Is there such a thing as an oven that works by placing it on top of a woodstove? Seems like there should be an easy way to use my heat stove to bake bread. If not, what the hell am I gonna do with all that wheat? I can eat only so much wheat grass. Skillet bread, I suppose.

-- (rcarver@inacom.com), June 18, 1999

Answers

There is such a thing as a "coleman oven". You can find them at 2nd hand stores and yard sales occasionally. You can find them on ebay occasionally. They look like nice little units, they actually don't look too hard to make, they are basically like a box that sits on top of a coleman stove with vents in the bottom for the heat to go in, and a door in front to put the bread in, and a thermometer built into the door, so you can see what the temp is in there. In the meantime, learn how to make "flat bread". There was a post not too long ago about pilot bread. You can also learn to make east indian chapatis. Those are great, because they are soft, you can use them like a soft tortilla to wrap up other food inside them and you can also use them like a eating utensil like they do in India. They are EASY.

-- nobody (nobody@nowhere.net), June 18, 1999.

I read this on another post somewhere: To make an "oven" get a turkey roaster (oval) with a lid. Drill 3/8" holes on the bottom of the pan and on the lid. Place aluminum foil on the bottom of the pan to prevent food burning and place a metal/wire rack inside the pan. Put this over fire/flame and Viola, instant "oven"...also, buy a candy thermometer (long fat thermometer)and drill a hole equal to it's size to place in the lid to "guage" the "oven" temperature.

-- NSmith (nitnat3@aol.com), June 18, 1999.

Saw a Coleman camp oven at Gander Mountain ( outdoor type store here in Wi.) earlier in the week.

-- kozak (kozak@formerusaf.guv), June 18, 1999.

Basically, anything that captures the heat and allows you to raise the pot or pan off the surface would do. Helps to be able to tell the temperature. A dutch oven with a trivet works. Bought my aluminum camping oven (the box variety with a thermometer) from FoxHill.

Once you put food into the "oven", the temperature goes down, so it can be hard to regulate. I successfully baked stuff at 425 plus degrees last winter, but in order to keep the oven hot enough, I had to open the windows wide.

I think part of the trick is to find non-fussy recipes for lower temperatures, like no more than 350 degrees.

Look also for recipes which steam the food instead, like brown bread or steamed puddings. Ideal for a wood stove.

-- Brooks (brooksbie@hotmail.com), June 18, 1999.

Try working with a metal"country mailbox"

-- A. Hambley (a.hambley@usa.net), June 18, 1999.

Thanks for the advice. I tend to make it too complicated. Dutch oven on a trivet. Of course! Doh!

-- (rcarver@inacom.com), June 18, 1999.

No, no, place the trivet IN, not under, the dutch oven. You *want* the dutch oven laying on the surface of the wood stove. Also, leave room for an oven thermometer. (The advantage of the real camping oven setup is that there is an externally-viewable thermometer - which I can read across the room with my binoculars without disturbing my laptop and lapcat [g].)

-- Brooks (brooksbie@hotmail.com), June 18, 1999.

Coleman stove ovens are available on the open market and are not rare commodities. We have used ours very sucessfully to bake bread and other items.

They do take a little experimentation to learn to use. The temperature is not as stable as a normal oven due to the lack of insulation surrounding the body. This is not a huge problem.

Just get one and try it out. Rocket Science this ain't.

-Greybear

-- Got Baking Pans? (of all sizes)

-- Greybear (greybear@home.com), June 18, 1999.

I would actually recommend the trivet, but placing a pizza stone on top of it and then using a wooden palette with a long handle and some coarsely ground corn meal and/or parchment paper to prevent the bread from sticking. Make sure the stone is good and hot before putting the dough onto it.

-- nothere nothere (notherethere@hotmail.com), June 18, 1999.

I bought a Coleman oven at Warmart for less then $40. Looks good to me.

-- Homeschooling Grandma (mlaymon@glenn-co.k12.ca.us), June 19, 1999.

If you can find older Coleman oven they hold heat better than newer. They are a bit thicker guage and made of steel.

-- && (&&@&&.&), June 19, 1999.

We had success baking corn muffins and bread in our regular oven by doing the following:

Get a rectangular cake pan.

Put red hot coals from wood stove, or use charcoal, into the cake pan.

put the cake pan in the bottem of your regular oven ( or on a low placed rack )

Leave the oven cracked a little to allow air circulation and to control temp. Use an oven temp. guage to get your 350 - 400 degrees for baking bread or muffins, etc.. Experiment with the amount of coals needed for the desired temp.

By the way, we are using the pre-prepared bread mixes that are used for electric bread machines. More expensive, but much easier. They can be used in conventional ovens.

-- Joe (rpja38a@prodigy.com), June 19, 1999.