Are boat ovens pointless?

[TiggerToo]

How on earth do you bake bread without an oven?

In a pan.

But I do finish it off under the grill to get a nice crust on top

 

[Blueboatman]

Burning dinosaur farts is a very primitive way to heat up your dinner.
Embrace the 21st century... Remoska electric oven, air fryer, all powered by the sun.
Although SWMBO insists that we keep the gas oven for Yorkshire puddings, apparently nothing else will do .

A small Remoska will just sit nicely between the pot clamps.
They are curiously very good indeed
Though prone to earth leakage nuisance tripping domestically as the electrics in the handle are ( or were,ahem) not fully steamproof.
A very underrated piece of kit.

But s/h only, I don’t believe they manufacture the small one anymore

 

[TiggerToo]

In a pan.

But I do finish it off under the grill to get a nice crust on top

in fact, I have found that is remarkably easy.

Prepare the dough as you usually would.

Put a good amount of oil in a large saucepan, and make sure it is evenly spread around the bottom and sides. Add the dough when it has raised enough. Place a lid on top and cook over a hob at medium-low setting.

Bake until the bread is "springy" (you could test with a skewer to ensure that all the dough is cooker right through). Use a knife to loosen the sides and tap off onto a grid.

If desired, finish off making a crust on the upper surface by placing under a grill... I suppose this could be achieved by simply turning it back into the same saucepan (maybe add a little more oil at the bottom) and cook for another 10 minutes, until the crust forms.

I found it works really well... and there is something special about freshly baked bread when having breakfast in the sunrise, just as land appears over the horizon on an Atlantic passage

 

[Stemar]

I've been married far too long to far too good a cook to be any use in the galley, so my opinion isn't worth much, but Madame was delighted when I fixed the oven on our new to us boat. I don't think I'd be allowed to replace the old faithful Vanessa with a hob and grill.

We don't do fancy cooking on board, but it gets used regularly for all sorts of stuff, and half-baked baguettes cook a treat

 

[PabloPicasso]

Could you run a small electric oven off a bluetti?

 

[seeSimon]

No Oven ? How to heat up the old Fray Bentos ??

...and pasties... Cornish, of course!

 

[Poignard]

...and pasties... Cornish, of course!

Welcome to the Double Skillet Pan Company

 

[ducked]

Burning dinosaur farts is a very primitive way to heat up your dinner.
Embrace the 21st century... Remoska electric oven, air fryer, all powered by the sun.
Although SWMBO insists that we keep the gas oven for Yorkshire puddings, apparently nothing else will do .

Long, long ago, after a few disasters, I developed a technique for microwave bread, which was quite pleasant, but not very crusty, I think sort of between conventional Western bread and the trad Chinese Mantou steamed bun, East-West fusion stylee, though I'd never had a mantou then.

Might have been better with a more advanced microwave, maybe with a "browning" facility. I think I picked it up off the side of the road, and it was pretty basic, though this at least meant I could drive it without an owners manual.

 

[LittleSister]

How on earth do you bake bread without an oven?

We had a fair degree of success with an Omnia circular trough 'stove-top-oven' thingy. I probably still have it somewhere.
Omnia® – Cooking anywhere - Omnia®

To be honest we usually used part-baked rolls, but it also heated pasties etc., and my ex successfully cooked various more adventurous oven fare using it.

That said, having a proper oven (the first in any boat I've owned) was one of the attractions of my current boat, though i also rue the absence of the drawers underneath that a previous owner sacrificed to accommodate it (replacing the original built-in two burners with no grill). I rarely use the oven, but value having it for those occasions.

 

[PaulRainbow]

Not exactly an oven, but a very useful cooking appliance is a Mr D Thermal Cooker. For instance, can do a pot roast with potatoes, veg and gravy with about 15 minutes of power on a single ring. Can also do bread and cakes.

 

[Sea Change]

Could you run a small electric oven off a bluetti?

Depends on the numbers. Our Remoska is about 600w and does a good job of baking bread, roasting chickens, cooking pizzas etc etc.

 

[rogerthebodger]

When I was fitting out my current boat, I did not fit an oven I fitted a microwave run from an inverter of mains when in harbour with induction grill and used a gas domestic hob we also have an electric bread maker and a slow cooker for stews etc all run from my inverter

Works fine for 2 of us

 

[michael_w]

Boat ovens are quite small. Opening the door and a lot of heat is lost. Which, for the non-thermostatic controlled ones will take a long time to regain the heat.

 

[ashtead]

Once moored you could cook your roast on a Cobb -clearly being in a marina might improve stability but the don’t really move once fixed in the cockpit but there no reason not to have one when boat attached to a buoy I guess . You just need some time to bring the cobb up to temperature . Perhaps of limited appeal offshore but another solution and a tad cheaper than the GN Espace which our neighbours have and seem impressed by but it’s worth quite a few meals . Any other boat oven is poor unless you can run electric which some do I guess if large enough .

 

[Stemar]

We used our Cobb at anchor on our Snapdragon and, now, our Catalac, at anchor many times over the years and it's never even hinted at wanting to move. The feet really are non-slip. We wouldn't use it under way, except, perhaps, to start it going up a quiet river. Once parked, no worries at all, but it's a faff compared to the oven for baking, and a lot of cleaning afterwards.

 

[oilybilge]

We used our Cobb at anchor on our Snapdragon and, now, our Catalac, at anchor many times over the years and it's never even hinted at wanting to move.

Yup, just bung it on the cockpit floor and it's not going anywhere.

... and a lot of cleaning afterwards.

I tend to skip this step

 

[mjcp]

I have an LP Voyager 4500 fitted - It came with the boat. The oven is fine - the key seems to be that it is thermostatically controlled, not just on/off.

But of note: Its NOT a fan oven (that you are probably used to at home). It is a convection oven, so you may need to rotate the dish to avoid hot spots. (Especially if you put a large tray on the shelf, it restricts the flow)

No issues with tinned food (erm, pies! ), soup on the hob in a F6-7 bashing into the waves - easy with a decent weighted pan/no spillage, or scratch made sausage rolls - nice flaky pastry and cooked in the middle etc.

m

 

[Stemar]

I tend to skip this step

If I don't do it, Madame will, and fibromyalgia means it tires her out.

 

[Neeves]

Extending the options

Thermos Thermal Cooker Review - Practical Sailor

Check out Mr D's Thermal Cooker

We bake bread with a bread maker - really needs a decent battery bank and inverter.

We use our oven a lot - how else do you roast a duck or half leg of lamb, its a single row of gas and a thermostat and a grill, forget the brand

Jonathan

 

[Poignard]

“There are so many pleasant things about the sea life that one can put up with some discomforts."

( Captain Josselyn “Down Easter Captain”)