Campfires for me are really an early fall activity. And what goes well with a campfire other than hot dogs and marshmallows? Bread or bread on a stick to be more specific. In Germany, or should I say in Northern Germany, we call it Stockbrot or stick bread.
In Switzerland it’s called Schlangenbrot (snake bread) because you wrap the dough around the stick like a snake.
In Eastern parts of Germany it goes by Knüppelbrot, Knüppelkuchen and Knüppelteig. A Knüppel is larger stick. ( I personally think of a club or a bludgeon when I hear Knüppel.) So we could translate those words to stick bread, stick cake, and stick dough.
Making Stockbrot
Since I have been trying to find the perfect recipe for pretzels, I actually had unexpired dry yeast in the house and could easily make some dough for our campfire bread.
Stockbrot is most often a yeast dough that you wrap around a tree stick and cook over an open fire. I used the recipe by Yemaja18 on chefkoch.de. The recipe is in German, so I “translated” it into American measurements. Mix everything with a mixer with dough hooks and let dough rise in a warm place, for 15 minutes or longer. Put it on a stick and cook over the fire until done, about 15 minutes.
- 3 1/3 c flour
- 2 1/2 tsp dry yeast (Edit 11/9: I said almost 3 tsp before but after purchasing a packet of dry yeast myself and measuring in American teaspoons, the 7 gr of yeast are equivalent to 2 1/2 tsp.)
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 1/4 c (300ml) warm milk
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp oil
Stockbrot around the world
English words for Stockbrot are Twisted Bread, Stokbrood (Dutch, Afrikaans), Campfire Bread, or Stick Bread.
Here are some other words that people use for bread on a stick cooked over a campfire: Trapper’s Bread (US), Damper Bread (Australia), though it is not cooked on a stick but rather in the coals of a campfire, and Bannock (on a stick) from the Native Americans in what is now Canada. Preferably the bread is put on a sugar maple stick.
Other campfire foods
But bread is obviously not the only thing you can cook over a campfire. Würstchen (hot dogs) and marshmallows are favorites. You can also make Folienkartoffeln (foil potatoes). Wash your potato and wrap tightly into foil. You can also add some thyme, rosemary, or salt. Put your wrapped potatoes into the embers of your fire, turn occasionally, and enjoy when done. Depending on the size of your potato it should take 20-40 minutes.
Have you ever had Stockbrot or Folienkartoffeln at your campfire cookout? What is your favorite campfire food?
