Camping Toast: How to Make Toast While Camping?

Last Updated on 13/10/2021

How to Make Camping Toast?

What’s the best way to make the perfect camping toast? We’re going to show you how to toast bread when camping. We’ll give you a rundown on some of our favorite tools so that you can perfect your toasting technique.

Toast. It’s pretty good, right?

Is there anything more comforting than the crunch of toast when camping? Whether you’re a late-night PB&J fan, or love an early morning cream cheese and bagel, you need that golden brown finish to make it just right.

When you’re camping, toast is a great breakfast. You can load it up with all sorts of goodness to get you through another long day. What you don’t want is to start your day with the charred remains of a slice of bread.

So what’s the best way to make toast while camping? We’re going to show you a load of different tools and techniques to choose from. Read on to become the toastmaster.

How to Make Toast when Camping

So you want to know how to make toast camping? First and foremost, making toast over a fire, or stove, requires patience and diligence. You should constantly check your toast and turn it regularly to prevent it from burning.

The camping toast makers we like to use range from the humble tongs, all the way to the dutch oven or pie iron. For a gas stove, we’re fans of the toast rack or skillet, too. If you’re not sure what some of these are, or how they work, read on to find out more.

Camping Toast Makers

Camping Stove Toast Rack

These specially designed bits of kit are considered by many to be the best way to make toast when camping. Just unfold, place on top of your camp stove and toast away.

Toast racks come in many designs. Some will toast one slice at a time, while others can take up to four. Cooking over a stove can give the most even and controlled heat, but these still require constant watching and turning.

Racks that can toast multiple slices are a faster, more efficient method of toasting than some other options. However, these are specialist bits of kit and only work for toasting. Some of the other options are more universal for camp cooking.

Pie Iron

Pie irons are a bit like a sandwich grill on a stick. These are a versatile option, which can also be used to make grilled cheese or toast English muffins camping.

Pie Irons are usually made from cast iron and are a great way to keep your hands well away from the fire. The two sides close together to trap consistent heat and toast evenly.

You have to constantly turn the pie iron while toasting, to prevent burning your toast. You may also find yourself regularly removing and checking your toast, as you can’t see it while it’s toasting.

Toast Fork

VIEW ON ETSY

The Toast Fork may be basic, but it’s a technique that has lasted since humans first started cooking on flame. It’s a little more advanced now than a whittled stick. Some camping forks are even retractable, so you can draw your toast back towards you when it’s done.

Any cooking directly over a flame is a dangerous game. You need to be patient and turn regularly to avoid burning. Try not to be tempted into holding your pre-toast too close to the heat source.

Dutch Oven

The thick walls of a Dutch oven distribute heat evenly to cook food thoroughly. These bits of cooking kit are a bit more specialist than the others on this list. Chances are, if you have a Dutch oven, you’re using it for more than just toast.

If you want a technique solely for toast, these are overkill. That said, they can give a great finish through some real finite temperature control and toasting techniques.

Cast Iron Skillet or Pan

Much more basic than a Dutch oven but equally universal. Using a skillet or pan to make your camping toast means you don’t have to carry any extra kit.

While cast iron pans are popular among campers, you can use just about any pan to make toast following the same steps.

Grill

Straight to the grill. It’s basic, it’s easy and if you’re cooking on a fire, you’ll probably already have the grill with you. This is probably the best way to make toast when camping in larger groups.

The grill is perhaps the toasting technique with more potential for burnt toast than a fork. Once your bread is on, it’s easy to forget about it and come back to find it burnt. Also, if you’re toasting multiple slices you have to be active with the tongs to keep them moving.

Making Toast Over a Campfire with a Toast Fork

Most people have toasted something over a fire. Whether it’s a marshmallow or a sausage, it all works roughly the same. Sure, most people have also burnt something over a fire, too.

When toasting with a toast fork, it can be easy to get carried away and hold your toast too close to the heat. This can lead to a charred outside and a soft, untoasted inside to your bread.

If you get it right, toasting with a toast fork is quick and easy. Make sure you have a long enough stick that you can stay well back from the heat, retractable options are great for this. Also, make sure you flip your toast regularly.

Directions:

1. Carefully pierce the bread with your toast fork. Remember, the ends are sharp so keep your hands clear.
2. Make sure the bread is secure on the fork before positioning it over the fire.
3. Position your bread over a clear area of the fire. If you still have flames, don’t put your bread too far into them. They will burn your toast.
4. Turn your toast regularly and don’t forget to check both sides.
5. Once your toast is done to your liking, remove it carefully and enjoy.

Making Toast on a Camping Stove

Toast racks on a camping stove are one of the best ways to get evenly cooked toast while camping. At first, these can look confusing and over-the-top bits of equipment, but they’re really simple to use.

