upcoming experiment: DIY camping oven
I’ve been thinking about proper baking for a while. Biscuits. Cookies. Pizza.
Back when I lived in a house I was a Coleman gear fanatic: I had about a dozen stoves of various vintages and a similar number of lanterns. I brought one multifuel Exponent with me as a backup stove (it fits neatly in a coffee can) but otherwise gave the rest away.
At some point I had odd accessories like stovetop heat drums and a folding camp oven like you see on the right. The one I had was $10 at a garage sale but they are going for $70+ now. D’oh!
It worked pretty well though temps were hard to control (not enough thermal mass). If I still had it I’d be using it.
A dutch oven is a natural consideration, but they are heavy, $$$, relatively fragile when bounced around, and large.
omnia oven
Apparently the most popular camping oven is the Omnia, visible in many Youtube reviews (including this enthusiastic fishstick-related review from Bob). It comes in a little under $70 but a rack that fits the odd interior is ~$18 and silicone liners are about $25 each.
That’s almost like real money.
While watching some Omnia reviews I saw a guy demo a DIY oven made from matched stainless dog bowls:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkO96dLiuZE
That looked like a fun thing to do, so I picked up 2x 8.1” Indian stainless bowls (vendor == Van Ness) for the “oven” and the next two smaller sizes (6.4” and 5.25”) for baking dishes. I already have a small bit of grate that will work for the bottom spacer. Total cost $12.80.
Thinking about testing
- with bowls clipped tightly together as in the video above
- clipped together with some kind of spacer to allow steam/heat to release, and maybe to stick in a probe thermometer
- if those fail, drilling vent holes in the top bowl for steam release and temp probe. Holes could be covered if desired as with a penny stove.
If it works I have a makeshift oven for $60+ less than commercial versions. If it doesn’t work I have a set of nesting steel bowls to use for mixing ingredients, etc. They are being shipped to ELP and I’ll pick them up when I return for the 2nd Moderna shot. That should put the first tests in early May.