by Texas Homesteader
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As I rose early one morning and glanced out the window at yet another beautiful sunrise, I wondered if the day would be good to bake bread outside. The clouds are beginning to burn off. And a quick check of the forecast shows that the weatherman promises lots of sun and low wind.
Of course in a solar oven you need the sun to bake bread, but wind can sometimes wreak havoc with the reflectors. With promise of low wind, I decided to go for it!
You’ve just got to love those precious souls that wake up eager to greet the day. You know the ones – they spring out of bed with a smile on their lips and a song in their heart?
Well unfortunately that’s not me. Oh I love mornings but I’m certainly in slow gear until I receive coffee-inspired motivation.
So into the kitchen I shuffle, yawning and still half asleep – morning coffee still firmly gripped in my hand. Luckily I know myself well enough that I’ve started using several Bread-Making Shortcuts. I’ve already premixed the dry ingredients for my bread recipe and placed them in baggies.
I simply pull out one of the premixed bags of dry bread ingredients. Then I mix it with the wet ingredients & yeast. Now I set it aside for the first rise, punch down and shaping.
By the time the loaves are shaped I’ve set up the *solar oven and it’s ready to go. Since the winter sun here in North Texas is still pretty low in the southern sky, the oven is tilted pretty strongly to the south to channel the sun’s energy directly into the oven.
*About My Solar Oven: For those of you asking, I have a Sun Oven brand solar oven and I LOVE IT! If you’ve been waiting to get a solar oven of your own – now’s the time!
The bread pans go into the oven to rise a second time. I keep the oven door ajar so it doesn’t get hot enough to actually bake the bread but offers a warm environment which will allow the bread to rise beautifully.
When the second rise is complete I close and latch the oven door. Even though the temps today are a chilly 40 degrees, the temperature inside the oven rises quickly to over 300 degrees.
About thirty minutes later I brush melted butter on the crusts to both soften and add the flavor RancherMan loves. Fifteen minutes later this bread is ready to come out of the oven. (inhales deeply….) There’s nothing like the smell of fresh-baked bread!
Have any of you tried a solar oven? Do you have any advice to share?
UPDATE: Previously my bread recipe always seemed result in a pretty heavy and dense loaf, so I’ve changed to a KitchenAid Sandwich Bread recipe that delivers a light, fluffy loaf every time!
~TxH~
Looking For More Solar-Cooking Recipes?
- Emergency Preparedness On The Homestead
- Meatloaf In A Solar Oven
- Cheesy Chile-Chicken Casserole
- Boneless Breaded Pork Chops
- SW Chicken w/Seasoned Brown Rice
- BBQ Pork Sandwiches
- Homemade Marinara Sauce
- Pumpkin Bread
- Baking Bread In A Solar Oven
- Cooking Hard-Boiled Eggs In A Solar Oven
- Baking Potatoes In A Solar Oven
- Brewing Tea With The Sun
You can see our other SOLAR oven articles here
Other Favorite Breads
- Soft Sandwich Bread
- Oatmeal Sandwich Bread
- No-Knead Rosemary Skillet Bread
- No-Knead Boule Bread
- Jalapeno/cheese Yeast Bread
- Basic Beer Bread
- Rosemary/Cheddar Beer Bread
- Pesto Beer Bread
- Homemade Country-Style Buttermilk Biscuits
- Leftover Biscuit Dough Cinnamon Rolls!
- Snappy Jalapeno/Cheese Biscuits
- Jalapeno Cornbread
- Corn Dodgers – A Delicious Accident
- Mix-n-Pour Tortillas
- Easy Corn Tortillas
- Sweet Pumpkin Bread
- Cantaloupe Bread w/Pecan Praline Glaze
- My Favorite Bread-Making Kitchen Feature
- Homemade Bread-Making Shortcuts, Tips & Tricks
- Making Pre-Mix Bread Ingredient Packets
- Bread Machine Recipe: Honey Oatmeal Bread
- Making My Own Oat Flour For CHEAP
All Bread Posts
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Hey Tammy ,
Lots of great response to your solar oven bread making , love the Idea . I didn’t know it would get hot enough to make bread being winter. Me living in Washington State haven’t hardly see the sun here this winter. lol thanks for your wonderful post , I can almost smell it from here ….
