Stove-top Dutch Oven Soda Bread

I do not turn my oven on during the summer to bake anything. I tried it a couple of times and both times, the air conditioner could not reach a suitable temperature until the next day. Not energy efficient at all. I missed making simple bread with ingredients I could understand. Then I thought, why couldn’t I use my dutch oven to bake bread on the stove top. I saw cast iron dutch ovens being used to bake bread in Youtube camp fire videos. The flame was directly under the pot in those videos and the bread cooked. It should work. I learned that it does work.

I first tried a Focaccia recipe. I put it in the oven with parchment paper. The bottom of the focaccia was thick and overcooked. It was good for crackers, but not what I wanted. Off to the internet, I went, to search for a solution. Most posts and videos suggested placing a trivet at the bottom of the oven and a pan on top of the trivet. I had a metal utensil I use to make a double boiler (see photos above). I knew it could handle high temperatures without damaging the oven. Next, I tried the recipe below, putting the bread in a 9″ cake pan (see picture at top of this post). The bread was still overcooked on the bottom. After roasting a yam in a cake pan, I realized that the bottom burned regardless of the trivet. The burner temperature had to be adjusted. Post and video suggestions were to preheat cast iron ovens on the campfire for 5 minutes before cooking food. Apparently, I needed to do the same for the stove top. I tried it and it worked.

The recipe below was adapted from Richard Burr’s Camping Stove Caraway Soda Bread recipe. It is easy to make and tastes good. It pairs well with jams, jellies, sausages, and cheese.