I tried setting up a summer oven outdoors, scrounged from a scrapped-out RV. It worked, sort of. For a while. Not very well. It didn’t like being outdoors, that’s for sure.
In early winter a neighbor asked me to haul this away…
I know, right? People throw away the damndest things.
It’s in the mid-seventies today, by far the warmest day so far this year. And it’s baking day, so it’s time to see if I can bake bread in it. I hooked up a little propane bottle, and learned to my relief that at least the BBQ lights right up. But I had quite a time trying to get a stable 350o. In fact I never succeeded in that.
It’s a breezy day, and I think that worked against me. I worked on regulating the temperature all the time the bread was rising and thought I had it licked. But then all of a sudden the temp rose, and despite my care I gave it five minutes too long.
Yeah, it got a little crispy compared to the one I baked in the indoor oven. Probably still be okay for sandwiches, and if not I guess the chickens will eat well for a while.
I’ll try again. But I know to leave it alone this weekend, when I’m supposed to bake Rosemary bread for a Landlady get-together.
That BBQ will be great for routine summer cookery, and likely more useful than that oven, but I will be surprised if you ever really succeed with something as fiddley as bread.
You need to set up wind screens to stop the temp fluctuations. Sheets of crap plywood work well. Back when I did a lot of camp kitchens, I had a 4×8 sheet of plywood with two panels of 3×8 hinged to it as a screen for my big-assed camp stove. (the 8foot is the vertical measurement. Also gave me places to hang stuff from.)
Otherwise, you might try baking in a cast iron dutch oven. The heavy cast iron is more temperature stable than just a plain bread pan.
You definitely scored bigtime with that grill. Looks almost new.
I’ve had hit or miss luck with baking bread in a bbq. One thing that might help is adding a small baking sheet and a standoff, like a small rack or similar, under the pan. I often burned the bottoms of mine in similar fashion. I also stacked bricks along the back of the bbq, which helps block the drafts a bit, as well as provides some thermal mass.
Wow, what a nice grill. Andrew is spot on in recommending a windbreak, it will solve a lot of problems.
I use my BBQ year round. Aside from the regular stuff, I do pizzas on it. I also have a griddle that I cook all sorts to things from veggies to bacon and eggs on.
FYI You may want to take time and check the burners and other components for wear, last thing you want is to see flames where you shouldn’t see any.
Man, that’s nice enough to deserve a weather cover. Great score.
Your climate is ideal for a sun oven. Why use fuel outside?
I’ve never heard of a sun oven working reliably enough to bake with. It certainly wouldn’t have worked yesterday.
BK: I’ve given up trying to get Joel to try a sun oven. All that sunshine gone to waste… 🙂
And no, I haven’t tried baking in mine yet.
Same problem with temp control on my grill. I think it relates more to a lack of vent damper on lid than anything else. I never had a problem regulating temp when one of those was in use. Another cost cutting method by the manufacturer I suppose