Most of the time when you see recipes for tailgating you see cooking type recipes. You seldom see ones for baking. Frankly, baking is such an exact and hard science that the precision needed is not usually very good for the pre-game settings of America. But we are going to school you on some possibilities.
First thing you need to look at your equipment. I doubt that you will drag a full fledged oven to your tailgate party, although if you can give it a go. Instead you will need to find the right piece of equipment. You can buy small ovens made for temporary and portable use. But that is not the most practical method for baking.
Back in Boy Scouts my scoutmaster father made great little homemade ovens made out of aluminum, fiberglass, rivets and some good old duct tape. I just do not have the patience to recreate those anytime soon.
Instead we recommend a simple dutch oven. Any Boy Scout can tell you the joys of using them. Literally everything can go into one of them. Well….maybe not literally, but you get the idea.
Here are some baking recipes to go along with that piece of equipment.
Dutch Oven Apple Pie
Ingredients
- Fresh Apples
- Cinnamon Sugar mix
- Butter
- Frozen pie dough
Instructions
- Peel apples and cut to about pinky finger size.
- Coat oven lightly with butter or crisco.
- Line bottom with one of the two pie dough sheets.
- Pour in apple pieces, coat liberally with cinn-sugar mix.
- Place pats of butter all over (save one pat).
- Cut second pie dough into strips about one inch and criss cross top.
- Use last pat to lightly coat top dough, then sprinkle real good with more cinn-sugar.
- Bake with hot coals for about 20 minutes.
- When top crust is golden brown, shake coals off top and cover again for about another 5 minutes. (gives bottom chance to crisp up)
- Serve.
Country Bread
Ingredients
- 804 grams unbleached all purpose flour
- 26 grams whole wheat flour
- 50 grams rye flour (I used pumpernickel)
- 684 grams (by weight) filtered water at 90 to 95 degrees F
- 22 grams salt
- 216 to 275 grams active levain
Baking Instructions
- About 8 hours after feeding the levain, and about 12 to 15 hours before baking the loaves, mix the flours in a large round (the author recommends 12 quarts, mine was 8 quarts) food grade bucket.
- Add the water and mix with your hands until the dough comes together in a shaggy ball. Cover and let it sit for 30 minutes.
- Evenly sprinkle the salt over the dough. Place your bucket on your scale and add the levain.
- Mix the dough with your wet hands both by pinching it throughout and folding it. Once the dough is fully mixed, do a stretch and fold inside the bucket, cover with plastic wrap, and let it sit for 20 minutes.
- Fold three more times, every 20 minutes. Fold one more time prior to going to bed and cover with plastic wrap.
- The dough should nearly triple in size by 12 to 15 hours later.
- Generously flour 2 proofing baskets. I used a mix of all purpose and brown rice flour. You can also use a mixing bowl lined with a lint free kitchen towel that has been sprayed with oil and heavily floured.
- With a wet dough scraper or wet hands, loosen the dough from the sides of the bucket and gently turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Cut the dough into two even pieces.
- Shape the dough into boules, creating a taut skin over the top. Place the shaped dough into each basket, seam side down.
- Spray the top of the dough with spray oil, and cover with plastic wrap.
- Allow the loaves to rise about 3 to 4 hours, until they are puffy.
- About 45 minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 475 degrees F with two empty covered Dutch ovens placed on the middle rack.
- When you are ready to bake, cut parchment into two 9 inch by 15+ inch pieces.
- Remove the Dutch ovens from the oven and remove the tops. One loaf at a time, place the parchment over the dough and place a plate over it. Flip the dough over, remove the basket, and lift and place the loaf in the Dutch oven by using the parchment as a sling (leave the paper under the dough). Cover the Dutch oven and place it in the hot oven. Repeat with the second loaf.
- Bake covered for 30 minutes, and then uncover it and bake it for 20 to 25 minutes more, until the interior of the bread reaches 205 to 210 degrees F and the bread is a deep brown. My loaves were ready sooner, so check early.
Dutch Oven Popcorn
Ingredients
- couple of tablespoons full of coconut oil
- popcorn kernels of your choice
- sugar
- water
- butter
- vinegar
Baking Instructions
- Melt a couple of tablespoons full of coconut oil in oven
- Put the lid on the dutch oven
- Wait until the oil’s hot enough to pop them before putting in the rest
- Shake dutch oven as all kernels pop
- Put popcorns in another pot
- Heat sugar, water, butter, and vinegar in dutch oven
- Put 2 quarts of popcorn into the caramel
- Slowly mix in the rest
Dutch Oven Seven Layer Brownie
Ingredients
- 1 box of your favorite Supreme Brownie Mix
- ½ cup melted butter
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 cup coconut flakes, optional
- 1 cup toffee bits
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup chopped pecans, optional
- 1 cup chopped (not crumbled) pretzels
- ½ cup + 2 tbsp sweetened condensed milk
Baking Instructions
- In a large bowl stir in brownie mix, eggs, vanilla and butter until well blended. Press into well greased Dutch oven. You can also use tin foil to cover dutch oven and cover with cooking spray. Cover the dutch oven and bake for 14 minutes at 350°.
- Sprinkle, coconut, toffee bits, chocolate chip bits and pecans (in that order) over the partially cooked brownies. Drizzle evenly with sweetened condensed milk to within 1 inch of sides. Sprinkle the top with the chopped pretzels.
- Cover and continue to bake for 25 – 35 minutes. Insert toothpick 1 inch from side of pan. Brownie is done when toothpick comes out almost clean. Do not over bake.
- Remove from Dutch oven and allow the brownie to cool.
