Easy Beer Bread Rolls – Bread Baked in a Camp Cast Iron Dutch Oven
You can use either a 12-Inch Deep Camp Cast Iron Dutch Oven OR a 12-Inch Cast Iron Skillet in your Home’s Oven.
I am going to use a bread maker in this recipe. I know that most camp sites and areas where we take our Dutch ovens don’t have power to work that bread maker. But hang with me on this one. I find myself creating this recipe so often on outings because this recipe just works for so many outing situations.
This recipe is one of those that I prepare half at home and the other half in camp. I’ll set this up before leaving for camp and bake the rolls when we have got there and set everything up and are ready for lunch or dinner.
This recipe is one I usually prepare for the FIRST MEAL AT CAMP. It’s one of the easiest, quickest cooks with the least clean up and makes a perfect first meal of many.
Other times we are going out for a day trip and will stop along the way to cook. These rolls add such a fine touch to any meal…AND…they work GREAT AS HAMBURGER BUNS!!
Our normal pattern when creating these rolls for camp is to:
- Set the ingredients in the bread maker on the dough cycle while we load the vehicle for our trip.
- Once the dough is ready, we remove the dough and cut it into individual dough rounds.
- We form the rolls and put them in the bottom of our buttered camp cast iron Dutch oven.
- Pack them in the vehicle and let them rise as we drive to camp or explore the countryside.
- When we stop and are ready to cook, we set up the fire and bake them.
And YES, you can make this bread in camp and without a bread maker (an advanced recipe for another day).
I think this recipe is one of the best ways to learn how to bake bread in a camp cast iron Dutch oven…one of the BEST ways for sure! It gives you a feel for how the bread bakes and responds to the placement of the charcoal briquettes and the time it bakes. It’ll show you how bread bakes in deep Dutches versus shallow Dutches.
It’s just a great, all-around recipe with an amazing addition to any meal.
This article does contain affiliate links.
The Cast Iron
12-Inch DEEP Camp Cast Iron Dutch Oven (https://amzn.to/3SIdEd5)
Or
12-Inch Cast Iron Skillet (home baked rolls) (https://amzn.to/40zTGDo)
I bake these rolls…as well as most of my baked bread in camp…in a DEEP camp cast iron Dutch oven. The deep versions “lift” the heat from the top of the oven a bit higher and not so close to the tops of the rolls. This allows for more even baking.
The other reason is: bread rises. And though it is less-than-likely your rolls will rise to meet the underside of your oven’s lid, it’s possible.
If you don’t have a deep camp cast iron Dutch oven, no worries. My suggestion is to reduce the top heat by about 6-8 briquettes. Even with the reduction, you may still end up with some darker tops. And…really and truly…no worries!
If you want to bake these rolls at home, then grab a 12-inch cast iron skillet. Butter it up like you would if you were baking in that camp Dutch oven. After they have risen, bake them at 400°F – 205°C for 20-30 minutes or until they have browned to your preference.
Supplies You May Need (Affiliate Links)
Equipment
12-Inch Deep Camp Cast Iron Dutch Oven (https://amzn.to/3SIdEd5)
Measuring Cup
Teaspoon Measuring Spoon
Tablespoon Measuring Spoon
Knife or Dough Cutter/Scraper (https://amzn.to/40FGvkb)
Ingredients:
Dry Ingredients:
3 Cups Flour
2 Tablespoons Sugar
2 teaspoons Yeast
1+ teaspoon Salt
Wet Ingredients:
1 Cup Beer
2-4 Tablespoons Oil
Other Ingredients:
2 Tablespoon of Butter (for the inside of the Dutch oven and NOT to be added in the bread ingredients).
Instructions
Set Up
Step 1: Add the Dry Ingredients: flour, sugar, yeast, and salt to the bread maker’s basket and turn the machine to the dough cycle.
Step 2: Measure your beer and make sure you are not measuring foam. Let the beer settle and ensure you have a cup of beer.
Step 3: Turn on the bread machine and let the dry ingredients start mixing.
Step 4: Pour in the beer and then the oil.
