Survival Bread

The name pretty much says it all about this bread. This recipe is recommended for anyone who likes to do a lot of camping and overnight outdoor activities. This recipe is for one loaf. Double it, triple it, whatever your needs may call for. This may be a good addition to your 72-hour kits. Totally up to you. I believe though, that it might be something to think about in the event of no electricity or evacuation or whatever. Think about it!

Survival Bread
2 c. oats
2 ½ c. powdered milk
3 ½ oz pkg. Jell-O (orange or lemon)
3 T. honey
3 T. water
1 c. sugar
Combine oats, powdered milk and sugar. In a medium pan, mix: water, Jell-O and honey. Bring to a boil; add dry ingredients and mix well. (If the mix is too dry, add a small amount of water a teaspoon at a time). Shape dough into a loaf (about the size of a brick). Place on a cookie sheet and bake at 350º for 15-20 minutes; cool. If you increased the recipe for multiple loaves you can place several at a time onto the cookie sheet for baking. Don't place them too close together.
Once the bread is baked remove from the cookie sheet and allow to cool completely. The bread can be wrapped whole in the foil for storage. This bread will keep indefinitely and each loaf is the daily nutrients for one adult. I recommend the use of this recipe for anyone who likes to do a lot of camping and overnight outdoor activities. This recipe is for one loaf.

Now, this is just for any obsessive-compulsive-Altoid-tin-savers who may be reading this. Put your Altoid tins to good use. Not only can you use them to store small things like matches or a fire starter or any other small and important item, you can also cook in them. Don’t believe me? Here is a link for a recipe for making Altoid tin bread. Really. Serious. Who knows? This knowledge might come in handy someday! Below is the basic recipe for Altoid tin bread. Learn more about it at this site including different cooking methods for your bread.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Altoids-Tin-Bread-Bake-Survival-Bread/

Making bread in an Altoid tin
½ c. Self Rising Flour (½ c. all purpose flour + ½ t. baking powder + ¼ t. salt + 1/8 t. soda) per serving
Water (2-3 T. water per serving; go by consistency)
Extra Virgin Olive Oil ( just a drizzle)
Salt (Just use a dash since the flour already has some in it)
An Altoid tin, clean of decoration (Use a wire brush and scrub. It takes about two minutes to get the entire tin clean.
A mixing bowl and a mixing utensil. Use a small bowl and a whisk. (If you’re in the woods, the Altoid tin and a clean stick will work just fine.)
Mix flour and a touch of olive oil in the bowl, drop a pinch of salt in to taste if you want. Drizzle water in as you stir the mixture. You want the consistency to be more dry than wet, but not powdery. Stir until you have a little doughy ball.
(Altoid tins are not non stick!) Use is a dab of olive oil and lightly coat the interior. Put a little flour in the tin, close it and just shake it up a bit to get an even coating inside. (This is to coat the sides and bottom of the tin so the bread won't tear when you pop it out.) Take your dough and scoop it into the tin and spread it evenly throughout. Make sure to only fill the tin about halfway up. Anymore and the mixture will overflow and you'll have an incredible mess to clean up. *The dough will be very, very sticky. Powder your hands with flour if you’re using them to scoop it out.
You have some choices here. You can cook your bread several different ways. Here are two of my favorite compact ways. 1) You can use a penny stove or any homemade stove
2) Use A large size tea candle. You can also use two small ones side by side.
Either way you choose to heat the tin, you will have to have a way to keep the tin raised off of the flame. If the fire is too close to the tin (touching it at all), it will burn the bottom of the bread and leave a nasty char on the inside of your tin. You can take a wire hanger (non painted or covered in plastic), and bent it into a shape that will hold your tin and allow it to sit over the heat source. You want it to be wide enough to accommodate the tin and flat enough that it won’t slide off when you open it, If you are interested in building your own penny stove, here is a link to the instructions http://www.instructables.com/id/Pocket-Sized-Camp-Stove-The-Improved-quotPenny-/

Once everything is ready to go, set your stand up on a flat surface. Place your choice of heat under the stand and ignite it.
Place the Altoid tin on top of the rack and let the lid of the tin rest on itself so that if pressure builds, it won’t explode.
Depending on how much dough you put in the tin, the process of cooking your bread should take 12-15 minutes. The cooking time also takes into account how close or far away your flame is from the bottom of the tin. It should be just under the tin without actually licking the bottom of it.

After about ten minutes of cooking look at your bread. The top of it should be starting to firm up. At 12 minutes take a toothpick and stick it in the center of the tin. If the toothpick comes out smoothly, with no batter stuck to it, then it’s safe to say your bread is ready! If your toothpick gets stuck, close the lid again and let it cook for another two or three minutes.

It is a good idea to let the tin cool for about 25-30 seconds. That should be enough time to cool it off if your flame wasn't touching the tin. Turn the tin over and tap the bottom of it until your bead pops out. If you didn't use olive oil, you may have to pry it out with a small stick or your fingers.

Quickly clean up your messes, the less you have to do later! Remember to clean out your tin if you had anything stick, so that it can be reused again. That's It! Hopefully your bread is tasty and you had fun making it. Remember if you have a couple of extra ingredients with you, wherever you may be, throw it in there! Cheese? Bacon? Garlic? The possibilities are endless.