gear for trail pizza

[Bob Gross]

I've made trail pizza before, but that was for a six-person group. I used an Outback Oven. That cook gear is kind of heavy, but not too bad when distributed over six people. I've done simpler trail baking before, but that was mostly steam baking, which works good for some light snack breads, but pizza needs a real crust.

Now I'm confronted with the challenge of trail pizza for two. I'm thinking that the Outback Oven is too heavy, and the steam baking won't be hot enough. All of this is with the assumption that I can carry just about any lightweight stove (butane Gnat, alcohol, or other).

We're going to be where a wood fire will be legal. I don't normally do many wood fires, but I might make an exception for this time. I could build a fire, let it burn down to hot coals, and then bake a solid metal pan covered in foil. That may or may not get the pizza crust right.

What works best for baking a trail pizza, and is still lightweight?

–B.G.—

[Curry]

Instead of a solid metal pan, perhaps you could try a smaller grill pan that is perforated or made of woven wire. Then make more of a flatbread type thin crust, bake on one side, flip it and then add your sause (thin layer), toppings and cheese. You would have to elevate the grill pan above the coals instead of placing it directly on them. Depending on how thick your dough is, it cooks very fast.

This works on my grill at home, should also work with a wood fire, but again cook over low, hot coals, not flames. You get a nice char and crunchy crust. I do quesadillas like this as well.

I would Pre-cook toppings like mushrooms or peppers.

[Dave Ploessel]

take a bemco oven

for pizzas, it's worth it.

My favorite? Pick some wild onions, gather a few wild mushrooms (king boletes, morels and chantrelles can be found in the sierras), saute up some miners lettuce, and put on a pizza with feta, asiago, mozz, parmesean, sauteed onions and bells, and you won't really care about how much the oven weighed

[Greg Pehrson]

A while ago, Backpacker Magazine put up a video on making pizza using a canister stove.
Here: http://www.backpacker.com/trail_chef_camp_stove_pizza/videos/85
I've done it a bunch, the Betty Crocker Instant Pizza Dough mix that they reference in the video makes a decent crust that is fluffy inside and crisp outside. It's not gourmet, but it works well. I get two pizza doughs out of one package.
In the video they just show the person preparing the ingredients and baking it all together. I found it works better for me to oil the pan well, bake one side of the crust, flip it like a pancake and put on the toppings, and cover the pot with a foil lid to cook the rest.

[Bob Gross]

Greg, that video clip makes it all seem so simple.

I was trying to get away from the heavy pan, but I may have to knuckle under and do it that way to get good results.

Flipping the crust is an interesting concept. I may have to test that at home first.

–B.G.–

[Tom Lyons]

For campfire baking, I carry a 7" diameter metal mixing bowl. This bowl does many other duties for cooking and washing and hydration, but it's also my oven.
This size obviously would only work for a small 1-person size pizza, but you could do it twice if you had to.

I also have a small cooking grate, but you can make one of those easily, or it could even be a long pair of kebab skewers set between rocks or logs, or whatever you want to rig up as a cooking grid.
And I cut a 6" round plate from aluminum roof flashing material(very thin and light). That's the pizza pan, or cookie sheet, or biscuit sheet, or whatever.

Let the fire go to coals, put the grid over the fire at an appropriate height for a hot bake.
Make your pizza and put it on the round aluminum flat plate on the grid, and put the 7" bowl over it "upside down" as a cover, and that is the "oven". The heat rises around the round pizza pan into the "oven" and is retained there, and the fire heats up the 6" round flat pan under the pizza, for that all-important bottom heat that pizza crust needs.

For cornbread or a big biscuit, I just put the dough in my stainless drinking cup and put that on the grid directly, and cover it with my upside down bowl. Then it all bakes inside the metal cup and no flat plate is required. Sometimes it might stick to the cup, so you might grease the cup or just eat it out of the cup with a spoon, or whatever you want to do.