Chef Tip: Not all cups of flour are created equal. If the cups of flour were on the “heavy” side, you may need to add more beer to the forming dough. What does the ball of dough look like as it is being kneaded by the bread machine? Do you need to add any beer? If you have a 12-ounce can or bottle that you removed the cup of beer from, use some of the remaining 4-ounces but only a tablespoon at a time. It’ll go from too dry to too wet if you add just a tablespoon too much.
Step 5: Pull out about two tablespoons of butter and place it in the bottom of the 12-inch cast iron Dutch oven to warm to room temperature. About 5-10 minutes before the dough cycle is done on the bread machine, smear the soft-room temperature butter all upon the insides of that Dutch oven and up the sides (the rolls will rise higher).
BUTTER IS THE KEY TO NON-STICK ROLLS: Smearing butter (BUTTER and not oil or grease) all upon the bottom and sides of that cast iron Dutch oven.
Step 6: Once the bread machine is done, remove the dough from the bread machine basket and lay it on a lightly floured surface.
Step 7: Stretch the dough out and into a long, French-bread like loaf about as big around as a normal man’s forearm.
Step 8: Cut the dough into 2-inch to 3-inch sections. No need to be perfect here; not at all. Some rolls may be bigger; some may be smaller. No worries.
Step 9: Lay each cut, section on the floured surface and form a ball by pulling the edges to the center and pinching it closed.
Step 10: Turn the formed round dough over to where the pinched section is the bottom and place the small ball of dough into the deep cast iron Dutch oven.
Step 11: Continue to form the rolls and place them in the Dutch oven and evenly space with room for them to rise in the Dutch oven.
Step 12: Let them rise in the Dutch oven as you travel to camp or the picnic area.
Ready to Bake
Step 13: When you are ready to bake your rolls, set 24 briquettes to fire. When they are red hot and ready, place 8 briquettes in a wide circle just about equal to the diameter of the bottom of the Dutch oven but not right under the Dutch oven.
Step 14: Evenly cover the top of the Dutch oven with the other 16 briquettes and let the rolls bake for about 10 minutes.
Step 15: After 10 minutes, turn the lid ⅓ of a turn in one direction and the whole pot ⅓ of a turn in the other direction. If you “take a peek,” you will see some light toasting of the tops of the rolls.
Step 16: After another 10 minutes, they are likely done or very close to being done. Take a peek (only a peek) at the rolls. Is the bottom toasting? “Seeing” the bottom of the rolls is not really possible. But, what do the edges near the cast iron pot’s edge look like? This is where this recipe will help teach you how to bake bread. We really can’t “see” if our bottoms are burning or not cooking as fast as the tops. We get a “feel” for how the rolls are “looking.”
Chef Tip: How do the bottoms of the rolls look? “Study” the way they look. If they look perfect, then your bottom briquette arrangement is perfect. Do the same thing every time from now on. Too light? Next time make a tighter circle of briquettes. Too dark? Next time spread the circle out a little wider.
Also, does it seem the tops are cooking faster than the bottoms? This is common if you are baking in a shallow cast iron Dutch oven; the briquette-covered lid is “closer” to the top of the rolls and sometimes the tops will cook faster than the bottoms.
Step 17: When the rolls “look” done, remove the briquettes from the top of the Dutch oven and then remove the oven from the bottom heat.
Chef Tip: That cast iron is HOT! Those rolls will continue to cook in that pot and may “toast” a bit more if you don’t plan to eat them right away. Leaving the lid off and covering them with a dry dish towel is perfect.
Chef Tip: If you are not planning to eat the rolls right away and are leaving them in a covered, cast iron Dutch oven, they may create condensation in that pot while they rest. This is a no-go! That dry dish towel is perfect for this as well.
If you really want to know if your bread is baked all the way through, you could use a temperature probe to check one of the roll centers. Though raw bread dough is not like raw meat, I still don’t want doughy rolls.
Bread is baked when the internal temperature is 190°F / 88°C. And, sometimes I may pull the pot from the fire when the bread has reached 180°F / 82°C and let it keep baking from the residual heat of that cast iron Dutch oven.
Chef Tip: If you feel your bottoms not cooking during the bake, move the bottom briquette circle in closer (smaller circle and more “under” the pot).
