When it comes to roasting and baking in camp for more than two or three, Dutch oven cooking is indeed the way to go. But DO requires campfires; universal in the US car camping world, but I get the impression not so in many other places. When it comes to biscuits, cakes, cinnamon rolls, and other breads, the Coleman oven is very reliable and useful, and we've done these many times with fine results. We do put some aluminum foil over the top of the oven.
I don’t understand the logic there, the oven in my kitchen at home works fine for one, two or a crowd, a dutch oven is the same? Dutch ovens don’t require campfires, in fact many if not most people use charcoal briquettes for convenience and especially the consistency of the heat output. The recipes usually list how many briquettes are needed for the lid and underneath.
@Fettler, I don't understand the logic here, but understand Ed's well. For a small quantity you can use other baking options, but for a large quantity @Ed Winskill is saying there is only the camp oven. I have seen an oven from home used with a camp fire supplying heat. There are earth ovens. Ed isn't really ruling these out, just not advocating them. And Ed's reason for commenting on options is in the final 1/2 a sentence of his first paragraph: what is true in the USA is not true everywhere. In Australia at least, an open fire is an open fire. What you burn on it is irrelevant. And most campsites here ban open fires. Staying at a "car camping" site in Australia would rule out a Dutch Oven. But they are almost mandatory with 4x4 campers.
I don't perceive the fault, if any, in my logic, but my point was that cooking of larger roasts, big bread loaves, and such in camp are best done with Dutch Ovens, and that the main use of the Coleman oven from my point of view is with biscuits (scones), cinnamon rolls, and like breads. Fettler points out that one can use DOs with charcoal briquettes, which I had heard of but have not done myself. That would address the 'campfire problem', where it exists. Here's some breakfast buscuits 'from scratch': 'Tube biscuits':
Looking back some years on the site, here are a couple of Dutch Oven examples. Roast chicken and a loaf of bread on the campfire: This one shows the Coleman oven and the DO. The DO, placed atop the wood stove, roasted two chickens; set them to the side for biscuits in the Coleman, followed by hot dinner.
@Ed Winskill Your wood stove looks like the one I use in my cabin, a two dog stove, from the three dog stove co.
Yeah, I interpreted it as the dutch oven is only useful when cooking for more than 2 or 3 people. Dutch oven cooking definitely has a learning curve, make no mistake. Cooking in general outdoors regardless of method is usually a bit trickier than at home. Then to add to the mix things like adjustments for higher altitudes or cold windy weather, bone dry air in the deserts, all that stuff tends to add up. It just looks to me that the inherent heavy mass of iron and heat retention is going to typically achieve better results in baking with a lot less fuss. I like the idea of the Coleman oven, but I’m not sure it would actually get used very often. Anyone try practicing with it at home, on their kitchen range gas stove? Also if you can bounce the “heat indicator” displayed temperature against an accurate thermometer at midrange it should be possible to tweak the spring tab just a bit and get it to read reasonably close-er.
Strange Sunday dinner I must admit. Biscuits and gravy using Pillsbury Grand tube type. Little breeze blowing nothing strong and had good results with 413B and oven. Took 20 minutes to pre-heat with 1"x9" tile inside. After around 20 minutes baking they looked very nice. The shallow pie tin may have helped with top browning? To be honest would be happy if all looked this nice. Daryl Hot SoCal
Looks good Daryl. I have an old, dual-walled Perfection camp oven that says preheat for 5 minutes (I think, will look in the morn). Using my Coleman ovens I don't preheat very long at all, seems they get right up to temp.
Keith, Yea normally no pre heat required with Coleman oven. Had that thick floor tile to heat up. Wanted to do a more scientific bake with oven up to baking temp.
Had two extra biscuits and baked tham at 360 today. 413B and oven with no tile inside. Maybe 340 next time an no tile. Would like more top browning. On high oven after 5 minutes was at 400 and climbing.
