Early on in my survival preparations, I bought lots of whole wheat flour and yeast packets for making bread. Flour is a lot cheaper than MRE’s and it takes up less space. Then one day my wife said, “If a disaster happens and the power is out, how are you going to bake bread?”
Good question. And I felt pretty stupid because I didn’t have an answer. After a little research, I learned that as long as you can get a fire going, there are many things you can do with your bread ingredients.
1. Fry It
Donuts are just fried bread and sugar. Simply mix the dough as instructed and let it rise. Instead of forming a loaf, split it into two large pieces and pat them down until they’re about a 1/2 inch thick. Now let them rise again until they’re a full inch thick.
Meanwhile, heat a pan of oil over your fire and when the bread is ready, slip one of the pieces into the pan. When the bottom is brown, flip it over and fry the other side. Repeat with the other piece. When your bread is ready, drain off the excess oil, tear off a piece and enjoy. A little butter and honey or syrup and some powdered sugar will make them a delicious treat that is good anytime, whether you’re in a disaster scenario or not.
2. Boil It
Bagels are bread that is boiled and then baked. First form your dough into a bagel shape and let it rise. While you’re waiting, get a fire going and place a pot of water over it. When the dough has doubled in size and the water is boiling rapidly, slip your bagels into the water. When the bread is firm, remove it and let it dry. Finally, fry the bagels in a lightly oiled skillet. This creates a crust and improves the taste.
3. Bake It
Yes, not everything has to be baked in an oven. All that is necessary is heat from above and below. This can be done with most outdoor grills, but if your grill doesn’t have a cover, just use a bucket or something similar to capture the heat and direct it down toward the bread. You’ll want as much heat coming from above as below which means you don’t want your bread to be too close to the flame.
Try putting something underneath the bread pan such as a brick. If you don’t have a grill, create a makeshift oven. First, put the bottom pan on some warm coals. Then put a lid, baking sheet, or another pan on top. Finally, stack some hot coals on top.
As a kid Dad taught me to make a reflector oven using a cardboard box and aluminum foil. We used it for most of our meals for a week. Yeast rolls with dinner and baking powder biscuits for breakfast. Bread pudding with apples in a foil pan after there were left overs for a few days. Also dough rolled in an 8″ long twist around a 1″ thick fresh willow branch and cooked by holding it over hot coals. My kids loved that as much as I had. Like toasting marshmallows without catching them on fire. It can be either a yeast dough or a baking powder dough. The yeast dough would need some rising time unless you’re using a quick rise yeast.
You can also fry both kinds if dough. Roll or pat out out like a tortilla and fry in hot oil on each side till golden.
Right on keep up the good work and will do
This is where having cast iron cookware is important because you can cook in open campfires, fireplaces.grills,on top of wood stoves. With practice, you can cook ANYTHING in cast iron that you cook in a regular oven!
Heck, use a solar oven. Even heat, even if you have to move the oven every 15 mins or so. What else ya going to do? The power is out…but the sun is on!
You can make bread in a camp fire by using a dutch oven. Having one is a good idea anyway. Its a very versatile tool.
Great ideas! Thanks for sharing them:)
Urban Alan
If youre wife was in Girl scout she should have learned how to bake bread without an oven. My wife taught her Girl scouts how to do it.
Papa Bear