Field Testing Dry Baking

[Jon Fong / Flat Cat Gear]

Here is a photograph of a baking plate that I have been testing out.  I designed it for the Kovea Spider which has a small burner head.  You can make a DIY version by using the lid of a can and a bunch of 1/4 pop rivets.  Light and turn the stove down to the absolute lowest setting.  Center the baking plate and then add your pot/pan combo.  The small muffin took about 25 minutes and the 5″ muffins took about 40 minutes.  This particular Baking Plate weighs 7 grams.  Best regards.

 

[Jeff McWilliams]

What’s the purpose of the baking plate? Is it to further diffuse the heat coming off the burner, in addition to the using one of the Fat Daddios aluminum bake pan inside a pot?

 

 

[Jon Fong / Flat Cat Gear]

Exactly, the Baking Plate has a diffuser to knock down the thermal gradient and the rivets/bumps help spread out the heat by reducing direct contact.  Without the bumps, the bottom of your goods can burn.  I don’t consider the Fat Daddios pan a diffuser so much as the thick walls aid in transporting heat up the sidewalls.  Best regards.

[Jon Fong / Flat Cat Gear]

I tried dry baking using the BRS-3000T with some success.  It got a little browner on the bottom, but I wasn’t using a windscreen.  A diffuser plate makes a big difference with these small burner stoves.   At 7 grams, this is a pretty light weight solution.  It works well, but I prefer dry baking with the Epicurean Stove (Esbit).  No muss, no fuss, no soot – just works.

Best regards

[DAN-Y/FANCEE FEEST]

I cut down one of these “Stove Tamers and it worked really well. Used a pair of sheet metal shears.

Some reviews on the Tamer:

5.0 out of 5 stars
Perfect for backpacking stoves By  Glen E Thomas   on April 11, 2015
Size: aItem Package Quantity: 1 Verified Purchase
i have tried to fry an egg in my Toaks TI 1600 ml lid since I bought into TI cookware, always has way too many hot spots with every stove I try. The stove tamer worked with my Tangia burner, msr pocket rocket and my solo stove and allowed my to fry the perfect egg on all three. Also cooked bannock in the lid using the Tangia burner with no burning or sticking. The stove tamer should be in everyone’s pack if you want to really cook and not just boil water in your TI cookware. I made the hole larger so that I can lift the tamer off the stove using the hook on my TI spork as the tamer is really hot for quite a while after cooking on it and with the Tangia the tamer has to be removed to put out the flame. The 4.1 oz is not a large amount of weight considering I can actually cook and not just boil water for freeze dried meals.

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Great for Use with an Alcohol Stove
By  Active Al   on October 23, 2013
Size: aItem Package Quantity: 1 Verified Purchase
The Stove Tamer Heat Diffuser is a solid plate of non-ferrous metal (probably aluminum) that effectively increases the thickness of the bottom of your pan – which slows and more evenly distributes heat. It measures 6 x 7 inches, is a good 1/16 inches thick, and weights 4.1 ounces.

I use the Stove Tamer Heat Diffuser to make the simmer ring on my Trangia Spirit Burner with Screwcap more efficient for slow-to medium cooking. (My cooking setup is a Trangia alcohol burner placed inside a Sterno Single Burner Folding Stove – 50002. That is to say, the alcohol burner is placed on top of an empty-and-inverted small tuna can in the stove’s wire-frame Sterno cradle. This provides a stable base for the burner and sets the flame at an efficient height.) The heat diffuser is placed on top of the Sterno stove with the Trangia burning, and the cooking pan is placed on top of the diffuser. It takes a few minutes for the energy to build up because of the added thickness, but you get this energy back by being able to cook for a few minutes after the flame goes out. When the temperature is where I want it for cooking, I drop the simmer ring onto the Trangia. For cooking eggs, I use about a 1/2 inch simmer ring opening. This diffuser helps to spread the heat of the narrow flame evenly across the bottom of the pan and keeps the temperature relatively constant.

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[DAN-Y/FANCEE FEEST]

This would work nice as a diffuser:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1-16-0625-Stainless-Steel-Disc-x-3-1-8-Diameter-304-SS-/191857181185?hash=item2cab944201:g:cIUAAOSwPcVVqZBq

[DAN-Y/FANCEE FEEST]

I made one out of a stove top diffuser:

http://smg.photobucket.com/user/obijiwa/media/sub%20two/ebay2009stoves126.jpg.html” target=”_blank”><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v228/obijiwa/sub%20two/ebay2009stoves126.jpg” border=”0″ alt=” photo ebay2009stoves126.jpg” />

http://smg.photobucket.com/user/obijiwa/media/sub%20two/ebay2009stoves136.jpg.html” target=”_blank”><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v228/obijiwa/sub%20two/ebay2009stoves136.jpg” border=”0″ alt=” photo ebay2009stoves136.jpg” />

 

http://bplite.com/viewtopic.php?f=45&t=1796&p=16157&hilit=difusser&sid=5af9e0ae0bcf03c08f8b806757f925ca#p16157

 

 

[David Mason]

So I’ve been experimenting a bit with dry baking (for use solo) using the following:

Outside pot: ~850ml  K-mart/Stanco Al. grease pot  w/pie tin lid – has thin walls, pot weighs 2.35oz/66g
Inside pot: Boy Scouts of America Al. pot, has thick walls, barely fits inside grease pot, leaving very little room on sides, dremeled off the bail attachment points, weighs 3.65oz/103g
DIY alum coil “riser”: Maybe 1/3″ in height

I’ve had decent results with my BRS-3000 if I crank it down really low, but I need to measure fuel consumption and in the field have to use a large windscreen. I haven’t found a great way to make my DIY fancy feast stove to simmer yet (have been experimenting with DIY simmer rings).

So I have a question for you dry baking pros: Can I use a titanium inner pot without risking serious warping? My evernew 400ml Ti. pot would fit very well inside the K-mart grease pot and leave a sizeable 3/4″ gap all the way around. I know Ti. is far less efficient at heat x-fer/dissipation. The evernew pot measures 2 1/4″ tall, and 4″ in dia. Would it be far better to buy a 4″ dia. 2″ tall fat daddio? And the diffuser idea looks interesting. I might have to try to make one.

[Jon Fong / Flat Cat Gear]

David,

Titanium is great for the strength to weight ratio, but is unfortunately a horrible heat conductor.  Here is a biscuit dry baked in an MSR Titan Kettle.  The bottom burned and the sides barely baked.  I think that you will find the same results with the Snow Peak Bowl.

If you want to see the whole video, click here.

My 2 cents

[Author]

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