In keeping with my belief that nearly everything's better outdoors, I got this Sun Oven last winter with some Christmas money.
It was rather fascinating to be baking outside when there was snow on the ground. It was like a miracle crystal had been discovered that would cook without electricity, gas or a wood stove. The Sun has been around forever, what a surprise.
So far, my only problem has been slightly over-cooking things, on account of not being able to believe that food could possibly get done.
The Sun Oven really has come into its own with hot summer weather. Turning the stove oven on when the AC is busy trying to cool the house never seemed like a sensible thing to do. However, I love homemade bread, especially sourdough. I've been using the same starter since an elderly Missouri woman gave me a little of hers in the late 1980's. She'd had it in the family for some years. It is simplicity itself to keep it going, saving out about a quarter of a cup for the next batch.
I never thought I would be still using the same starter when I myself became an elderly woman. Who thinks they are ever going to be elderly? If someone told me I'd be baking bread using the Sun's energy, that would have been even harder to believe.
The big round loaf I made in the gas oven on a pizza pan wouldn't fit into the Sun Oven, so I changed to two loaf pans.
Anything that can be baked in a regular oven does better in the solar oven. Less water is used in cooking. A bonus is the pans don't get baked-on crust, so are easy to clean. Cooking whole wheat was much simpler, since it didn't boil over like on the stove top, or boil dry, requiring me to keep an eagle eye on it.
Brownies did well with my regular recipe. No photo; we ate them too fast for an action shot.
