****, in particular, baking

[GraceinMotion]

Does anyone have experience baking pepperoni slices, cheese chips, riced cauliflower crusts, etc. without a real oven? I'm thinking on the lines of Jim in Denver's sun oven, but I think it may not get hot enough. Or might a cast iron Dutch oven work? Or something else?

 

[Moxadox]

You can certainly use a Dutch oven. Lightly grease the bottom of the oven, have your round of pizza dough ready to go, heat your oven till it begins to smoke a little, throw your dough round in, cover it for a couple of minutes. Have your toppings ready to go. Uncover the oven and using a wooden spatula carefully flip your dough round over. Assemble the toppings on top of the dough round, cover again briefly until they are done to your satisfaction, and voila! **** pizza, Dutch oven style.

I do actually think you can make pizza in a solar oven. They can get blazing hot, especially in AZ! Have to ask Jim.

The Dire Wolfess

 

[Dingfelder]

Solar ovens can supposedly get very hot. However, you really do need good sunlight. I've heard/read that you can get by sometimes when it is overcast, but I've found from personal experience that if a lot of ash is in the air, you don't get enough heat to cook with even when its at or near 100 degree air temps outside.

I had no success at all with my solar oven because forest fires blocked too much direct sunlight all summer long. Very disappointing! Oddly enough, I actually expect better results come later in the fall and during winter, when the skies will be more clear even here in the rainy Pacific Northwest.

 

[Moxadox]

Yikes, Ding, that is awful. It's like a mini nuclear winter, only with triple digit heat. Are you planning to stay in the PNW for this winter, or coming south to play in the desert?

The Dire Wolfess

 

[Dingfelder]

I'm staying put until I get enough money together to buy a reliable truck. That won't come quick or easy. Right now I just have the trailer and a car much too small to tow it with. So I'm effectively planted for probably at least a couple or several years before I can hit the road.

Re the temps and such, they say we don't get rain all summer here, and I definitely can't recall rain since at least June. It also gets stuck in the 90 to 105 range for at least three months, and usually it's at least 95 for most of the summer months.

Everything gets very dry and then lightning starts fires. There's always some started by arsonists too. We are just starting to get the first clear skies in more than two months. I think it was supposed to be the worst fire season in many many years.

I wouldn't have bought the solar oven if I'd known it wouldn't work during our summers. But it's a nice enough item and I'm sure I'll eventually find it quite handy. One thing for sure is that cooking inside my trailer during our hot summers is crazy. The heat never leaves!

 

[Moxadox]

Ugh, that's awful. I forget, what state are you in? Hope your perfect tow vehicle materializes soon!

The Dire Wolfess

 

[Dingfelder]

Thanks! I'm in Oregon.

Things are clearing up now. Without all those hot breezes from the fires coming in, I've been comfortable all day. In fact yesterday was the first day I've felt comfy in long pants since ... June I guess? What a relief, and now fall will be coming in to cool things down and turn the leaves' colors to make the area look like a fairytale. All the seasons are nice around here except summer.