It’s worth checking that your chosen toaster will work with your stove. Some smaller pocket-sized stoves may not be wide enough to balance a toaster on. This could end in a toast-tumble and potentially lead to injury, or at least lost toast.

These racks are small and lightweight, but they are an additional piece of kit to carry. If you’re a big fan of toast when camping, they’re great. If you want to save weight, these might be the first thing you leave at home.

Directions:

1. Turn on your gas stove.
2. Unfold your toast rack and place it on top of your stove.
3. Place your bread onto the toast rack either horizontally or vertically.
4. Flip as necessary.
5. Remove and enjoy.

Making Camp Toast Using Cast Iron Skillet or Pan

It would be unusual to go camping and not have some sort of pan with you. A cast-iron skillet is a firm favorite among campers and can double as a makeshift camping toast maker.

If you’re using your pan on a gas stove, try not to have the heat too high. If you’re placing your pan over a fire, remember to make sure your heat is evenly spread across the pan.

Dry frying your bread will most likely burn it. Either butter your bread or use a small amount of oil in the pan. Careful, though. Too much oil will leave your toast sodden and unappealing.

When you’re choosing an oil, use cooking oil, such as vegetable oil. Olive oil has a low smoke point and will burn your french toast.

Directions:

1. Either lightly butter your bread, or put a small amount of oil in your skillet. Use a paper towel to spread a thin layer of oil in the pan if possible.
2. Heat the skillet on your fire.
3. Place your bread into the skillet and move regularly with a metal spork or spatula. Be aware of hotspots on the pan and remember to flip regularly.
4. Remove and enjoy.

Making Camp Toast With a Pie Iron

The pie iron is used in a similar way to the skillet. It is perhaps far more versatile though, but we’ll come onto that.

For basic toast, make it the same as you would with a skillet. Remember to lightly oil the inside of the iron, or butter the outside of your bread. This stops your toast from sticking and burning to the outside of the pan.

Too much oil or butter can lead to soggy bread, with some people choosing to leave one side of the iron open as they toast to prevent this.

Pie irons are a popular way of making grilled cheese sandwiches. They also work well for toasting breakfast muffins. Add the egg, bacon, and cheese inside the muffin, close the halves and melt the cheese for a gourmet camping breakfast.

Directions:

1. Open your pie iron and coat the inside lightly in oil. Remember to use cooking oil with a high smoke point.
2. Add your bread, or prepared grilled cheese or muffin.
3. Close your pie iron.
4. Suspend your pie iron over the fire, or place it into the hot coals.
5. Rotate your pie iron as necessary and check your toast regularly.
6. Remove the pie iron, remembering that the metal handle may be hot.
7. Enjoy your toast or sandwich.

Using a Dutch Oven to Make Camping Toast

If you have a Dutch oven out camping, you’re probably not just using it for toast. That means you probably know how to use one of these already. If not, it’s worth doing some research and making sure you understand how these work.

A Dutch oven can be one of the best camp cookers available. They are great for a range of meals because they cook with consistent, even heat.

It’s easy to get really technical about Dutch ovens but for toast, we probably don’t need to. Just remember to add some butter to your bread before you pop it in, otherwise, it is likely to burn to the bottom of the pot.

If you’re concerned about your toast sticking, consider using a cooking rack or similar to raise the bread off the bottom of the pan.

Directions:

1. Get your dutch oven up to temperature. This requires the right amount of coals and a bit of patience. We don’t need to be as precise for making toast, but somewhere around 350 Fahrenheit will work.
2. Lightly butter your bread and place it into your oven.
3. Cook for ten minutes, flipping halfway or as necessary.
4. Remove and enjoy.

What is the Best Way to Make Camp Toast?

The best way to make toast when camping is always the one you have with you. There are pros and cons to every technique. It’s worth having a few of these options up your sleeve so that you never have to go without toast.

Any cooking on an open flame is always fun. Toasting forks are a good family-friendly option and can get everyone involved in cooking. They work well, are cheap to buy, and are easy to carry. Toasting forks, or grills, have the highest potential of burnt toast, though.

A pie iron, or skillet, is a versatile option. The skillet especially is likely to be with you anyway, used for all sorts of cooking. These both require the right level of oil or butter so that you don’t end up with either dry or soggy toast.

Dutch ovens are probably overkill if you’re using them just for toast. If they are your chosen cooking method then there’s no need to carry another toasting tool. Dutch ovens can dry toast out if they’re too hot, or if you leave it in for too long.

Gas stoves are a popular choice for expedition cooking. Making fires can be difficult in some places, and gas stoves are often considered a safer bet. Stovetop toasters vary but are a quick and easy way to get evenly cooked toast.