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Bread - the edible kind.


mikejkay

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My Chausson has the usual 3 burner hob but no oven. I am travelling in the wilds of Scotland this summer and would like to be able to cook fresh bread. I have read about cooking bread in a dutch oven set in the embers of a fire but a dutch oven is heavy and expensive if bought for the sole purpose of baking bread. Has anyone used different equipment? Could a Pyrex casserole be utilised in the same way as a dutch oven? At risk of being accused of being sexist :-D can any of you ladies out there help.
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Went to Norway and Finland last summer and as bread was expensive we took our breadmaker with us, bought the bread mix for 59p from Lidl before we went, and made it using the inverter as we travelled. Time was 2-3 hours depending on the programme so you had to plan carefully.

 

John

 

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I've also been collecting up some basic bread recipes as I intend to give this a try myself next time we're away for a length of time, so these might be useful to you too:

 

FLAT BREAD

 

Ingredients

• Self-Raising Flour - 500g

• Plain Yoghurt - 500g

• Other ingredients (optional)

• Baking Powder - Level Tsp

• Salt - pinch

 

Method

Mix all ingredients together to form dough then roll into several flatbreads

Place in dry frying pan or on BBQ and cook until golden brown, turn over and cook other side

 

BANNOCK BREAD - 1

 

Ingredients

• Wholemeal flower - 2 Large Handfuls

• Egg - 1

• Salt - 1 Tbsp (optional)

• Plain flower - 2 Large Handfuls

• Water

• Veg or Olive Oil - 3 Tbsp

• Baking powder - 3 Tbsp

 

Method

Put all dry ingredients into bowl and gradually add water

Mix to thick batter consistency - don’t over-mix

Add in optional ingredient(s)

Place some oil in pan, bring it to medium heat (use diffuser)

 

For a Loaf:

Pour all mixture into pan and leave alone

After 5 mins gently loosen the edge of the loaf

After another 3 mins lift edge and check

Once golden brown slide loaf from pan onto plate

Re-oil pan and re-heat then place loaf back in and cook until golden brown

 

For Rolls:

Place several dollops of mixture in pan, cook until golden brown on one side

Take out and put onto plate

Re-oil pan and re-heat then place rolls back in and cook until golden brown

 

BANNOCK BREAD - 2

 

Ingredients

• Self-Raising Flour - 3 Mugs

• Water - 1 Mug

• Sugar - 1 Tsp

• Milk Powder - 2 Mugs

• Baking Powder 1 Tsp

• Oil

 

Method

Put all dry ingredients into bowl and add a mug of water and mix

Place some oil in pan, bring it to medium heat (use diffuser)

Add your seasonal fruits/nuts/berries (optional)

Flatten the dumpling to no more than an inch thick and place in the hot oil

Cook the bread for about 7 mins on each side until golden

Once cooked, break the bread with your hands (don’t use a knife) - the bread will be very hot!

 

BANNOCK BREAD - 3

 

Ingredients

• Self-Raising Flour - 3 Cups

• Water - 1 Cup

• Salt - 1 Tsp

• Milk Powder - ½ Cup

• Sugar - 1 Tsp

• Oil

 

Method

Put all dry ingredients into bowl and add water to make dough

Place some oil in pan, bring it to medium heat (use diffuser)

Flatten the dumpling to no more than an inch thick and place in the hot oil

Cook the bread for about 7 mins on each side until golden

Once cooked, break the bread with your hands (don’t use a knife) - the bread will be very hot!

 

 

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Alternatively you can easily make flatbreads in a frying pan or on a BBQ. We use these from a Jamie Oliver recipe & they are dead simple & jolly good too! Pro-rata the amounts for less bread.

 

Navajo Flatbreads

 

INGREDIENTS

600 g strong white bread flour, plus extra for dusting

1 heaped teaspoon sea salt

2 heaped tablespoons baking powder

1 teaspoon dried herbs or spices, such as thyme, parsley, sumac or crushed fennel seeds, optional

6 tablespoons olive oil

 

Method

 

Mix your flour, salt, baking powder and herbs or spices (if using) in a large bowl, using a fork. Make a well in the centre, then pour in the olive oil and about 150ml of warm water. Use the fork to gradually bring in the flour from the edge of the bowl, and add another splash of water if you think it's too dry. Once it starts to combine, wet your hands and use them to really bring it all together until you have a nice ball of dough.

 

Dust your hands and a clean work surface with flour and knead the dough with your hands until it is smooth and elastic. This will take about 5 to 10 minutes. Pop the dough back into the bowl, dust it with a bit more flour, then cover and leave to relax.

 

Divide your dough into 10 equal-sized balls, then lightly oil your hands and squeeze each ball between your palms to flatten them slightly. Dust with a little flour as you go, and pat and slap the dough from the palm of one hand to the top of the other. Turn and twist the dough about in a circular movement as you go and keep slapping from hand to hand – each flatbread should be about 1cm thick. You'll probably mess up a few, but practice makes perfect.

 

Normally the flatbreads are cooked as you're making them. You can do this on a barbecue or in a non-stick frying pan on a medium heat. Cook them for a few minutes on each side and check the underside – you want them to puff up with a nice bit of golden colour. Keep them warm in a basket covered with a tea towel until you're ready to serve them.

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We always (for me read I) bake our own whole meal bread at home. Best Canadian whole meal flour, yeast, water, honey, hemp oil, four different types of seeds and some chopped walnuts and salt. Great tasting and very healthy in a Panasonic bread maker. Wife won't let me take it away on our travels because of the length of time the smell lingers in the Motor Home. I must admit she's, as always, right but trying to buy whole meal bread that is as good prevents a challange even though we buy from small independent bakers rather than supermarkets. Just for the record Greegs seem to come nearest on a regular and reliable basis.
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mikejkay - 2014-03-24 6:13 PM

 

Thanks for the response. Can you let me know the wattage of your breadmaker? Should be on a plate on the base of the machine. On a separate note, how did you get on with the ferries? Were they expensive?

