Best Camp Bread Recipes

_GETTING BREAD IN CAMP

Steps:

• I can't remember exactly which chapter and verse in the "Good Book" mentions bread as being the staff of life, but even back then camp cooks included bread on the menu. I'm not saying bread is a must at every meal, but I wouldn't advise trying to feed a bunch of hungry campers for a week without it. Two days would be my best guess as to how long it would take before they got kinda surly. Though not mentioned specifically in the "Good Book", I suspect when Moses headed for the mountain to try and sort out all his troubles, no bread in camp was on his list. Should you forget to pack it or run out, as did Moses and his camp, deliverance through prayer would be an option. (However, don't have high expectations of seeing french toast scattered about on the ground and a six point bull hanging on the meat pole the next morning when you peek out of the tent!) It doesn't matter whether you're car camping, horse packing, or beaching your raft on a cobble bar, bread can "make a meal". Other than car camping, when space is not such a limitation, packing bread gets to be a real pain. For instance, try horse packing enough loaves of bread into camp to keep five or six hungry elk hunters in sandwiches for a week. You'd end up with one pack horse which appears to be fully loaded, but in reality is only carrying fifteen pounds. Then, no matter how carefully you pack, it's always half mashed when you get to camp. Dough ball sandwiches for a whole week might haunt a camp cook for the remainder of his life. Hope exists though, read on to find out how to get to camp and get bread too!With but one exception, I never pack store bought bread on a horse or raft trip. On raft trips I will take a couple of the round brown and serve loaves of sourdough bread. These fit perfectly in a 12-inch Dutch and make great garlic bread on spaghetti night. In place of "sliced bread" I pack flour tortillas and/or pita bread. Both pack in a fraction of the space and with the exception of trying to make french toast, make great substitutes for sliced bread. A couple of squeeze bottles with mayo and mustard make off road sandwiches a breeze to fix. Squirt a little mayo and mustard on a flour tortilla, roll up a couple of slices of your favorite sandwich meat and or cheese and you're done. Peanut butter and jelly works for the kids. If you want sandwiches to put in your day pack while hiking or hunting, use the pocket pita bread instead. In addition, the "torts" work just as well as "sliced bread" for sopping up gravy etc.Fresh baked in camp qualifies as the ultimate bread experience in my book. (Which I like to think is a "Good Book", too.) Whether sourdough, from scratch, or a dry prepared mix, your companions will hold you in very high esteem if your menu includes hot fresh bread. The camp cook who graces his table with such fare rarely requires the power of prayer to deliver him from evil especially any perpetrated by his companions! ** The individual (s) who speaks badly of any cook that bakes bread, should be remanded to REMEDIAL CAMPING 101 until a member of the clergy certifies that such a sinner(s), through penance and other sanctions, has admitted the error of his or her ways! A Back Country Guide to Outdoor Cooking Spiced with Tall Tales - Bread in Camp

PAN DE CAMPO (CAMP BREAD)

Steps:

• 1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
• 2. In a bowl mix together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Add the vegetable oil, and stir gently. Add milk, one cup at a time. Dough should be a little sticky.
• 3. Dust a bread board or counter and begin to knead the dough two to three minutes (don't over-work it or it'll become dense and tough).
• 4. Divide dough in half. Roll out each half with a rolling pin to about 1/2 inch thick and place on an ungreased baking sheet.
• 5. Place baking sheet in oven and bake for about 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown.

CAMP BREAD

Steps:

• In an electric mixer with a dough hook, add flour, olive oil, kosher salt, and black pepper. Turn on mixer to medium speed.
• Stir yeast into warm water. Pour into flour mixture and mix until dough looks smooth.
• Remove dough from mixer and place on floured surface. Gently knead for 1 minute.
• Add finely chopped fresh herbs or chiles, if desired.
• Cut dough into four equal parts. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap; refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
• Unwrap dough and place on well-floured surface. Dust dough with flour and flatten dough with hands.
• Let dough rest for about 10 minutes then stretch (as if it were pizza dough) pulling the dough out.
• Shape into rectangles then brush with olive oil; season with salt and pepper.
• On a medium hot grill, cook bread for 3 to 4 minutes per side. For citrus flavor, squeeze freshly squeezed lemon or lime juice over dough while it's grilling.
• Serve immediately.

NO-KNEAD BREAD OR CAMP FIRE BREAD RECIPE - (3.6/5)

Steps:

• Mix 4 ingredients till combined. Cover with foil and let sit in a warm place for 12 - 18 hours. Preheat oven to 450ºF. when ready to bake. Place cast iron pot in the oven to warm for 30 minutes. (Can use a nice pot like Le Creuset or just your average rusty dutch oven, minus rust!) While the pot is warming, dump your dough out onto a heavily floured surface. While it has been sitting, it has been turning into a wet, bubbly goo. (I may add other ingredients at this point. I use 1/2 chopped, sauteed onion, 2-3 cloves garlic, 1-2 Tablespoons olive oil and 1 heaping Tablespoon Rosemary. Yummy) So dump it out and dust it with flour. Turn it over a couple times just so it forms into a ball. Cover with a towel and let sit for up to 2 hours, or until you pot is heated. Then place the ball of dough into the pot. Cover with lid and bake at 450)F. for 30 minutes. Remove lid and bake for an additional 15 minutes. The bread should sound hollow when tapped.