SGUK Outdoor Skills Challenge 98: Make Bread Dough, Let It Rise and Cook It on a Stick

Cooking bread over a campfire is a satisfying way to practise your outdoor cooking. Unlike a quick flatbread, this challenge involves making a yeast dough, giving it time to rise and cooking it slowly over the heat of your campfire.

The key is patience. Dough that has not risen properly can be heavy, while bread held too close to the flames can burn on the outside before the middle has had time to cook. Your aim is to produce bread that is properly risen, evenly cooked, and more importantly, safe to eat.

Your Challenge

Make bread dough from scratch, leave it to rise and cook it on a suitable stick over a controlled campfire.

You must prepare the dough, allow time for the yeast to work, shape it around a clean stick and cook it until the bread is thoroughly done.

The challenge is complete when you can demonstrate that you have made the dough yourself, allowed it to rise and cooked the bread successfully outdoors.

What You’ll Need

• 300 g flour
• 1 teaspoon fast-action dried yeast
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• Approximately 200 ml lukewarm drinking water
• 2 tablespoon cooking oil, optional
• A clean, untreated, non-toxic wooden stick
• A mixing bowl or suitable food container
• A safe outdoor fire setup

The flour, yeast and salt are carried ingredients, so pack them in sealed containers. Use drinking-quality water for the dough.

Choose a stick from a tree species you can identify confidently and know to be suitable for cooking. Avoid poisonous, irritating or resinous wood, treated timber, painted wood and any stick that may have been contaminated. A clean metal skewer designed for cooking is a safer alternative if you cannot confidently select suitable wood.

Take the Challenge

1. Prepare the dough

Wash your hands and prepare a clean working surface. Combine the ingredients in your bowl until you have a soft, moist dough.

If it feels excessively sticky, add a little extra flour. If it is dry and crumbly, add a small amount of water.

You are developing the gluten structure that helps the bread hold its shape and rise. If you are working outdoors, protect the dough from dirt, insects and debris while you knead.

2. Leave the dough to rise

Place the dough in a clean bowl or container, cover it with a clean towel and leave it somewhere reasonably warm and sheltered.

Allow approximately 60–90 minutes for the first rise, although the actual time depends on the temperature and the yeast. In cold weather, the dough may take longer. Look for the dough to become noticeably larger, ideally close to doubling in size, rather than relying entirely on the clock.

Keep the dough away from direct heat and do not leave it exposed to the sun for long periods. Excessive heat can damage the yeast, while cold conditions slow fermentation.

If the dough has barely changed after the expected time, give it longer if conditions allow. Rushing this stage can produce dense bread.

3. Prepare a safe cooking fire

While the dough rises, prepare your cooking area. Use an established fire site where fires are permitted, or a suitable raised fire-safe setup that complies with local rules. In dry or windy conditions, use a camping stove instead or postpone the challenge.

Build a manageable fire and allow it to settle until you have a bed of glowing embers with gentle, steady heat. Large flames are difficult to control and can scorch the bread before it cooks through.

Keep the dough, flour, packaging and other combustible items away from the fire. Have water or another suitable means of extinguishing the fire ready, and never leave it unattended.

4. Select and prepare the stick

Choose a straight, sturdy stick that is long enough to hold safely over the heat without putting your hands close to the fire.

Use only clean, untreated wood that you can confidently identify as suitable. Remove loose bark and dirt from the section that will contact the dough, using a clean tool if necessary. Do not use wood that is mouldy, rotten, chemically treated or covered in sap or contaminants.

If you cannot identify a suitable stick, use a clean food-safe metal skewer instead. Avoid sharpening a stick towards your hand, and keep any cutting tool secure when it is not being used.

The cooking end should be clean and dry. Do not assume that holding a dirty stick over a fire will make it safe for food.

5. Shape the risen dough

Once the dough has risen, gently press it to release some of the excess gas. Divide it into 8 – 10 equal portions.

Take one of your portions and roll it into a long, even strip, roughly the thickness of your finger. Avoid making it too thick, as the outside may cook before the centre.

Wrap the dough in a spiral around the clean cooking end of the stick, leaving small gaps between the turns so heat can reach the dough. Press the ends gently into place so they do not unravel.

