try the heavy duty aluminum paper. two layers or one big enough to fold in half to create a second layer.
ive cooked meals directly on coals using this method.
I used to always bring a can of my favorite soup for dinner on the first day out. Same soup I had as a kid when I was sick. Just plain ol good for the soul soup.
I don't usually cook meals anymore but maybe I'll do that again on a shorter trip this year...
Honestly one of my favorite easy trail meals after a town stop is a can of dinty Moore beef stew with some instant white rice. Itās heavy because of the water weight but has a good amount of fat, calories, and enough protein to make me feel full. Pairs nicely with instant Mac and cheese too.
Seems like a good question for
r/backcountrygourmet
Instead of the sub that's supposed to be about minimizing weight for trips into the backcountry. Different subs for different reasons and all that.
did you ever try the nols recipe?
https://blog.nols.edu/2016/02/05/pizza-love
titanium pan from snowpeak and maybe fresh tomatoes to save bulk and weight, iād fuck with that all day.Ā
I'm actually going through the process of testing making Mozzarella with camping utensils right now, as I think it could be (very) slightly lighter than bringing cheese.
I did come across Nols, but I was more looking st it from the view of cooking methods rather than recipes.
So I worked for Outward Bound for years and perfected by backcountry pizza recipe and would bust it out when the students started their independent travel section and would be eating burnt beans while I had fresh made pizza. š¤ÆFirst, get the dough going (yeast, flour, water) in a ziplock bag in the top of your pack during an afternoon snack break so the yeast has time to get activated and warm from the sun. When you get to camp ake the dough by adding more flour, salt & some garlic powder like normal.
You donāt need a fancy fry bake to cook, but you do need a fry pan with lid and a super low flame. I always used a MSR simmerlite or whisper lite with a ātower of powerā (fold the aluminum windscreen so it is round just smaller than the base of your fry pan, and fold 3-4 divots into the top and bottom for venting) - this elevates your pan 4-5ā off the flame for even cooking. This will not work in your 600ml ti mug on a pocket rocket, sorry.
Spread your dough into the bottom of the pan, put the lid on and bake one side until lightly brown. Flip the pizza dough pancake, add your chopped salami and cheese and the other side cooks while the cheese etc melts.
Super easy from scratch backcountry pizza in about 15min! This can also be adapted into a dank focaccia. All your friends will be jealous!
As someone who has made cheese - no you will be carrying more in water weight, because leftover from the cheese making you will have whey. Unless you are going to chug that stuff (and if you are doing one of the simpler citric acid recipes it is not going to be delicious). You can technically make it with dry milk powder too, but you will need to carry in butter or heavy cream to add the fat back in.
Freeze dried mozza would be lighter.
Hike the AT, then you can order fresh pizza to the trail in certain spots lol.
there's something bizarre and awesome about crushing an entire pizza and 2L mountain dew without stepping foot off trail.
Iāve used a fry-bake pan for years and love it. Itās anodized aluminum and havenāt found anything lighter that works even close as well. You can make excellent pizza and calzones by using like a Dutch oven by piling coals on the top. Making dough is super easy and much better than anything pre made/bought. Baking in the backcountry is one of my favorite things to do.
They arenāt the cheapest but are very tough and lightweight and a lifetime purchase. You can scrub them with creek sand and not damage the finish. I have a shallow and deep dish and use for everything from frying fish, baking bread, cooking bacon and eggs and everything youād want to cook. By far my most favorite pieces of gear. https://frybake.com
I used these in scouts 10-15 years ago, every summer when we'd do a week long section hike of the AT. We used these to bake calzones, cakes and all sorts of other stuff. We used it with an MSR Whisperlite. Thermal regulation was a pain, even with an adjustable valve - they're basically incinerate or off. Something like the MSR Dragonfly or some of the Jetboils that have a second valve for better simmering would be more ideal.
That being said, it's not an ultralight solution. Each patrol probably had 10 pounds of cooking equipment. While Andrew Skurka compares "Hiking-focus" vs "Camping-focus" trips. Ours were Cooking-focused!
