A BGE Afternoon - Chili, Corn Bread and Banana Bread

GrateEggspectations said:

Star_TrEGG said:

@GrateEggspectations I've got the chili part covered but would like to start doing some baking on my EGG. Corn bread and banana nut bread seem like good starting points. Any pointers?

@Star_TrEGG: I am by no means an expert. If you're cooking on a Large with the plate setter in, baking is not that much different than when doing it in the oven. With anything you're baking, make sure the vessel is within the "shadow" of the plate setter as much as possible. Otherwise, you risk burns around the edges. Also, make sure your smoke is blue and sweet (neutral lump also helps) - most baked goods have the ability to take on a lot of smoke, you want to be careful not to have too much smoke going, unless that's what your going for. 

As an entry point and to provide you with a baseline, I recommend you take a baked good recipe you have already mastered in the oven and give it a go on the Egg. From there, as you gain some comfort, go for some something more exotic like a simple no-knead bread or a dessert. 

A lot of baking calls for cooking vessels (or in some cases, a baking stone). Where possible, I like to buy cast iron, as it will last a lifetime, is versatile and yields great results. There are many baking recipes out there that make use of a good old fashioned cast iron cooking pan.

Feel free to PM me if you should have any questions. Also, lots of members out there with far more skill and experience than me in this regard, so search some baking posts for ideas.

Happy baking!

GrateEggspectations said:

Star_TrEGG said:

GrateEggspectations said:

Star_TrEGG said:

@GrateEggspectations I've got the chili part covered but would like to start doing some baking on my EGG. Corn bread and banana nut bread seem like good starting points. Any pointers?

@Star_TrEGG: I am by no means an expert. If you're cooking on a Large with the plate setter in, baking is not that much different than when doing it in the oven. With anything you're baking, make sure the vessel is within the "shadow" of the plate setter as much as possible. Otherwise, you risk burns around the edges. Also, make sure your smoke is blue and sweet (neutral lump also helps) - most baked goods have the ability to take on a lot of smoke, you want to be careful not to have too much smoke going, unless that's what your going for. 

As an entry point and to provide you with a baseline, I recommend you take a baked good recipe you have already mastered in the oven and give it a go on the Egg. From there, as you gain some comfort, go for some something more exotic like a simple no-knead bread or a dessert. 

A lot of baking calls for cooking vessels (or in some cases, a baiking stone). Where possible, I like to buy cast iron, as it will last a lifetime, is versatile and yields great results. There are many baking recipes out there that make use of a good old fashioned cast iron cooking pan.

Feel free to PM me if you should have any questions. Also, lots of members out there with far more skill and experience than me in this regard, so search some baking posts for ideas.

Happy baking!

@GrateEggspectations Thanks for the advice!  I also prefer CI for my cookware so this will work out nicely.  I'll take a closer look at the forum for baking to get more ideas and techniques.  Can't wait to try it out!

@Star_TrEGG: One other quick comment. I bake on both my Large and Mini Max. As I don't know what size you'll be using, I'll just say that in my experience, it's harder to get a nice result on the Mini Max. Others have suggested that because the heat source is so close to the grate on the MM, you're more prone to getting a scorched bottom on whatever you're baking.