Do not wind the dough into a thick lump. An even layer gives you a better chance of cooking the bread throughout.

6. Cook the bread slowly

Hold or prop the stick over the glowing embers, turning it continuously so that the dough cooks evenly on all sides.

Keep it far enough from the heat to avoid burning. If the outside begins to darken too quickly, move the stick further away. If nothing is happening, bring it a little closer while maintaining control.

Expect the bread to take around 10–20 minutes, depending on its thickness and the heat of the fire. This is only a guide; judge the bread by how it cooks rather than by the clock alone.

The surface should gradually become golden brown. Rotate the stick frequently and check that the sections between the spirals are cooking too.

Avoid holding the bread directly in large flames. Charred surfaces can conceal raw dough inside, so a dark exterior is not proof that the bread is ready.

7. Check that the bread is cooked through

Remove the bread from the heat and allow it to cool slightly before testing it. Slide it carefully from the stick, taking care not to burn your hands. It should feel firm and have a hollow sound.

Break open the thickest section. The centre should be fully set, with no wet, sticky or raw dough. If it remains doughy, return it to a gentler heat and continue cooking, turning it regularly.

Let the bread cool enough to handle before eating. Keep raw dough and utensils that have touched it separate from the cooked bread, and wash your hands after handling raw ingredients.

Enjoy your warm campfire bread on a stick with butter, honey, or jam.

8. Review your cooking technique

Once the bread is cooked, consider what worked well. Did the dough rise enough? Was the strip evenly shaped? Did you maintain a steady distance from the embers? Was the bread golden outside and cooked in the centre?

If it burned, the heat was probably too intense or the bread was held too close to the fire. If it was dense, the dough may not have risen sufficiently or may have been too thick around the stick.

Make a note of the conditions and approximate cooking time. The next attempt will be easier because you will have a better idea of how the dough behaves in your outdoor cooking setup.

Check Your Results

Before considering the challenge complete, check that you have:

• Mixed and kneaded the dough yourself.
• Allowed the yeast dough time to rise.
• Used a suitable, clean stick or food-safe skewer.
• Cooked the bread over controlled heat.
• Turned the bread regularly to encourage even cooking.
• Checked that the centre was cooked rather than relying on the outside colour.
• Followed safe fire and food-handling practices.

If the bread is burnt outside but raw in the middle, adjust the heat and continue cooking it until done. If you cannot cook it safely, do not eat it simply to finish the challenge.

Complete the Challenge

Your challenge is complete when you have made the dough from scratch, allowed it to rise and cooked a portion of bread on a stick until it is properly cooked through.

Take photographs of the dough before rising, the risen dough, the bread cooking over the embers and the finished bread. A photograph of the inside of the cooked bread can help demonstrate that it is not raw in the centre.

Leave the cooking area safe and tidy. Extinguish the fire completely, check for remaining heat and follow any site-specific requirements before leaving.

How to Submit Your Challenge

Log in to your Survival Guides UK account and open your member profile. Go to the Social Activity section and create a post containing your challenge photographs.

Include the hashtag #SGUKChallenge98 so your entry can be identified for verification.

Briefly describe how you made the dough, how long it took to rise and how you managed the heat while cooking. Mention one thing you would change next time.

Challenge 98 Checklist

Want to Push Yourself?

Repeat the challenge in cooler weather and compare how long the dough takes to rise. Keep a note of the temperature and conditions, and learn to judge fermentation by the appearance and feel of the dough rather than relying on a fixed time.

You could also experiment with shaping thinner and thicker strips, recording which cook most evenly. Change one variable at a time so you can work out why the results differ.

For a further outdoor cooking challenge, practise managing a small bed of embers to maintain a steady heat without allowing large flames to scorch the food. Always prioritise a safe fire setup and thorough cooking over speed.

What’s Next?

Continue your progression with SGUK Outdoor Skills Challenge 97: Learn the Full Morse Alphabet if you have not completed it yet. That challenge develops communication skills that can complement your wider outdoor learning.

Explore the rest of the SGUK Outdoor Skills Challenge series to keep building practical campcraft, cooking, navigation and bushcraft skills through hands-on practice.

Once you’ve shared your evidence and it has been verified, the SGUK Outdoor Skills Challenge 98 is complete and the completed challenges figure will be updated on your profile.