The Bedourie Oven

Brew, I put a picture in before but the one in the Cobb leaflet I thought very good for a savoury type one and it toasted and made good sandwiches the next day. Carolyn

3 1/3 cups Self-Raising Flour
pinch salt
approx 375ml beer

Place flour in bowl and make a well in centre, add enough beer to form a soft pliable dough. Place into a non stick cake tin. For the Cobb bake at least 40 minutes before checking.

Grated cheese, herbs, sliced olives, sun-dried tomatoes, chopped ham or bacon and finely copped onion can be added for different flavours.

They also have one for scones but would shape into a damper for a sweeter one.

3 cups SR Flour
1 cup Lemonade
1 cup cream (or my suggestion Carnation milk easier to obtain)
pinch salt
pinch baking powder.

You could add sultanas or mixed fruit if you wanted.

I have bought a packet of Lowans Fruit bread mix and will use it with lemondade and cream and more baking powder next time I feel like experimenting. I dont think I would bother with yeast for this but of course you could.

Gday Brew69,weve got one and think its really good,strong & light.Used ours for a three month trip last year and handled everything well.The only complaint was the handle,easy to over balance and tip your dinner out(I take it they still have a single loop handle).Ive since modified the handle and welded a ring around the lid to hold coals better.As for damper recipe,dunno,SWMBO is here at the moment.
Cheers Nick

Hi Brew,

You'll be very happy with your choice. I've got both size bedouries - had them for 20 years, and love using them. Versatility is what they're about.

I often do a roast - use the smaller size for that for 2 people, larger size for more. I use a trivet to keep the veges from sticking. Prefer topside or lamb roasts.

I like cooking pizzas - just buy that round longlife lebanese bread - tomato paste, pepperoni or salami, mushrooms, capsicum, mozarella cheese on top, then slip it on a trivet into the bedourie - sit it next to the fire, shovel of coals on top only, and 15 minutes later, eat the pizza and put the next one in.

We do casseroles, stir fries, and lots of similar stuff just using the smaller bedourie base.

We use the bedourie lid for bacon and egg sandwiches. Can use it as a conventional frypan.

Bread takes a bit of practice in the bedourie to get the heat right - probably easier to burn than in cast iron.

And they stack away so easily - bedouries fit inside one another - mine go in a canvas bag - I have a series of 5 billies that sit inside one another, then into the bedourie - nice compact setup.

Lots of other things you can do with them - just use them - experiement and enjoy.

Cheers
Phil

Thanks all. looks like i am all ready to offer burnt offerings lol.

Biggest thing I learned was heat control......surprising how much youdon'tneed.....as we often do when roasting:
1. Make a sheltered depression to put the coals in for cooking
2. Put an insulating layer of coals in the depression (warms the ground up)
3. Warm the bedourie prior on the main fire
4. A bit after (bush timing) sprinkle some more coals to cook on
5. Assemble tucker and put the bedourie on
6. Sprinkle some coals on the lid
7. We think about 75% of the heat would best be coming from the top
8. Check progress with an ear close by - just a very (very) low sizzle should be heard....adjust heat top and under as required.
Monitor progress with a coldie in hand (and never forget - place SWMBO's chair in her favourite spot and get her drink before yours).

Also great for cooking up a big batch of chippies.
If yours is like ours it will have two triangle "loops" on the bottom part. Make yourself up a gizmo for lifting it off the heat. I used two things best described as baby billy hooks (home made) connected by a piece of light chain. Not sure if that makes sense but it works. The "billy hook" bits are only about 6 inches long so I store it inside the oven, along with a brush for clearing the coals off as well as an oven mit, egg rings and a round baking tin. Because the bedourie is fairly thin we've found it best to place the egg rings on the bottom then cook in the baking tin for stuff like casseroles, cakes etc. Keeps things off the bottom and thus less likely to burn.