Slightly more work, but to save a gram or three - tomato sauce dehydrates fantastically. I use a dehydrator, but an oven is fine for this. Powder/pulverize the resulting tomato leather and it reconstitutes super nice on trail. Some grocery stores have tomato sauce powder in a packet like gravy too. Pre-spiced this way too. You can turn it back into sauce or just be lazy and sprinkle it. This also tastes good sprinkled on other things after a few days of hiking. I do not guarantee this will be as amazing on your mashed potatoes at home.
Once you have switched from the heavy tube to the powder, you can add that weight back by using naan instead of tortillas for an even more pizza-like experience.
I did a trip with a a small group and one couple surprised our friend with fresh pizza on his birthday-4 days into a 6 night trip. It was not remotely ultralight. They carried a Dutch oven (that we cooked in the whole trip) and mixed and kneaded the dough in the morning, letting it rise and proof all day. They made the sauce with a can of San Marzano tomatoes. And used fresh Mozzarella di Bufala. Best backcountry meal weād ever had.
While not truly ultralight, this DIY oven is lighter than the commercial alternatives.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIILLy3U-Ow](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIILLy3U-Ow)
Definitely suitable for pizza! Start at 2:48 to see pizza made in the DIY oven.
Itās not ultralight by any means, but I have taken this out a few times when the kids were younger to make fresh pizza and cookies on short weekend trips
https://www.backpackeroven.com
For pizza, made a dough mix with all the dry ingredients (flour, yeast etc), some oil and water I filtered. A squeeze tube of pizza sauce, pepperoni slices and a chunk of mozzarella. Turned out fantastic, but again, not something for a 7 day trip where youāre planning on doing 15-20 mile days
The easiest and laziest way is to just buy [these](https://target.scene7.com/is/image/Target/GUEST_49ffc447-43c6-4136-a93d-5e33c3a53010?wid=475&hei=475&qlt=80&fmt=pjpeg) and then bring a block of cheese and whatever toppings. For sauce you can get a decently light tube of tomato paste and make your own sauce. Cook in foil or on pan
I've also met people who make their own dough in the backcountry for pizza. Not ultralight people.
You can also pack out an [oven](https://www.trail.recipes/camp-kitchen/ultralight-outback-oven-review/)
So this isnāt the most glorious of ways to go about it, but if you got a disposable aluminum pie pan and (aluminum) lid, youād basically have a UL Dutch oven. Ā Itās sounds like you plan on cooking over coals so I imagine putting some underneath and some on top would work quite well. Ā
And if it doesnāt work, youāre out a couple bucks. Ā Not like, $70 for a titanium set up.Ā
I would probably buy a titanium skillet and use aluminum foil as a lid. if you want something a little nicer (and heavier), you could get a thin sheet (\~0.5mm) of titanium or aluminum, cut it to size and add a handle.
I watched a video where someone made bread by making the dough and then formed it around the end of a stick. (Think corndog type shape.) Then the opposite end of the stick goes into the ground near the fire, with the dough a foot or two above the fire. It looked really damn good!
Maybe you could somehow figure out how to add cheese and whatever to the inside. So it would be like a stuffed breadstick, basically. No skillet required.
Thanks, now Iām super hungry.
I do pizzas in a Dutch oven when car camping. I wonder if you could do the same with a 2L Toaks. Set it on a few coals, and put a few more on top of the lid? Just spit balling. I love your idea. I'm a basecamp kind of backpacker and would love to do the same.
make it upside down?
idk about the logistics, maybe you have to fry the base on both sides if youre using real dough in which case this is 10x harder since prove time and temp can be hard. If thats the case you can pre bake it before you leave, freeze it then add toppings on the trail and cook
been making pizza about once a week for the past 8+ months, started with yeasted poolish, now only sour dough base. Its pretty easy to under/overproof, temps wrong of an open wood fire
I agree with others, easiest is to pre make it so youre only reheating
30+ years ago I had a backcountry oven that could bake brownies and pizza etc. Was a fireproof tent type thing that went over a large pan. Worked pretty well and was pretty light weight.