Wow that’s awesome! Your bread looks delicious. I’ve never heard of a solar oven before. What a great idea for summer months when you want to keep it cool indoors.
Glad I stopped by from the ‘Good Morning Mondays’ link-up. : )
This looks super cool! Our family is interested in homesteading in the future (as soon as we can get some land) so I’ll have to investigate your blog some more! We are also in Texas: San Antonio. So I can totally relate to the weather 🙂
I found you on the Pretty Pintastic Party #94
Wow, I didn’t know they could get that hot on a cold day. And nothing warms you up like a piece of freshly baked bread. YUM! saw you on You’re Gonna Love It.
Hello, I found this outdoor oven very interesting. I make bread all winter but when hot weather hits here in Ct.forget it! I used to love to plant my own garden, but I developed an allergy to the sun. I haven’t had a garden in 3 years. However grandkids are older and want one so my husband will give it a try. I’m thinking that I can help with the garden at night.
I have never used a solar oven although we have used a solar wax melter to melt beeswax! Thanks for sharing on the HomeAcre Hop hope to see you again tomorrow. – Nancy The Home Acre Hop
this is fascinating, the bread looks wonderful! I appreciate you sharing with Home and Garden Thursday,
Kathy
I love this idea!! I’ve never tried a solar oven but would love to. I’m curious … did you buy one or make it? I’m pretty sure that I NEED one! And I love that you were able to make a beautiful loaf of bread when it wasn’t all that warm out. Just proves that it doesn’t have to be a hot day … just a sunny. Thanks, so much for sharing!
Another great post from TMR 🙂 Very interesting – have never used a solar oven. Thanks for sharing on Home and Garden Thursday.
I LOVE this!!! I really want to give it a try and your pictures are fabulous. Stopping by from Ducks ‘n a Row party. Carrie, A Mother’s Shadow
Ha! I never thought of this. How cool to be able to do that.
How fabulous is that??!!! Now I want one! Thanks for sharing your outdoor post on The Maple Hill Hop!
I have never used a solar oven but it would be amazing to cook with in the summer!
I’m going to have to check it out!
Thanks for this great post!
Lisa
I am so glad you posted this……This is of interest to me since I want to try such, but have never had or used a solar oven, although I have seen descriptions on how to build one and have it in my “someday” file. 🙂 Your oven looks great and I have never checked in to an already made one. Thank you for reviving my interest in this subject. 🙂 Gentle Joy
Very interesting! I’d love to live off the grid someday and this solar oven would be a nice addition! Thanks for sharing with us at Eco-Kids Tuesday. Hope you link up again today!
Wow! This is so neat. I’ve never even heard of a solar oven before. Color me impressed! It’s awesome that it got hot enough to bake your bread, even when it was only in the 40s outside. I may have to look into solar ovens now 🙂
What a cool looking solar oven! I have done solar cooking but always with our own homemade solar cookers! This is such a treat to read about this and your bread turned out amazing! By the way I loved your sky picture! Just gorgeous! Thanks so much for linking up to “The Ole’ Saturday Homesteading Trading Post” blog hop! Hope you join us again next week!
No! I’ve never tried a solar oven, but I really want to! Which model do you have?
How neat! Makes me want to experiment in making this part of our homesteading life. Thanks so much for posting on this. I wonder though if during the summer months, when it is so hot, if it will take less time to bake the bread? Does it make a difference. I also like the idea of solar dehydrating, actually just purchased a book from Amazon.com on solar dehydrating. Currently, we have an Excalibur dehydrator, it surely can put out some heat while in use during the summer.