Monday, May 27, 2013

Dutch Oven Baking Temperature Guide for outdoor camp baking!



I'm excited to share the segment that we did on Fox 10 Phoenix!  I had a lot of fun there with my Dutch oven and some camping stoves.  There's a lot to cover in 3 minutes and I'm certain I missed some details! 

Basic Baking in a Dutch Oven:
It turns out there is a very technical way of knowing the internal temperature of a dutch oven.
  • I use a Lodge Camp Dutch Oven 14 Inch wide and 5 inches deep. It is just about the perfect size for a 9 inch pie pan or pan of dinner rolls. The deeper 5 inch pan is preferred for baking.
  • To determine the temperature of the oven, you use what is called, "the rule of 4." If the oven is 14 inches, you subtract 4. You will need 10 coals on the bottom of the dutch oven and twice that many on top of the dutch oven to get the internal temperature to 325 degrees (preheating 20 minutes). Adding 5-7 minutes to the baking time on most items.
  • Add two coals to the bottom and 4 to the top for every additional 25 degrees you want inside your oven. So...for 400 degrees we added 4 to the bottom and 8 to the top.
  • Once hot, use a metal hook to take off the lid, with the coals still on top: A fruit pie generally takes about 45 minutes to bake (50-55) in the dutch oven. Pizza or rolls, 30-35 minutes.


Get the printable of the Dutch oven baking temperature guide here


Number of Coals per Baking Temperature for Dutch Oven Cooking
by Lodge® Mfg.


Oven Size
(Second column is the # of coals on top/bottom)


8"
10"
12"
14"
T
e
m
p
e
r
a
t
u
r
e
325°
(slow)
15
10/5
19
13/6
23
16/7
30
20/10
350°
(slow - moderate)
16
11/5
21
14/7
25
17/8
32
21/11
375°
(moderate)
17
11/6
23
16/7
27
18/9
34
22/12
400°
(moderate - hot)
18
12/6
25
17/8
29
19/10
36
24/12
425°
(hot)
19
13/6
27
18/9
31
21/10
38
25/13
450°
(very hot)
20
14/6
29
19/10
33
22/11
40
26/14

I used the Volcano 2 Stove for holding up the Dutch oven. 
I highly recommend the EcoZoom Rocket Stoves
For firestarting, I love to use AZ Prepper's Firestarting Kits.

There you go my darlings! Onward and upward!

Always My Very Best,
Your Friend Chef Tess


2 comments:

Karen D. from Florida said...

Oh, I have to know where to get the kitchen kit! I love it! We have a kitchen box from REI that goes with us every time we camp, but that black case would be perfect for organizing the small items. Where did you purchase that?

Chef Tess said...

The kitchen kit I got at Honeyville farms store in Phoenix, but you can fine it at GSI outdoors.com :

http://www.gsioutdoors.com/products/pdp/destination_kitchen_set_24/kitchen_sets_tools