1/4 cup) each flour and water and an extra egg.

Essential Pan Biscuits

2 cups Essential Batter Mix
3/4 cup water.

Helpful Hints: Mix wet with dry ingredients. Form into a ball. Knead lightly (about 30 seconds). Pinch off balls of dough and form into patties (1/2" thick) and fry in buttered frying pan a few minutes per side.

Style Points: Serve smothered in syrup or gravy.

Thanks to Ardath Drown Gray and Elsie Emmons Cummings who had the courage to teach a small girl how to make biscuits and let her practice. "Cut the shortening with your hands. It's the only way they come out right." 

Variations On The Theme

Buttermilk Biscuits: Make the Essential Batter with buttermilk powder and proceed as in Pan Biscuits.

Bacon Biscuits: Add 1/3 cup bacon bits to Essential Pan Biscuits and proceed as above.

Cheese And Garlic Biscuits: Add 1/2 cup grated cheese and 1/2 tsp. garlic powder to Essential Pan Biscuits.

Herb Biscuits: Add 1/2 tsp. dry mustard, 1/2 tsp. sage and 1 1/4 tsp. caraway seeds to Essential Pan Biscuits. Other herbs work well too.


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