For cookies, you use the flat round plate.

This is a very useful mini-oven arrangement, and I use it for biscuits and cornbread and other baked items on the trail. Simple, yet effective. The concept is solid. It heats from the bottom, has a heat retention chamber above and around the food, and there is a grate above the heat source. Just like any other oven. When you need a pan for pizza or cookies or something, you add that to the system, and my pan is that 6" flat piece of aluminum roof flashing.
The temperature is set by the height of the system above the coals, and you need to get a "feel" for what that needs to be, after some experience.

And the bowl can be used to make soup/stew, or boil water, or scoop water from a stream for treatment, or for washing up, etc.
A variety of uses, and I use this bowl inside my food pack to hold all my other smaller cooking stuff like my cup and utensils and stuff, and put the flat 6" plate inside on top of everything else to keep it flat, and then stretch a suitable cover over it to hold it all together.

I keep all my cooking and food stuff in one separate food pack/bag to keep odors segregated from my clothes and tent as much as possible. Then I just hang that whole bag up from a tree limb because we don't have bear canister rules around here.

[Cary Dwiggins]

I backpack with some picky eaters ( kids and husband) and I want them to enjoy backpacking, so I make pizza every time we go out. I keep it super simple. I have bought whole wheat flat bread, but I usually make my own naan beore we leave. I usually do 2 per person, about 6 inches wide. I have a titanium grill from ruta locura. I make a fire in my caldera cone and place some foil over my grill, balanced on top of my Caldera Cone. I toast one side of the naan, flip and quickly add sauce and strips of mozzarella cheese sticks and pepperoni slices and remove when bottom of naan is toasted. Even if the toppings aren't completely hot, it is better to not burn the naan. We keep an assembly line of pizzas going and take turns eating them as they come off the grill. Quick and easy and lightweight:)

Cary

[Ken Larson]

Backpacking with my grand children pizza was made the NOLS's way with a Bank's Fry Pan ……GO HERE

The children loved it but it took an excessive amount of time and fuel. This summer tried the recipe below with raving applause with the comment "make this again." Freezer bag method, simple and with less time and effort……not to say equipment if you are going "light."
Pizza Ramen
Servings 6

Ingredients
• 3 pkg 3-ounces each ramen
• 1½ c diced sundried tomatoes
• 2 tbs diced dried bell peppers
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• 2 tsp dried basil
• ¼ tsp dried garlic, powder or diced
• 1 package sliced pepperoni
• 3 pkt/oz mozzarella string cheese
• 3 tbs olive oil (1 packet)
• 1 pkg (5 oz) Boboli Pizza Sauce OR your favorite sauce dried
• 5 tbs shelf stable parmesan cheese
• 7 c water

Instructions
At home pack the ramen (discard flavor packets) add the sundried tomatoes, dried bell peppers, dried oregano, dried basil dried garlic, in a quart freezer bag or "steamer" bag. When you are ready to cook bring 7 cups water to a near boil, pour over the ramen mix. Seal the bag tightly and put into a cozy for 3 to 5 minutes. Dice the mozzarella string cheese and pepperoni.
Drain carefully all the water but about 1 Tbsp. Add in 1.5 tbs olive oil, and add .5 pkg( 2.5oz)Boboli Pizza Sauce to each cozie and stir up. Toss in the pepperoni and cheese. Stir in and toss some Parmesan on top.

Nutrition: Half Package of ramen noodles delivers 190 calories, 7 g total fat, 26 g carbohydrates and 5 g protein
Amount Per Serving

Calories 428.3

Total Fat 24.1 g

Saturated Fat 9.4 g

Polyunsaturated Fat 1.2 g

Monounsaturated Fat 8.0 g

Cholesterol 28.5 mg

Sodium 1,495.9 mg

Potassium 544.6 mg

Total Carbohydrate 28.6 g

Dietary Fiber 2.6 g

Sugars 5.4 g

Protein 15.4 g

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