And there you go! BREAD IN CAMP.
Summary
This same recipe works perfect at home too and when using a 12-inch cast iron skillet.
If you want to bake these rolls at home, then grab a 12-inch cast iron skillet. Butter it up like you would if you were baking in that camp Dutch oven. After they have risen, bake them at 400°F – 205°C for 20-30 minutes or until they have browned to your preference.
And, if you just want to bake a loaf of bread, leave the dough all in one large, rounded loaf and add it to the buttered cast iron Dutch oven and port it to camp…almost like a very large roll.
If you’ve been following Beer and Iron for any time, you’ll see my pattern of creating recipes with (seemingly) lots of step numbers. I tend to break the simple steps down that most recipe authors include all in one step. There’s nothing wrong with that…it’s just a different way. I like to write recipes out in simple, one-and-a-time, and step-by-step instructions.
And that’s it y’all. This is one of my go-to recipes to teach others about how to bake bread in camp.
You all keep on cooking in those cast iron beauties and enjoying those glasses of that fermented barley pop.
We’ll see you next time.
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Easy Beer Rolls – Bread Baked in a Camp Cast Iron Dutch Oven
Equipment
- 12-Inch Deep Camp Cast Iron Dutch Oven
- Measuring Cup
- Teaspoon Measuring Spoon
- Tablespoon measuring spoon
- Knife or Dough Cutter/Scraper
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 3 Cups Flour
- 2 Tablespoons Sugar
- 2 teaspoons Yeast
- 1 teaspoon Salt Rounded Teaspoon
Wet Ingredients
- 1 Cup Beer
- 2-4 Tablespoons Oil
Other Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoon Butter for the inside of the Dutch oven and NOT to be added in the bread ingredients.
Instructions
Set Up
- Add the Dry Ingredients: flour, sugar, yeast, and salt to the bread maker’s basket and turn the machine to the dough cycle.
- Measure your beer and make sure you are not measuring foam. Let the beer settle and ensure you have a cup of beer.
- Turn on the bread machine and let the dry ingredients start mixing.
- Pour in the beer and then the oil.
- Pull out about two tablespoons of butter and place it in the bottom of the 12-inch cast iron Dutch oven to warm to room temperature. About 5-10 minutes before the dough cycle is done on the bread machine, smear the soft-room temperature butter all upon the insides of that Dutch oven and up the sides (the rolls will rise higher).
Form the Rolls
- Once the bread machine is done, remove the dough from the bread machine basket and lay it on a lightly floured surface.
- Stretch the dough out and into a long, French-bread like loaf about as big around as a normal man’s forearm.
- Cut the dough into 2-inch sections. No need to be perfect here; not at all. Some rolls may be bigger; some may be smaller. No worries.
- Lay each cut, section on the floured surface and form a ball by pulling the edges to the center and pinching it closed.
- Turn the formed round dough over to where the pinched section is the bottom and place the small ball of dough into the deep cast iron Dutch oven.
- Continue to form the rolls and place them in the Dutch oven and evenly space with room for them to rise in the Dutch oven.
- Let them rise in the Dutch oven as you travel to camp or the picnic area.
Ready to Bake
- When you are ready to bake your rolls, set 24 briquettes to fire. When they are red hot and ready, place 8 briquettes in a wide circle just about equal to the diameter of the bottom of the Dutch oven but not right under the Dutch oven.
- Evenly cover the top of the Dutch oven with the other 16 briquettes and let the rolls bake for about 10 minutes.
- After 10 minutes, turn the lid ⅓ of a turn in one direction and the whole pot ⅓ of a turn in the other direction. If you “take a peek,” you will see some light toasting of the tops of the rolls.
- After another 10 minutes, they are likely done or very close to being done. Take a peek (only a peek) at the rolls.
- When the rolls “look” done, remove the briquettes from the top of the Dutch oven and then remove the oven from the bottom heat.
Notes
If you want to bake these rolls at home, then grab a 12-inch cast iron skillet. Butter it up like you would if you were baking in that camp Dutch oven. After they have risen, bake them at 400°F – 205°C for 20-30 minutes or until they have browned to your preference.
