Cooking School: Bread

“Even if it is cold outside, baking bread on an open fire warms not only the stomach but also the soul.”

Susanne Fischer-Rizzi isn’t alone in thinking there’s something truly comforting and heart warming about freshly baked bread. But instead of heading to the bakery around the corner, why not try making your own bread, not just at home, but at campsites, at the cottage or in the wild.

In her book, Cook Wild: Year-round cooking on an open fire, Fischer-Rizzi educates home chefs about taking cooking outdoors. On top of explaining how to cook on everything from embers and ashes to clay pots and tangines, she also provides recipes for all the seasons. In Cook Wild, she explains that baking bread on a longer hike or canoe trip, people can long for a piece of fresh bread. “In moments like these, baking your own bread is a special experience that will make you feel at home and comfortable, no matter where you are.”

She explains that baking bread in nature makes her feel completely at home in nature. “I feel like I am a part of the place, of the plants, the animals and the elements.”

Though Fischer-Rizzi notes several different ways to cook bread in her book, she recommends a big pot with a lid. “You can bake a nice big loaf of bread in it,” she says. “If you like to do all kinds of baking on the open fire, I would recommend a Dutch oven. Then you can not only bake bread, but also pizzas, cakes, cookies and many other things on the open fire.”

When it comes to advice for baking over the fire, Fischer-Rizzi suggests becoming good friends. “Get to know the fire well. Learn about the fire and learn what woods are the best for the kind of fire, the meal and the flavour you want.”

Some pieces of advice for creating a perfect fire are found in Cook Wild. Make sure to use an existing, authorized fireplace or barbecue area wherever possible. Pay attention to wind direction and use dry stones to create a ring around the fire. For cooking with a pot, like Fischer-Rizzi suggests for bread, you need only a small fire with flames no more than a finger length long. Finally, don’t leave the fire until it has been completely extinguished.

Other than fire, the other important ingredient in baking bread is time, says Fischer-Rizzi. Typically, bread is done when you it sounds hollow when you tap it. This can take a while, depending on the size of the loaf.

For Fischer-Rizzi, there’s no better match to freshly baked bread than cooked warm jam made from wild berries. Pour a glass of a good brown beer like a stout or an amber beer or some elderberry punch (from the recipe in Cook Wild) and she’s content.

“The smell of freshly baked bread is one of the odors that has a strong imprint on the human psyche. Its smell is comforting, relaxing and even anti-depressive.”

And when baking it yourself, outside surrounded by nature, can be so easy — how could anyone be stressed?

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Damper Aussie Campfire Bread

Photo (c) 2012 Frances Lincoln Ltd. All Rights Reserved.