Full Steam Ahead

The Art of Outdoor Baking

By The Bimbler

Having baked numerous times on Meths and Gas camping cookers with varying results I finally discovered the art of steam baking and have never looked back. I’m going to take you down to West Bay Beach now to demonstrate how it’s done…

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Ok here’s my own recipe for Rose, Pistachio and Flaked Almond Muffins which believe me are off the deep end delicious.

The mix goes like this…

2 cups of plain flour

2 Tablespoons of sugar

Half a Teaspoon of Baking Soda

1 Pinch of Sea Salt

1 Tablespoon of Unsalted Pistachios

1 Tablespoon of Flaked Almonds

1 Teaspoon of Coconut or Sunflower Oil

4 Drops of Rose Water

Put everything in a Ziplock bag which you can use later as a makeshift mixing bowl.

When you’re ready add water a little at a time and massage the bag in your hands… I’m told the technical term for this is ‘Shmooshing’

The principle of dry baking is simple enough but the tricky bit is maintaining a steady 180° (the industry standard for cakes) using the combination of small camping pots which are thinner than their domestic counterparts and camping stoves which are generally designed to boil water in the shortest possible time. The result is usually so burnt I sometimes wonder if King Alfred was using a Trangia when he had his cake fail incident.

Steam baking is a gentler introduction to outdoor cooking as it’s almost impossible to burn things using this method. It’s done by putting three small stones in the bottom of a large camping pot, adding a centimeter of water then setting a smaller pan or baking tin on top of the stones so the pans have a gap between them. The golden rule here is to use minimal water and add a little more each time the steam stops. Too much water leads to a slimy inedible mess and conversely if the pan boils dry you’ll quickly find yourself in charcoal territory.

Put the ‘shmooshed’ mixture into Silicon muffin cups which are a great invention, then place them inside the inner pot. I’m using an MSR Titanium pot set here which weighs a remarkably light 272 grams but if you’re new to outdoor cooking I would suggest starting off with a beaten up pan and cake tin from your local charity shop.

Bear in mind you won’t end up with a familiar brown crust by steam baking unless you’re a pro and manage to time it perfectly so as the steam runs out there’s just enough dry baking time left to darken the outside without burning.

The steam bake takes about 20 minutes which gives you a little time to explore

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Come back a bit before the time is up to check how the baking is getting on, most people poke a toothpick into the middle of their cakes using the principle that if it pulls out with nothing stuck to it you’re good to go… but you get extra bimble kudos for using a tent peg (clean of course).