 

Breadmaker is 500 watt and inverter is 1200 watt

 

Our van is 8.8m long and we were on 4 ferries. On each one we said our length was 8 metres

Prices are from our credit card statement

 

1. Charged as 8.01-10m but didn't charge for 3rd Person Ferry Brimnes-Bruravik

FJORD 1 FYLKESBAT 361.00 NORWEGIAN at 8.81347656 60343553 £40.96

 

2. Charged as 7.01-8m 3 people ferry Manheller-Fodnes

FJORD 1 FYLKESBAT 263.00 NORWEGIAN at 8.81367292 60030030 £29.84

 

 

3. Charged as 6-7m 2 People Ferry Eidsdal-Linge

FJORD 1 MRF 216.00 NORWEGIAN at 8.78048780 60843261 £24.60

 

 

 

4. Charged 7-8m 2 People Ferry Kanestraum-Halsa

FJORD 1 MRF 272.00 NORWEGIAN at 8.83116883 60843366 £30.80

 

The first ferry has probably been replaced with a bridge and a tunnel but will almost certainly have a toll

on it. If you require any more info on Norway PM me.

 

John

 

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If my campervan were bigger I would consider taking my breadmaker with me. Needing fresh bread is usually the main reason for us going out to the shops, it would save that daily trip. And no bought bread, even real French bread, is a match for that home made taste. Or motorhome made, as it were.

And as regards the smell - that's all part of it!!

 

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Thanks for the info. Ferries seem quite cheap. I will probably go next year.

Presumably your inverter is wired up with some pretty hefty cables. I'm in two minds about wiring my inverter. It's 1500w and the cables to to run it at full bore would be enormous but if I limit the attached equipment to 700w/800w it should be manageable.

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You could always try using a Remoska available from Lakeland. I know it makes cakes Ok but have never tried making bread but it says in the book you can and it takes 30 minutes for a recipe for Wholemeal bread. It is only 650 watts. when you get fed up of making bread it will also cook a chicken, baked potatoes, fish pie you name it cooks it. It's brilliant.
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Jeremy, I have just tried your recipe and the results weren't too bad for someone who's better at stripping engines etc. The flatbreads seem ideal preparation for a days mountain climbing in the Highlands. I think that they can also be recommended for use as a stomach liner prior to a night out on the p**s.

Seriously, I think that the recipe calls for too much salt. I also needed a lot more water to obtain a dough. I put some Pumpkin seeds and Sunflower seeds in my mix and they didn't want to stay in! Perhaps my mix was still a bit dry. Maybe I should have wetted the seeds before adding them.

Mine weren't too good because I forgot the part about leaving them to stand before cooking, they did not rise at all. Also, the olive oil that I used had been hanging around for a while.

 

Onward and upward to Mels recipes, They seem to be a bit more difficult,

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mikejkay - 2014-03-30 5:41 PM

 

Jeremy, I have just tried your recipe and the results weren't too bad for someone who's better at stripping engines etc. The flatbreads seem ideal preparation for a days mountain climbing in the Highlands. I think that they can also be recommended for use as a stomach liner prior to a night out on the p**s.

Seriously, I think that the recipe calls for too much salt. I also needed a lot more water to obtain a dough. I put some Pumpkin seeds and Sunflower seeds in my mix and they didn't want to stay in! Perhaps my mix was still a bit dry. Maybe I should have wetted the seeds before adding them.

Mine weren't too good because I forgot the part about leaving them to stand before cooking, they did not rise at all. Also, the olive oil that I used had been hanging around for a while.

 

Onward and upward to Mels recipes, They seem to be a bit more difficult,

 

Mike - Salt is only for taste, so you can reduce to your liking. Pumpkin seed are a bit large - maybe grind them up a bit first. After I posted it I made some the next day - Mine were also a bit stodgy but I think we've had the baking powder in the house for years & I think I over kneaded them. Still quite passable, especially with a big lump of cheddar & a pint or two!

Tell us how the others are?

 

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Mel, Just tried your Bannock bread-2 recipe but I think that I screwed up! I didn't use milk powder and water, I used semiskimmed mile......and too much of it. Had an interesting few minutes with a very wet mix. Finally got it under control with the judicious addition of more flour but I imagine that the quantities of sugar and baking powder were out. The "bread" was more bread-like in texture than Jeremys, which was very chewy. Rose a little more than Jeremys' but only by 60-70%. I'll try and find a recipe that uses dried yeast that might make the dough rise a bit more and give a lighter bread.

Thanks for the recipe though. I will certainly try it out again when I'm on the road. I'm going to buy a small cat iron frying pan to cook bread. Who knows, I might get a bit survivalist and try it over an open fire.

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hallii - 2014-04-01 5:25 PM

 

I am used to making my own bread, flour yeast, proving etc, proper job!

 

I have just purchased a cadec safari chef and I believe that I can make bread using it as an oven.

Has anyone done this?

 

H

 

Afriad I cheated, and have taken my bread maker with me, as not keen on the Spanish bread, also took the flour and yeast etc. I do have an oven in van, and have made pizza bases with the bread maker and cooked in the oven,.Now trying to loose weight so must cut down on bread (OH Dear)

Must say that we usually stay on sites with EHU, so BM not a problem, and fellow campers have enjoyed some too, in the past.

PJay

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