Baking Bread in a Solar Oven


Sun baked bread....

In previous posts I have talked a little about my joy of cooking with a Solar Oven . Should the need arise in an emergency, we have a way to bake bread and pretty much anything that can be baked. I love my oven. The last 6 months with it have been a great learning adventure.

Particularly, I wanted to share some tips on baking bread in a solar oven. As a pastry chef I'm a little picky about bread. There...I said it. Shoot me. So, I'm very concerned about slicing quality as well as just being able to make the bread. I want a loaf that hasn't risen so far that the gluten has collapsed on itself in the structure. So...here's my advice.

The chamber in a solar oven is a lot smaller than a conventional oven.
One thing I have found is that is is possible to only bake two loaves at a time. This is okay if you plan on making a few batches. Just start them an hour apart and they will be perfectly timed for the solar oven. The only situation this would not be true, is if you bake your bread in a WIDE mouth quart mason jar. Grease them pretty well! Then you can bake them 3-4 at a time.

Second, For bread, once you have formed it into a loaf, it is okay to put it in the oven immediately. The oven takes long enough to heat up that the final "proof" can be done there inside the oven. This allows your bread not to get too light and have better slicing quality.


Third, I heard that it was very difficult to get anything brown in a solar oven.
The enclosed chamber holds in the moisture.
They will get good and golden brown however, if you don't clasp the door shut.
Close the glass, but don't clasp it. This allows moisture to escape but not all the heat.
They are still pretty pale, but not white.

Test them for doneness by inserting a meat thermometer in the loaf. If it registers 175 degrees, it is cooked.

In any situation however, it is always good to have some practice cooking in a different way than with gas or electricity. This oven is great for camping!! It is light enough my 5 yr. old could carry it around (he would also sit in it and bake himself...but that's not really something I talk about). It is also amazingly fun!

More information can be found at:https://www.sunoven.com/ I don't sell them.