Basic flat breads

Being able to cook basic flat breads (pan bread) is a skill that will give your your cooking and diet an added dimension. I post (IMO) solid demonstration videos that walk you though the process and provide measurements for the material used. I've included a couple of old-school "by eye" types as well.

This first one is making Tortillas without a press. If I had to make enough flatbread for a family, I might consider buying or making a press - a roller will work fine. In the field I use a soda bottle filled with water.



Next, is making Nan. Often associated with India, but anyone who had waded thru the sh!t in SWA, will tell you Nan is a stable in both SWA and North Africa.


(I would add the sugar to the yeast water , then add to dough, but that's just me)

Of course, Southern Biscuits are to die for (with gravy and sausage,, of course)



this shows the no measurement, no rolling pin, no biscuit cutter way to make very nice biscuits. In the field, this methods works well. Using a Dutch oven may take longer than 20 min. I don't use an oven thermometer for my DO, but if car camping, what's a little extra weight?

Fry bread. Growing up in SoAZ, fry bread was a staple for us both at home and while out camping. If you have read my books, fry bread is the one thing I mention as a cooked item. This will keep for a day or two, if covered.



A slotted spatula works as well as tongs, and you can use it for many other cooking duties.

For the cooking impaired or to use in camp with no fuss - there is always Bisquick. This is a pre-mixed baking mix sold by General Mills under its Betty Crocker brand, consisting of flour, shortening, salt, and baking powder. You can use this for most of the recopies above. Note that in the Nan segment, an egg was added....

Please note that every one of these demos used white, bleached flour. If you grind your own wheat into flour, mixing 50/50 with white flour to start with will ensure more success (don't ask). Once you switch to all whole wheat, you will have to make some adjustments, and the type of wheat used will make these changes different for everyone.

Leaning to cook basic food stuffs is the start of being prepared. Learning to cook these over a camp stove or wood fire, even more so.

Final note, a large cast iron fry pan will work for all of these breads. A cast iron Dutch Oven with legs or use of a quality trivet can be an investment worth making for baked goods.

Good luck! Get the kiddos involved.

 

I've made great tortillas and Navaho fry bread.

Great biscuits still elude me............I get either chalk or hard tack.

 

Potato lefse might fit this category. It’s the best thing ever!!!! The ones you posted look like they would finish a very close second. Thanks.

 

Never heard of potato lefse. I just looked it up and it looks like a rich tortilla

 

My mom doesn’t make it anymore. It’s labor intensive. I have to sneak in Sons Of Norway to get it once in awhile. Soooo good.