How to Cook Pizza While Camping
You don't need to forego Saturday night pizza because you're half way up a mountain. Bring on the magic of skillet pizza off the grid and over the campfire.
When we planned this hike and camp we bounced around a few dinner ideas. Loving a good adventurous culinary challenge, pizza seemed naturally like a good one to test our skills. But could this be done without an oven? A little research and a small cast iron skillet purchase later we had a plan. We made the dough at the campsite, however you could pre-make this at home to fast track the process. Easier still, you could also substitute pizza dough for something simple like wraps or flat breads to throw into the skillet. The best thing about pizza is you can really put anything on it, fresh tomatoes, handfuls of greens from that farm you're camping near or foraged finds from the forest.
Below is the method we used so you too can try pizza night off the grid.
Ingredients
- Pizza Dough (we used a standard recipe with white flour, yeast, warm water, sugar, salt + oil)
- Olive Oil in spray bottle
- Extra flour
- Fresh figs, sliced
- 1 x Red Onion
- Goats Cheese, chunks
- Grated Mozarella
- Prosciutto ribbons
- Rocket / Arugula
Equipment
- Cast Iron Skillet
- Small saucepan
- Chopping Board
- Small sharp knife
- Tongs
- Aluminium Foil to cover
Method:
Day before the campout:
- If making your dough onsite, measure out flour and salt into a ziploc bag, adding a little extra flour for rolling out OR, make dough completely then cover with oil, wrap in cling wrap and place in bowl.
At the camp:
- Finely slice red onion and cook over fire with a Tbsp olive oil gently in saucepan for 30 mins or until soft and golden, move to side of fire to keep simmering/warm.
- Get fire going nice and hot and place skillet over to heat.
- Once dough is ready, roll out into thin round bases to fit your skillet.
- Place pizza base into skillet, you can spread to fill to edges carefully as it will be hot.
- Place uncovered over fire for 5 or so minutes until a little crispy on underside
- Take off fire and flip base then cover with caramelised red onion, sliced figs, prosciutto ribbons and a sprinkle of mozarella
- Place back on fire, this time covering with foil.
- Check pizza after 5-10 minutes. The base should be crispy and the cheese beginning to melt.
- Once ready, sprinkle with a handful of arugula before serving.
We want to acknowledge and thank the past, present, and future generations of all Native Nations and Indigenous Peoples whose ancestral lands we travel, explore, and play on. Always practice Leave No Trace ethics on your adventures and follow local regulations. Please explore responsibly!
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