The first use of the Coleman folding oven didn't go to plan and my cinnamon swirls were effectively turned to carbon along with the baking paper. OK so we don't trust the Heat indicator (major wind-up for any science teacher calling it a 'heat' indicator). So I dug out my oven thermometer which measures temperature! I moved the shelf to the very top and put foil then baking paper down and let the temperature climb slowly to the required 200°C, judged by thermometer not indicator. The results were actually edible this time. Any other tips for success would be very welcome... Rob.
Robert, I don't use one much but have gleaned some info from what others have written. First, as you've found the heat indicator is primarily to add some humor to the situation and is notoriously rubbish. Most folks put some sort of heat diffusing material in the bottom such as a piece of plate steel, a cast iron griddle or even a pizza stone. Such additions seem to even out the heat distribution and along with a reliable thermometer make the oven a useable item.
Robert, I suggest staying 176C-190C (350-375F) range on known oven thermometer. Like C_H_B said about trying some type of heat diffusing somthing in bottom. Basically, only bottom heat from oven so I tend to use middle and upper shelf only. Hard to get top browning. Have had good results and let's say less than good results using oven with and without heat sink. Wind can affect out come too. Plan on using mine Sunday with tube biscuits and have my fingers crossed. Somewhat hit and miss, but fun. Plan on using this tile in oven on Sunday BTW beautiful backyard!
@Daryl Thanks for the tips and reality check Daryl. I suspected it would be the case that results might be quite varied and condition dependent. I've been searching for something like the tile you're intending to use, but no luck yet. As for the garden, I can't claim any credit, my good lady has the green fingers. I'm more at home in the greenhouse with my chillies and tomatoes. Rob.
Robert, Good to give credit where credit is due. Enjoy her hard work. Anything with mass will work, rocks for one, a guy use CI No.5 the other day for a pie. Maybe throw some oiled peppers and tomatoes in that oven, the extra char will only improve them.
Low and Slow....don't try reach the temperature called for, keep it a bit less if you can and bake a bit longer. If you want it to brown better on top, a bit of an egg wash will help. I have also resorted to simply turning biscuits or whatever over about half way thru. And if all else fail, feed the burnt bits to the dog. Please let us know what works and what doesn't.
funnily enough I found that on the second bake, I gave up aiming for 200°C and settled on 170-180°C, even then the bottom of the swirls was just beginning to go black. The turning idea makes sense with biscuits for sure. I will indeed report back.
Have only used ours a few times, with good results. WE use it with one of these little stoves: Temp at 350°: Rolls in: I used the oven box for a wind break: There's a slot in the back of the oven, that let me check them with a flashlight: Result:
@The Warrior that's a great idea these stoves won't be as ferocious as a Coleman, even on low. Great results too.
Very important - after storing the oven for any length of time be sure to check inside for small rodents before lighting the stove. (Personal experience.) Tom
My mother, (1910-2004) was a master of these ovens and I enjoyed countless good meals prepared in them while camping; throughout my young life. To include beef and pork roasts, goose, duck, and chicken; as well as breads, cinnamon rolls, and cakes and pies of all sorts. I use them at home, outdoors in hot weather, to avoid heating up the house, as well as while out camping. Just last week I enjoyed cornbread and biscuits cooked on a Coleman 413C and folding oven at an elevation of near 9000 feet while I was out fishing. It is my observation that although the heat indicators might not register accurately, their measurements are fairly repeatable and once you know your oven, they offer the information necessary to bake successfully. I use a cast iron woodstove lid in the bottom of my oven to moderate and stabilize the temp and I raise the grating high as possible, depending on what is being cooked. It is also important to remove the oven from on top of the burner before extinguishing the flame when using on a gasoline or kero stove, or the residual unburnt vapors are liable to taint the baked goods. It goes without saying that auto gas should never be used as fuel in stoves used for baking. I recall camping near Banff Alberta Canada, summer of 1969 and I was poking around the abandoned coal mining town of Bankhead near there. My mother noticed the beautiful stands of rhubarb that were growing on one of the old coal spoils piles and she took some for a pie. The pie came out of the oven perfect, but turned out to be inedible because the coal refuse soil had made the rhubarb taste intolerably of coal oil. A big disappointment to all.
