I’ve wanted to do this for years. We’re just before the monsoon here, mornings are hot and afternoons are hotter. Wouldn’t it be great if I could do my baking outdoors?
As of this morning, I can.
Unfortunately my hopes for that mesh shelf have been dashed. It’s only been there for two days, and I already had the beginnings of a packrat nest inside the oven. So yes, they can and will climb a metal shelf to get to possible shelter.
Of course I had no way of knowing how accurate the temperature control was, so I swiped the thermometer out of the Lair’s oven. Turns out this one runs a little hot. Good to know…
Not my prettiest loaves ever, but neither underdone nor burned. Now I have to find some way to seal it against rodents between uses, if possible…
Baked mouse?
If it’s got babies in there, then maybe. Otherwise I think a mouse or rat would leave when it got too hot. But then the nesting material would catch fire, which would do my baking no good at all.
I hate to make a big job out of this Joel, but you may need to build yourself a rat proof, chuck wagon-style, mini-shed for your outdoor kitchen. Meanwhile, can you seal up the oven with some some sort of rat-resistant screen such as hardware cloth?
“this one runs a little hot”
Seeing all that black on the oven, you may be getting a bit of Sun Oven effect adding to the temp. Anyway, your bread looks great.
I wondered about that. The door got mighty hot in the morning sun before I ever turned on the gas. I don’t really know how the thermostat/temp selector works. But next time I’ll try it in the late afternoon when it’s been in shadow for a while, just to see.
In the meantime I’ll disconnect it from the propane bottle and clear a space in my small shed, which is sealed against rodents.
Very nice Joel. I wonder, does pack rat taste like chicken? You need to carve and hang a sign over your doorway that says:
“We have done so much with so little for so long we can now do anything with nothing.”