Blue berry muffins / help needed please.

Hey all you back country chefs,

I am having trouble cooking bluberry muffins with my gas stove. Well more like one large muffin, If successful I'm gonna give it a name.

I am using the double boiler / oven method, two pots, one inside the other. Stove is a Whisperlite, I can make mine simmer pretty good.

The inner pot is lifted up with a spacer, and a lid on top of the larger one. I used two sticks for a spacer, but they smolder. I tried three small pebbles and that left burnt marks on the corresponding spots on the muffin bottom.

Should I try water to separate the pots? Or water and sticks?

I don't have this problem (using pebbles) with biscuits, although I like my biscuit bottoms quite brown. I suspect I've got a tad too much heat for the muffin mix. I'm currently experimenting on the back porch to get this right, so my dog gets the bad ones, but I need to get this figured out.

What works for you guys?

I have no advice on this, but I think I want to come backpacking with you just for the blueberry muffins and biscuits.

Good luck.

Trout

I've been thinking about this all freakin day, but the one thing I come back to is what type of material makes up your inner pot? That, and I'm hungry again.

Yes, a detail I left out.

I have been using my MSR stainless steel set. One pot is made to nest inside the other. I have used a thick tin foil for this before as well, made from a disposable turkey pan, but have not tried it with muffins thinking it would be harder.

I have also given some thought to using a silicone baking pot / bowl. But don't know if it is something I would need backpacking really.

I'm not sure if this will help or not but a friend of mine used to make something resembling chocolate cake in a frying pan, a cover over the pan, and a lot of olive oil over a single burner. I haven't tried to duplicate his results, but now I'm curious. Sorry if this is a random b-line, but thought it may be helpful ... in a remote kind of way.

CoyotePacker said:

I'm not sure if this will help or not but a friend of mine used to make something resembling chocolate cake in a frying pan, a cover over the pan, and a lot of olive oil over a single burner. I haven't tried to duplicate his results, but now I'm curious. Sorry if this is a random b-line, but thought it may be helpful ... in a remote kind of way.

Not at all my friend, we learn from each other!

Since i do not thru-hike, i like to fill my day with activities, not just sit around and wish there was something to do.

I enjoy catching my own supper (fishing).

Short hikes away from camp.

Looking for rare or endangered plants.

Looking for Native American artifacts or Gold in streams.

I also enjoy real cooking to some degree. Especially after 3 or 4 days of freeze dried!

Work on the chocolate cake! (please....super please?)

What about dutch oven?

Here are few ideas:

http://www.justdutchovenrecipes.com/inxdde.html

You can also look for something that looks like fold toaster that made of the same iron type of things - I know it's work.

nirotem said:

What about dutch oven?

Here are few ideas:

http://www.justdutchovenrecipes.com/inxdde.html

You can also look for something that looks like fold toaster that made of the same iron type of things - I know it's work.

Thanks nirotem, but I need to do this while back packing and need to use my MSR stove & pot set. I do like dutch ovens though.

If you figure it out, please share with everyone! Love the blueberry muffins!

Gretchin

It's gotta be your inner pot or the temp your cooking it at. I can see the rocks creating hot spots and thus, the black spots. I know you don't want to change gear... I need to stew over this some more man.

mahooosicmayhem, yeah I think you are right, I'm gonna try again on Sunday

My thoughts-

The inner pot is too large maybe, fits too tight, trapping most of the heat below it. The heat should surround the item being baked. I'm going to go back to using the slightly smaller tin foil pan.

I need more rocks, using only three rocks may not distribute the heat evenly enough causing hot spots that are burning the batter.

I have tried steam baking, It's okay, but I prefer the results from dry baking better. At least when it works!

Try a bent coat hanger - like a large spring but with a big enough round bend to hold a light weight thin, round, insulator (size of muffin pan) between the coat hanger and the inner baking pot. Too bad asbestos has been outlawed...but would think a porcelain disk would be available. Just need to get THAT off from the bottom of the oven. Might check upscale cooking outfitters...uh, store.

OR, settle for a round, decorative black mark from a clean tuna can that has been cut to size...top and bottom removed.

OR look for a trivet...or make one.

OR use a #10 or 12 can (or one that fits in the oven with more room) cut to size.

Why doesn't a cake end up with burned rack marks when they are set on a rack in an oven?

If you use water, you won't get the oven temp much over the temperature of boiling water. Great for making dumplings and bagels though. At 10,000' it would take a LONG time to cook - if ever.

OR design one that will work and sell the idea to the titanium camping equipment manufacturers.

If they put a high enough price on it, they will sell lots of them.

Thanks for your thoughtful input speacock,

I think you have hit on a few ideas that will work. I need to get the heat more evenly distributed throughout the cooking set / oven.

I am working on a couple projects right now that I plan to put on video, just want to get things right before I share, and I want them to work under real conditions, not just indoors.

Thanks again!

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