August 17th, 2014
Backcountry Bread Recipe
Ingredients
– 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
– 2 tsp. baking powder
– ½ tsp. salt
– ½ tsp. sugar
– 3 Tbsp. lard, bacon grease or canola oil
– 1 cup cold water
Directions:
1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. (This mix can be made in advance and kept in a zip-top bag or other airtight container until ready to use.)
2. Stir in the fat and slowly pour in the water, while stirring, until a firm dough forms. You may not need to use the whole cup of water.
3. Knead the dough for a minute or two, then set aside to let rise for at least 30 minutes.
4. Divide and flatten the dough into small round discs. Fry in a greased skillet set over a medium fire, turning once, until cooked through about 20 minutes OR I put it into my BEMCO Backpackers Oven at 450 degrees F for about 50 minutes.
Friendly Faces
Natalia and Lorianne:We enjoyed a really nice dinner hosted by these two working stiffs (hydrologists on assignment here), and they are so nice to get to know. We played cards, and shared popcorn and wine, and it seemed just like old times back in Vancouver with these two.
Today’s Highlights
Andrew writes:Baking bread. I’ve held the assumption that since Amanda bought the backpackers oven, it was her responsibility. Therefore it was really nice getting my hands dirty, making and kneading the dough and then putting our oven through its paces. The look of sheer enjoyment on Lorianne’s face when she bit into the bread, coated in maple butter, was worth the effort.
Today’s Lowlights
Andrew writes:Breaking my Contour2+ camera. Somewhere along the hike, a part broke off the back. I think the camera is salvageable, but still, it sucks to either go without the part, or pay to replace it (if possible).
What happened…
Andrew writes: Slept in until 10am, although that seems to be a pretty normal time for us to wake up. We took our time around camp since it was a rest day. Around lunchtime we packed a backpack and hiked up Sapper Hill behind us. It was higher than I thought, but took less time to hike than I thought too. All in all, a very cool experience, and it was our first time hiking together I think.
We got back to camp and started cooking a minestrone stew, when Lorianne came over and invited us to dinner at their campsite. We provided some vegetables for a very lovely coconut mango curry cooked by Natalia.
Natalia and Lorianne hail from Ottawa, where they are hydrologists (??). So these two are studying the Ogilvie River, and come up twice a year to record data from a probe they’ve sunk at the bottom of the river. There has been so much rain lately though that they can’t wade out into the water to pickup the probe. They’ll give it another go tomorrow. We’re wishing them luck!
After dinner we sipped wine, ate popcorn, and played Euchre. Natalia and I won in a close fought battle. Lorianne was crazy about popcorn and it was pretty neat watching her cook it over an open pit fire. Bed by 11pm, for what will be a long day tomorrow I think. 120km to the next campground. It’s unsure whether or not we’ll try to make it in one day or not.
Today’s Photographs
[flickr_tags user_id=”17145280@N00″ tags=”081714″]