Has anyone tried the Camp Chef Dutch Oven Dome?

[Jacquie]

Hi,
We have a propane stove and lost of cast iron. I was talking with my husband about baking. We discovered the Camp Chef Dutch Oven Dome for use with a propane stove. Would love to hear if anyone has tried it. Also, how well does the Coleman collapsible oven work? Checking out the options as we just got our first teardrop and want to make most effective use of our current gear.

[Joamon]

I bought a Dome this last fall and I have a camp chef grill. I have used it with limited success. I found the baking to be very hard to do. It comes with a defuser plate to help keep the bottom from overheating. The one thing I tried to bake, the bottom burned. It may have been user error. Other cookinng came out a little better.
I think a little more cooking might be in order.
Good luck and happy camping.
Keith

[desertmoose]

Kat and I picked one up and have tried it a couple of times. It seemed to work...ok....
The top didn't brown like I'd expected.



The dump cake did cook completely though, and didn't last long...



Sure better than nothing when they have the burn ban in effect here.

Since we tried it, I read somewhere to leave the lid off the DO to improve browning on the top. I'll give that a try next time and see if it's better that way or not.

Sam

[Jacquie]

Thanks Keith and Sam!
I think we'll take the plunge and try it out. We actually use our dutch ovens at home all the time, so we'll have to give it a try. I requested the Tartine Bread book from the library that is all about baking bread in a dutch oven. I bake all our breads in the regular oven in cast iron, but they don't look picture perfect all the time. My kids love it and they won't let me buy store bought bread anymore.
Cheers!
Jacquie

[bc toys]

i was told if baking turn a pie pan shallow upside down and that will keep bottom from burning

[bobhenry]

I bought a Dome this last fall and I have a camp chef grill. I have used it with limited success. I found the baking to be very hard to do. It comes with a defuser plate to help keep the bottom from overheating. The one thing I tried to bake, the bottom burned. It may have been user error. Other cookinng came out a little better.
I think a little more cooking might be in order.
Good luck and happy camping.
Keith

Baking in a dutch oven take a little different tact than just cooking a stew or a roast.

You will have much better success if you divide your coals by distributing them 3/1 that's 3 coals on top for every one on the bottom. A 12" D.O. is recommended to have about 24 coals for 350 degrees in normal weather so 18 on top and 6 on the bottom. I have done several loaves of bread and only the very first loaf was the infamous "black bottom bread" Once I learned the trick the future loaves were perfect!

A dump cake has a great deal of liquid and the steam generated make it hard to brown the tops. When I am to where I can pass the toothpick test I take all the coals and dump them on top and give the cake 5 more minutes some will brown some won't but they are all good eatin'

[desertmoose]

A dump cake has a great deal of liquid and the steam generated make it hard to brown the tops. When I am to where I can pass the toothpick test I take all the coals and dump them on top and give the cake 5 more minutes some will brown some won't but they are all good eatin'[/b][/color]

if there isn't a burn ban, and you can use coals, it's easier to control the heat distribution.

We bought the dome to use over the propane campfire when coals aren't allowed.

That's when it gets tricky distributing the heat with only the propane flame underneath....

and you're right, it's good eating even if it isn't browned....

Sam

[bobhenry]

oops I missed the fact you were trying to use a propane cook top !

I should read BEFORE I think

[desertmoose]

:oops: oops I missed the fact you were trying to use a propane cook top !

I should read BEFORE I think

Actually, I forgot to mention it at the start.....

looking forward to our first camping trip this year!!

[Jacquie]

Well, we finally received the dome. It was way too huge to use with our propane cooktop.
Returned it since it was expressly for the purpose of propane use. We may check out the Coleman folding one, but I'll pay more attention to the size.