UL Baking Kit

[Sarah Kirkconnell]

I posted this today in the cooking section, on the system I made yesterday:

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/xdpy/forum_thread/7855/index.html

[Jason Klass]

Looks great Sarbar! I think the "coil" idea is really clever.

[Sarah Kirkconnell]

I tried this morning on the trail to do banana nut muffins. They were good, even though I used too much dough ;-) Learned my lesson! From now on, I will split the Betty Crocker muffin mixes (the ones in the packets that make one 6 batch) into 4 bags, not two.
A guy on the BP.com forums made one up and he said that his blueberry muffins came out good :-) Yay!

[Jim Davis]

Thank You!!! I tried this with the just add water Blue Berry Muffins…Awesome results…Finally a break from the oatmeal!

I did find if I roll the ziplock down as to let some of the steam escape they rise much better.
Thanks again…our "Trail Monster" loves em'

[Jason Klass]

Not to take away from Sarah's idea, but here's another method for those interested in baking on the trail: http://www.backpackingvideos.com/bakingwithrocks.htm

[Sarah Kirkconnell]

Post away! Btw Jason, I think I might have a way to make Hum Bow rolls (spelled wrong I am sure!) on the trail, using a UL baker. Woo-hoo!
I'll know soon….

[Jason Turner]

Wow. It took 33 minutes to bake that muffin mix in the video you linked to.

I have used Sarbar's method several times and it only takes 12-15 minutes. That would use a lot less fuel.

[Jason Klass]

How much fuel did you use for 12-15 min.? It's not the time, it's the amount of fuel. Tinny gets a total burn time of 45 min. on his Nion with 1 ounce of fuel. I'd say that's pretty darn efficient!

[Jason Turner]

I have used it with my Snow Peak Gigapower on low. Couldn't tell you how much fuel it used then. I have also used it with my Brasslite and Trangia Alcohol stoves. Both used about an once of fuel to bake.

[Paulo Pereira]

How much fuel did you use for 12-15 min.? It's not the time, it's the amount of fuel. Tinny gets a total burn time of 45 min. on his Nion with 1 ounce of fuel. I'd say that's pretty darn efficient!

i have that stove, it's crazy how long that thing runs

[Jason Klass]

Yep. I've got one on the way (a Nion 2). I'm going to do a video review when I get it.

[Jim Cook]

Just speculating: Tinny does not appear to use any water in his baking method while Sarah does. That's probably the difference in baking time. If you've ever done much cooking (heck, even opened a bag of microwave popcorn) you'll know the tremendous heat that steam carries. You can stick your hand in a hot oven for a second or two with no damage. However, a blast of steam lasting less than a second can give you second-degree burns. Vicious stuff, steam.

Tinny's method essentially heats the pot and the rocks which, in turn, heat the air. He creates a low temperature oven using radiant heat from the chamber. It works but takes time. The steam method floods the area with heat very quickly, reducing the cooking time by putting the heat directly on the cooking vessel. Steaming, although cooking relatively quickly, does not produce a crust, nor does it brown. If you just want muffins or biscuits, either method would work. If you wanted a crusty or browned exterior, or maybe melted and slightly darkened cheese on a small pizza, Tinny's method is probably more likely to produce such.

I use a canister stove so I can't afford a 30-35 minute cook time. I am, though, dazzled that Tinny is getting 45 minute simmers from his stove. I have dabbled with alcohol stoves before, maybe it's time to take a second look.

Edit: watched the MBD baking kit video, he does not use water. One good thing about his method is that the rocks stay hot and continue to bake even after the heat is removed.

[Amy Reid]

Seriously, THANK YOU Sarah!

I found the two posts related to Sarah's UL Baker last spring and ended up making one out of titanium foil from Titanium Goat before my JMT trip, the two pieces together weigh 0.3 ounces and take up no space in my pack; traveling in my pot without interfering with other items stored there.

Out of time for experiments and unsure if it would really work, I packed a few baked goods in each re-supply and headed out. I decided that I'd test the method out during the first segment and if it didn't work that I'd pitch it & any baked goods out from that point forward.

To my surprise and delight, it WORKED! What a treat it was to have hot fresh baked goods a couple of times a week during my 29 day jaunt! From muffins (blueberry or banana nut) to cornbread for chili & dumplings for soup, the luxury was worth the extra weight & allotted fuel. (I found that at elevation I needed to simmer about 2 minutes longer than Sarah had described). Here are some pictures to inspire you . . .

BLUEBERRY MUFFINS

TASTY CHICKEN SOUP & DUMPLINGS

MOLTEN CHOCOLATE BIRTHDAY CAKE

[Jim W.]

Great cake!

I made muffins all along the JMT in '08 using different 'just add water' mixes. I used foil baking cups resting on a cat food can in the bottom of my Jetboil. It used very little fuel- I think about 2 grams for 14 minutes.

The foil cups are only a gram or so- I didn't attempt to reuse them. According to Reynolds Aluminum web site they have "Jumbo" foil baking cups that are 3.5" across instead of 2.5. That would be ideal for when I have company. Unfortunately the only place I've found them online requires a full case purchase (About $20).

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