Dukes of the Dutch Oven
Every Memorial Day weekend for the past eight years there has been a DOG at Rumsey Park. Not the wagging tail kind, but the kind that might make you wag your tail if you had one. The DOG is a Dutch Oven Gathering and the food the participants produce is tail-wagging wonderful. Think chicken enchiladas topped with perfectly melted, lightly browned cheese; beautifully baked bread; pineapple upside down cake and more.
John Swenson and Mac Feezor are Payson’s own Dukes of the Dutch Oven and they have been organizing the DOG over the years. This year, they were encouraged to try to have something on a monthly basis and Swenson said they might try to do something in the fall if there is enough interest.
Swenson has been doing Dutch Oven cooking since 1972. He started when he was a Scout leader, learning from someone and doing a lot of self-teaching.
“I made a lot of mistakes… Like putting too much heat on the bottom and not enough on the top,” he said.
He explained the rule of thumb for good camp cooking with a Dutch Oven is to have twice as many coals on the lid as under the pot.
Swenson doesn’t participate in the Dutch Oven cooking contests, but he does a lot of cooking with the utensil. Recently he was up on the Rim with a crew that cooked for a 60-member boys’ camp and a 90-member girls’ camp. The biggest group he has cooked for was 320 people, with the help of a crew. He also uses it at home in the oven.
“Anything you can cook in a regular oven at home, you can cook in a Dutch Oven,” he said.
The best kind to use in camping is one with the three legs that lift it a little above the coals. The flat-bottom kind is better for cooking at home. Dutch Ovens come in a range of sizes, starting at eight inches in diameter and going up to 20 inches. There are also some specialty sizes out on the market, but they are more often just for decoration, he said.
Swenson’s favorite Dutch Oven dish? Cakes — pineapple upside down cake, a boxed spice cake mix combined with apple pie filling, a chocolate cake mix and cherry pie filling, a yellow cake mix with peach pie filling. He said he also likes a Mountain Man Breakfast made in a Dutch Oven. This is eggs, sausage and potatoes, all mixed together and baked in the utensil.
He said the time it takes to cook something in a Dutch Oven is about the same time it takes in a regular oven.
Swenson said anyone interested in having a Dutch Oven Gathering in the fall can get in touch with him. Call (928) 472-3331 or e-mail him at jswenson@airmail.net.
Dutch Oven Bread - News
The DOG is a Dutch Oven Gathering and the food the participants produce is tail-wagging wonderful. Think chicken enchiladas topped with perfectly melted, lightly browned cheese; beautifully baked bread; pineapple upside down cake and more.
In one, we got to sample a delicious Irish soda bread that had been cooked in a Dutch oven over peat coals. The woman of the house explained to us how she did the baking. “I place the pot on hot coals and top it with more hot coals,” she said.
On that windblown weekend in Wright's Beach when Nick showed me his bread, I discovered the joy of a perfect combination--cast iron and hot coals. Now, I had cooked in a Dutch oven before, but Nick taught me that weekend that anything I ever
It has a Dutch oven where bread was cooked, and there are kitchen tools to show how stews were boiled and even how waffles were made. "The focus on the Bradleys shows Easton's connection to farming," said Lisa Burghardt, president of the historical
The primary tool of the day was the Dutch oven, and Laird began the program with a short history and explanation of its use. Quite simply, a dutch oven is a cooking pot with a flat bottom and a lid with a deep lip. Hot coals are placed on top of the
Artisan bread in 5 minutes a day using a dutch oven update ...
I’ve been making bread using the Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day method, ( we made a GF video about artisan bread here ) and the original recipe calls for placing the dough on a bread peel to rise, then sliding it onto a pizza stone in the oven to bake. This pizza stone method yields a good loaf, but after baking bread with the No Knead Bread Recipe, ( here’s a video we made about the No Knead Bread Recipe ) I wanted to get that crunchy bread oven style crust on the Artisan Bread, so I thought I’d try using a dutch oven to bake the artisan bread. I’ve been baking the Artisan Bread in a cast iron dutch oven with good success.
I let the dough rise on a piece of parchment paper, then grab the corners of the parchment paper and lower the risen dough into the preheated dutch oven. Its ok to have some of the parchment paper sticking out of the sides of the lid.
To bake the Artisan Bread in 5 in a dutch oven, I bake it in a 450F oven, and bake the dough with the dutch oven lid on for 30 minutes, then I remove the lid and bake the bread for another 20-30 minutes with the lid off.
I’m really amazed at the bread I’ve been able to make with this and the No-Knead Bread Method. Check out the Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes site here.
What have your experiences been?
No-knead bread I made was Michael Smith's RUSTIC LOAF, in my cast-iron Dutch Oven, but 8 hrs initial rise, 2x yeast. 
I'm a big fan of whole wheat no-knead bread. Can I make it w/o the dutch oven, just a stone? Thanks. 
My fav bread besides Sourdough is Dutch Crunch! I love when I get this bread fresh out the oven from Winco! So yummy, crunchy & soft inside!Dutch Oven Bread - Bookshelf
The Outdoor Dutch Oven Cookbook
This is camp cooking as you've never tasted it!Dutch Oven Secrets
What adds to this book's special value is that the author shares his insights on the ins and outs of competition cooking.The old-fashioned Dutch oven cookbook, complete with authentic sourdough baking, smoking fish and game, making jerky, pemmican, and other lost campfire arts
Although this is primarily an outdoor cookbook, the information also will be helpful in the modern kitchen.Paula Deen & Friends, Living It Up, Southern Style
BOB'S DUTCH-OVEN BREAD / magine serving this hot baked bread to hungry Scouts at the end of a long day. I suspect this would earnjou some Brownie points! ...Doin' Dutch Oven, Inside and Out
Enjoy delicious Dutch oven dining inside your home or by the campfire This book is an exciting collection of more than a hundred delectable recipes and menus ...Daily Report Directory
Baking Bread in a Dutch Oven
This last year I've focused a lot of effort, reading, and practice on making good bread in my dutch ovens. It's both very much the same as and very differen
Dutch Oven Bread Recipe | Group Recipes
Our most trusted Dutch Oven Bread recipes. Reviewed by millions of home cooks.
Beer Bread
How to cook Dutch oven bread. ... This recipe will work in an 8 inch, 10 inch or 12 inch Camp style Dutch Oven. If using store bought charcoal and a 12 inch DO, the coal count ...
pat lynch | dutch oven bread baking
dutch oven bread baking. Home bread bakers have two problems: home ... By placing the risen bread dough into a 425°F Dutch oven, you get the massive ...
Easy, No-knead Crusty Bread
The no knead, Dutch oven bread technique and recipe is easy even for beginners. Includes ... Much has been written over the centuries about bread's importance in global cuisine. ...