Barbecued Bread

We don’t have an oven in our tiny house. I complained about it for years and researched RV ovens that never seemed like they would work very well. Finally, I just decided to try baking in our barbecue. It’s a pretty nice propane one that we got as a wedding present, but it’s not too fancy. I tried it, and miraculously, it worked.

In the interest of full disclosure, I don’t have much experience baking bread in a regular oven, so this is what I know best. I actually think that the open flame of the barbecue has some properties in common with a traditional brick or earth bread oven, so it usually works out pretty well. In fact, I think that, given the choice, I’d continue baking in my barbecue even if I had a regular oven.

 

 

 

 

 

I got the recipe for this bread from The Il Fornaio Baking Book. It’s called “Pane di Nove Cereali.” I did make a few adjustments including adding a bit more salt and a bit more white flour and swapping straight rolled oats for nine-grain cereal.

This dough has a healthy dose of whole wheat flour with enough white flour to give it pretty good rising power.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wet ingredients include water, dissolved yeast, olive oil, and a little honey.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I knead my dough by hand. It’s probably my favorite part of making bread. I tend to add extra flour, so it produces a slightly drier dough. This recipe requires quite a bit of kneading, 15-20 minutes or so with a couple rest periods.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I had some help with this endeavor.

Each rise takes about an hour for the dough to double.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here comes the fun part. It’s mostly decorative, but it adds a rustic touch.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now it’s time to get the barbecue ready.

This piece of cast iron is critical to the addition of steam to the “oven.” I’d bet that you could use any of the various types of cast iron cornbread/muffin pans.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Preheat everything on high for about a half hour.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When it gets to +/-400°, it’s go time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pour the water on the cast iron as quickly as possible without dousing the dough itself, and then close the lid.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Turn down the heat. The temperature will drop considerably, but that’s okay.

About 45 minutes later, Ta-dah! Great crust on the outside, great crumb on the inside.

This system is what works for me in my barbecue. Bread is surprisingly forgiving in terms of timing and temperatures, so feel free to experiment with your own equipment.

Have questions? Leave a comment below.