Zucchini Bread

Quick breads are great in the solar oven, most recipes just need a longer baking time and come out incredibly moist. With the right pans, you can bake two loaves at once. 12 x 4 inch loaf pans from Ikea fit perfectly in the Solavore Sport and bake faster than a traditional loaf pan. 

3 large eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
1 3/4 cups sugar
2 cups grated zucchini
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon table salt
1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)
1 cup raisins (optional)

Directions

Preheat solar oven by placing in the sun. Grease and flour two loaf pans, making sure you have two loaf pans that will fit in the oven together. See note above.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs with a whisk. Mix in oil and sugar, then zucchini and vanilla. Combine flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, baking powder and salt, as well as nuts, and/or raisins if using. Stir this into the egg mixture. Divide the batter into prepared pans.

Place in Solavore Sport and bake loaves for approximately 1.5 to 2 hours. The bread is done when a toothpick comes out clean.

Dark Chocolate and Dried Cherry Scones

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
• 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1/2 cup dark chocolate chunks
• 1/2 cup dried cherries

Directions

Set the Solavore Sport outside to preheat.

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Add butter and cut it in to the flour mixture with a pastry cutter until the pieces of butter are pea-sized. In a small bowl, whisk together buttermilk and the egg yolk. Slowly pour the buttermilk mixture in to the flour mixture. Mix until combined. Add in chocolate and cherries and stir gently.

Turn the dough out on to a floured surface and knead gently to combine. Shape the dough into a circle about one inch thick. Cut the dough in to 8 pie-shaped pieces.

Place a piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet and arrange the scones on the sheet.

Bake the scones in the solar oven for 1 to 1.5 hours.

Irish Soda Bread

In preparation for St Patrick's Day, we tried a traditional soda bread recipe in the Solavore Sport. We followed the recipe as written, then made two small changes when it came time to bake. We divided the dough in to two smaller loaves instead of one big one. We also extended the cooking time, which is par for the course in solar baking. The result was a wonderful moist loaf that was crispy on the outside.

Ingredients

4 cups flour
2 tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
4 tbsp. butter
1 cup dried currants
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 1⁄2–2 cups buttermilk

for egg wash:
one egg
2 tbsp buttermilk

Directions

Set your oven outside to preheat.

Sift together the flour, sugar, salt, and baking soda into a large mixing bowl.

Using a pastry cutter or two knives, work butter into flour mixture until it resembles coarse meal, then stir in currants. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. Add beaten egg and buttermilk to well and mix in with a spoon until dough is too stiff to stir. Gently knead the dough with your hands just long enough to form a round ball.

Divide dough in to two balls. Shape in to round loaves and place on a parchment covered baking sheet. You could also bake these in your graniteware pots, uncovered. 

Make egg wash by beating together one egg and two tablespoons buttermilk. Brush egg wash on top of each loaf.

Bake in the Solavore Sport with reflectors attached.  Begin checking for doneness after one hour. The bread is done when you see some browning and it sounds hollow when you tap the loaf. Ours took about 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Honey Whole Wheat Oat Bread

Baked in the sun in the middle of February, this slightly sweet hearty bread is true comfort food. The directions call for using an electric mixer with dough hooks, but mixing and kneading by hand would work just as well. Adapted for solar cooking from a similar recipe on lovelylittlekitchen.com

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 teaspoons (1 packet) instant or fast acting yeast
• 2 cups warm water
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup oats
• 4-5 cups white whole wheat flour (or a mixture of white and whole wheat 
• egg wash (optional)

Directions

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer, mix yeast and warm water and allow to sit for 5 minutes for the yeast to dissolve.
2. Add the honey and egg, and mix on low speed.
3. Add salt, oats, and 1 cup of flour. At this point, switch to the dough hook attachment and turn the mixer to medium speed. Continue to add the flour 1/2 cup at a time, mixing in between. Don't rely too heavily on the 4-5 cup measurement for the flour, but instead by the feel of the dough. When it is still quite sticky but just starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl, and gather around the dough hook, stop adding flour.
4. Allow the mixer to knead the dough on medium speed for 5-7 minutes. The dough should still be sticky, but somewhat manageable. If you don't have a dough hook for your mixer, you can knead the dough by hand for 12-15 minutes, or until it is smooth and elastic.
5. Remove the dough from the bowl, just to grease the sides, then place the dough back into the bowl. Roll the dough around to grease the top of the dough, and then cover with a clean kitchen towel.
6. Place the bowl in a warm place to rise. 
7. Allow the dough to rise for about 45 minutes, and then punch it down and place it on a well floured surface. Let it rest for 10 minutes, and then press it into a rectangle shape. Starting at the short end, roll the dough up and place it seam side down into a greased 9 by 5 inch loaf pan.
8. Cover the pan loosely with the clean kitchen towel, and set it in your warm place to rise again. Allow the dough to rise until it has doubled in size, or about 1 hour.
9. At this point, you have the option of brushing the top of your loaf with an egg wash (1 egg beaten plus 1 tablespoon of water). This will add a nice sheen to the top of your loaf, but it is optional.
10. Carefully place your loaf pan in the Solavore Sport, and bake for about 45-50 minutes. You may need to bake it longer depending on your oven temperature. Your bread should sound hollow when you tap on it if is done.
11. Let the bread cool in the pan for 10 minutes, and then remove it from the pan to a cooling rack.

Corn Bread

1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp sugar
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 1/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 oil
2 eggs beaten

While the Solavore Sport is preheating, sift the first five dry ingredients. Stir cornmeal in to the other dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs.  Add buttermilk and oil to the eggs. Combine dry and wet ingredients and blend well. Grease and flour two black solar ovens pots. Pour batter into the two pots. Place lids on the pots and place in the Sport.

Bake for 1 to 1/2 hours 

Makes two 8-inch rounds of cornbread.

Mango Banana Bread

Makes two solar oven pots or one large loaf pan.

• 60 ml or ½ cup butter or coconut oil
• 60 ml or ½ cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 2.5 ml or 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1-½ large ripe bananas (or 2 small bananas)
• 1 ripe mango
• 250 ml or 2 cups flour
• 7.5 ml or 1 Tbs baking powder
• 1-¼ tsp salt
• 1.25 ml or ½ tsp cinnamon

In small bowl: combine flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Mix well. In second bowl puree (or mash) the bananas and mangos.  In large bowl, cream butter or coconut oil with sugar. Add egg, mix well. Add vanilla, mix well. Add fruit and mix well.

Add 1/3 dry ingredients to wet ingredients, 1/3 at a time. Mix well after each addition.

Divide batter into two parts and pour into greased and floured solar oven pots or covered loaf pan. Spread across entire bottom until batter touches sides. Put lids on pots. Put pots in solar oven and bake for approximately 1.5 hours. Bread is done when dough comes away from sides of pot.