@Greeley I'll be sure to check. @John Eggert she does indeed sound like a master, it makes my mouth water just reading your descriptions of the feasts she prepared. Rob.
Hi Robert, Well done on the new addition. You've got plenty good tips since I first read this early today, unfortunately the day got in the way to replying, but I'll add my thoughts now. I bought a new one a couple of years ago as I've never seen an older model here to buy. I had read about the addition of a heat sink to even out the temperature, luckily at the time I was assisting on a refractory project and had the brickies cut me up a couple of different bricks to try. Even though refractory bricks are made to insulate and protect, they certainly hold the heat. As the oven is used when 4x4ing- car camping, the weight isn't a concern. These pics are from my first test runs at home when I first got the oven, better to practice at home than get roasted by my mates for a failure in camp Pizza was first up, initially on the single tray-mid oven, successful....but base wasn't cooked as much as desired, so second one was placed directly on bricks in the base, and this has remained the preferred location for pizza. Second test run was a piece of pork. You'll notice in the pork pics that I used my second choice brick pieces on top of the oven to help retain some heat in the top as the breeze would slow things down quickly, now if roasting in the wild I wrap the oven in foil to limit some heat loss out of the seams, rack slots and its uninsulated construction, allows for more consistent overall temp with lower burner setting. I have read that some use a welders blanket to help insulate against heat loss, makes sense to me but I'm not that flash... yet lol The wagons resident beater 421d handles the heat requirements beautifully, and whilst I've never measured fuel consumption when roasting, its never been a worry. The oven has been a permanent wagon resident since its acquisition, the versatility it offers for the space it takes up is excellent. Pork continues to be a very popular oven meal when camping (tho crispy crackling is a challenge) as well as (small) chicken, or any other roasting meats. Heat indicator really is just a reference, I just wing it using sight, sizzle and smell indicators as John E says the indicator gives a good reference once you get use to how you're using the oven. John E, your mum was a legend! As others have said, preheat and use just enough heat to get cooking, easy to gradually increase the heat if needed rather than trying to recover a too quickly burnt offering. Apparently the older models had more than 1 tray, and a second one would help when roasting, 1 meat, 1 Veges etc Luckily the rack slots provide a good place to pass a couple of pieces of fencing wire or similar through to make another support with just..... enough room (depending on your roast size) for another small roasting tray, Veges go in up top about halfway through cooking time. You will love the addition of the oven to your menu's Play at home to get use to it and then impress in the wild I love the reaction of people when I say I'm going to have pizza in camp and they see me and my boy chopping ingredients and they realise its not a prepackaged store item about to be simply heated up in a large frying pan, the roasts take longer and most have eaten their quick meals by the time it's done, but there's always a look of , what.... you've got a full roast? Sorry no in the wild pics, but I'm eating and drinking then lol Enjoy! Cheers Barrett
Thermal imaging of Coleman oven. I probably maxed out using a Primus furnace as the heat source (!) but the fact that there was no thermal runaway - cold outdoors, Febuary in the UK contributed - established that the heat loss from the un-insulated oven was considerable.
I put a aluminium foil on the outside of it, this helps with heat loss. Also I have made a stand for it so I can use brasseys without it tipping over. I agree the heat indicator is dodgey but at least it’s consistent. Cheers Rob
i may have posted some shots years ago here of mine cooking a pie. i found that are so many seams that i covered it with foil to get the heat up. i always thought they were a fun item never ment for real cooking but now i see you can cook things like a pork roast so i may try that this summer. i'll try putting a heat sink inside and some other tip from here. i never used the thermometer but would peek in to see how it was working.
Not to be contrarian or anything, I’ve wanted one of these ovens to complete my kit for a while now. But after reading all about them on various forums it does seem a given that they can be a bit tricky to consistently obtain something edible. As a practical matter I’m trying to envision a situation where I could or would have a camp oven along yet not have a cast iron dutch oven. So I’m afraid in practice I wouldn’t use the stovetop oven. The dutch oven made of heavy cast iron excels for things like biscuits, breads, baked beans, chili, stews, corn bread, cobblers, pizza, anything really that is normally baked in a conventional home oven. Possibly in situations where both campfires and charcoal briquettes are banned, it would win by default.
Wow - some great comments and plenty of great ideas for me to try. I've got some refractory bricks I could try and the foil is a great idea. Thanks all. Rob.
