Making Campfire Twists

Twists are incredibly easy to make.  They are unleavened bread as they contain no yeast or sourdough culture.  It costs about 30p (60c? but we're in rip of Britain, so probably cheaper in the states) to make about 12 twists

Ingredients:
500g Self raising flour
3 Tablespoons of sugar
300-500ml of water

Optional:
Jam!

Equipment:
Measuring Jug (though can be done less scientifically by guessing)
Mixing bowl - pretty much impossible to get away without.

Additional notes:

Twists can be made under a hot grill, but they're best over a proper 'cooking' fire which consists of embers, like in the picture below (glowing bits of wood).  They could work over a nice hot BBQ, but don't rest them on the grill grid, they'll stick.  Do it direct over the heat on a stick.

Step 1: Mixing the ingredients

Start by mixing both dry ingredients in a large bowl.  Once the sugar and flour are combined, add about 200-300ml of water and mix as well as you can.  It'll start to bind together.  Keep adding small amounts of water - about 50ml increments to get it to bind into one big lump.  It's almost a kneeding motion as you would use with normal bread (be rough with it)

When the dough becomes smooth as pictured in the last pic, you're done.

Comments

[Jegster]

Used to do this when I was in the Scouts 30 years ago. Will def be doing it when I go camping with my kids this year. Thanks for the reminder.

[DonnaSue973]

Always looking for fun things to eat while camping with the kids. thanks Tim.

[webman3802]

For added convenience, I've also heard of this being done with pre-packaged dough, like the cans from Pilsbury, cut into strips. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon.

[Purocuyu]

I've tried the pilsbury dough, and it is a bit too sticky/wet to get on the stick and not right back on the fingers that were applying it. This dough looks less sticky, but I will be testing this recipe this weekend in Ensenada, Mex. and know for sure if it was just me who couldn't properly put dough on a stick.

[tim_n]

Mmm, cinnamon (& sultanas?)

[maximus276]

I will definately concider this for my scouts

[amalam]

I remember making twist in my back yard with my older brothers 50 years ago in England...oh my did I say 50 years ago...wow! how time has flown...my daughter 22 y.o. wants to make twist in our fire pit in the back yard here in Canada. Have eaten Bannock and its tastes a little similar but not quite the same. As I recall we never used sugar only salt...but I could be mistaken after all 50 years does a lot to the brain...lol


Reply

[SIRJAMES09]

OH MY WORD!!!!!!

These are like to die for!! LOL They are very delicious, and very fun to make.
This was well written, an enjoyable read, & these things are so delicious that they should be illegal!!!(it's an American saying from years gone by)

Thank you for sharing mate!!

[Gunnar120]

anyway to cook without a fire (inside) ? We have a wood furnace outside (HOT), but the thing is... our house is inefficient as it is, and a lot of heat escapes, so... leaving our one heat source letting all the heat into the air doesn't work... and... there is a snowstorm that I don't want to be out in, 40 below with windchill, Minnesota sucks some times etc., anyway... yeah... how can I do this inside?

[tim_n]

under a hot grill would be fine.

[Biggsy]

I'm cooking this with my scouts tonight hehehe, :D

[Huntman00]

hey man i need to know if i can use regular flour and i need an answer asap please

[tim_n]

No, you need selfraising but you can add 2tsp of baking powder to plain flour and that makes it self raising

[mcaliber.50]

THANKS FOR THE TIP!!! it reaally helped. first time i tried this, i used regular flour, and it failed epicly.

[Huntman00]

i googled it... but thx o and ur suppose to add a little bit of salt to ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ that

[mcaliber.50]

but how much salt?

[tim_n]

just a pinch

[limpport]

I made a dumb sounding comment before, but to make up for it, here's the recipe for folks on this side of the pond!

4.5 cups flour
3 Tablespoons of sugar (2.9 Tablespoons converting UK to US, but since we seem to have a sugar-y diet anyways, 3 tablespoons is close enough!)
1.25 - 2 cups water

[mcaliber.50]

THANK YOU!!

[pyrobryan]

My friends and I call this "biscuit on a stick", but we use store-bought biscuits. A delicious, but hard to cook just right over a camping fire, treat.

[Musicman41]

I am going to try wrapping a hot dog with this, then cooking. Instant pigs in a blanket!

[tim_n]

takes a few minutes to cook a twist, probably not long enough for a hot dog, but go for it. Let me know what the results are.

[mikaelthemycologist]

you could cook the sausage for a while first and then wrap the dough around it

[dmehling]

Probably not long enough to really cook a dog, but most dogs I see are at least pre-cooked, so there's no harm in eating them a little raw.

[Clayton H.]

BAGEL-DOG!

[scarecreaux]

When I was young, we made something like this using "whop" biscuits (the kind in the cardboard tube you have to peel and whop on the edge of the counter to open)...lol.. Anyway, you mold the biscut around a green stick with the bark removed and roast over coals. We always kept jelly in a picnic style condiment squirt bottle. When the biscuit is done slide it off the stick, cover one hole with your finger and use condiment bottle to squirt full of jelly. I like the idea of adding cinimon or powdered sugar and will use it when showing my kids how to make these. Great instructable. Thanks.

[cory.smith]

"It may look a bit dodgy like something you'd scoop off the floor in a park after a naughty animal has 'been', but I can assure you it's very tasty."

Hilarious! =D

[mattbomb]

mmmmm those look good (my mouths watering) it would probably take like a sugar twist with more suger. and maybe some maple syrup

[guydie5]

cool

[RobFS1]

Very nice, and very similar to bannock. They can't be considered "unleavened" though, because there are chemical leaveners in the self-rising flower...

[tim_n]

They can because there is no yeast or sourdough starter, however in the strictest sense you are correct.

[Ace_Of_All_Trades]

Actually, not in the strictest sense or anything, he is correct. If it has yeast it is a yeast bread, if it has sourdough it is a sourdough. If it has baking soda it is chemically leavened or also known as a quick bread. This has baking soda, or baking powder one, added to it already. If it even had extra air whipped or beat into into it would be air or steam leavened. To be called unleavened bread or dough it needs nothing done to it or added to it at all to make it at all lighter or fluffier.

[tim_n]

OK! I've learnt something then :)

[Huntman00]

ok new question ... and again i need an answer asap ... my dough still looks like tohe one in the first pic on step 1 and i have added all my water what should i do??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

[tim_n]

Just keep mixing well, add 50ml water at a time, mix, then add another 50 till you've got the right consistency!

[ERCBIENG]

This would be super amazing with pretzel dough

[Kiteman]

Yay, dampers! We made these at cub camp last weekend - being Harry Potter themed, the cubs got to roll them in jam and sprinkles, then call them magic wands. You know they're ready when you tap them and get a hollow sound, and you can slide them up the stick without leaving dough along the stick.

[tim_n]

You managed to stop them eating them before they cooked? How? Even the scouts seem to prefer raw dough...

[Kiteman]

Ha, we refused to let them add jam and sprinkles until they were ready.

[tim_n]

fabulous idea. I just let them at the jam, 30 seconds later the spoon was already in the dirt. 30 seconds after that, it was already being licked clean. Pff. Children!