Camping and woodcraft - Scoutmastercg.com

CHAPTER XXCAMP COOKERYBreadstuffs and CerealsWhen men must bake for themselves they generallymake biscuit, biscuit-loaf, flap-jacks, or cornbread. Bread leavened with yeast is either beyondtheir skillor too troublesome to make out of doors;so baking powder is the mainstay of the camp.Generally the batch is a failure. To paraphraseTom Hood,Who has not met with camp-made bread,Rolled out of putty and weighted with lead?It need not be so.Just as good biscuit or johnnycake can be baked before a log fire in the woods asm a kitchen range. Bread making is a chemicalprocess. Follow directions; pay close attention todetails, as a chemist does, from building the fire totesting the loaf with a sliver. It does require experienceor a special knack to guess quantities accurately,but none at all to measure them.In general, biscuit or other small cakes should bebaked quickly by ardent heat ; large loaves requirea slow, even heat, so that the outside will not hardenuntil the inside is nearly done.The way to bake in a reflector or in a '' baker "has been shown in the chapter on Meats. If youhave neither of these utensils,there are other ways.Baking in a Dutch Oven.— This is a cast-ironpot with flaring sides and short legs, fitted with athick iron cover, the rim of which is turned up to342