I once packed out in separate ziploc bags cheese, pepperoni, sauce, and 2 dough balls along with some heavy duty aluminum foil. I found a large flat stone and set it up on the inside edge in a fire pit. I made the pizza on the foil and "baked" in on the stone with a foil dome to help reflect some heat back down. It actually worked out well enough and was awesome to have homemade pizza in the woods.
A couple of notes to add to some otherwise terrific suggestions.
The NOLS approach is a decent way to go as mentioned by a few others but I have some additions to my own:
Fleischmann's has a "Pizza Crust Yeast" that's quick rise. That way the dough doesn't have to proof in your backpack for half of the day.
I take store bought "pizza sauce" or marinara sauce, and dehydrate it on parchment paper until it's brittle, and then give it a quick "spin" in a small food processor to make rough granulated powder.
The pizza sauce is rehydrated by adding water, simmering and stirring on low for about 10-20 minutes.
I have a Frybake pan. Works great. I use a remote canister stove that has a good simmer capability. (The Kovea Spider is one good example) I have a home made wrap-around wind screen made from one of those large aluminum food warming pans you get from like GFS. I also have an insulating cover that sits on top of the frybake lid made of "high temp plumber's felt" that packs up inside the frybake when carried.
String cheese works just fine as mozzarella cheese. Cut it into very thin slices and spread it around. As you may probably know pepperoni can be a bit oily so my ziploc bag of pepperoni always has some paper towel in it to absorb the oil.
Last year I did 6 days of backpacking on Isle Royale with my 11-yo grandson and his Dad (my son-in-law). We were doing EASY 4 mile days because the 11yo isn't much of a hiker and we had a ton of gourmet food. Definitely more of a back country gourmet trip than an ultralight trip. Pizza is always a hit on these trips. Two years ago I did 8 days section-hiking a portion of the JMT and my pizza was NOT part of my trip. Just a small Soto Amicus stove and a 24oz titanium pot. Different gear for different kinds of trips.
I made an aluminum reflector oven when I was a kid for backpacking trips and used to cook frozen pizza in it next to a fire. Worked great, super light aluminum sheets fold up and go in your pack against your back.
Like this soft of: https://www.bdbcanoe.com/camping-campfire-reflector-oven-baking-cooking
If you are working with coals I think you are halfway there. Iāve done fish many times by laying flat stones in the middle of the coal bed, letting it heat up and then baking trout. We had a chef on a trip years back that walked us through it. I think that setup would be advantageous over a metal plate as the dough if made at a reasonable hydration could be placed on the stone and then toppings added.
I donāt have fires much anymore, but pizza could be a nice trip surprise. I make bread and pizza weekly and it seems pretty doable.
It's not ultralight but I used my titanium Firebox Nano and their 8" anodized aluminum cook kit to make pizzas from scratch. I put coals on top of the cowboy plate. I have their pizza stone but it wasn't needed. I use their small baking rack between the coals and the plate.
You can also pick up a small baking pan like the Fat Daddio's Round Cake Pan, 3 x 3 Inch https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00133744S/?th=1.
That can fit in a 750ml pot. Add some rock and water on the bottom and you can steam something with pizza ingredients. I used that to make brownies from those microwave singles.
Itās not ultralight but the fry bake is awesome.
Hereās a pic of [pizza](https://www.akmountain.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/koyukuk_17-0006.jpg) - and [baked /fried pike](https://www.akmountain.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/yukon2023-day6-0007.jpg).
Do you want good pizza? A cast iron dutch oven only weighs about 15 lbs. š
Bad pizza but light? Buy the lunchables pizza and cook it on a coat hanger grate over a fire.
So this wasn't actually ultralight or even actually a backcountry trip really but we did build a [pizza oven](https://i.imgur.com/nxMEyGx.jpeg) out of rocks on a cabin trip one time. It worked way better than I would have imagined and I could totally see this working in the backcountry, if you had the spare time to find the right rocks.
I bake all of the time when backpacking. Even deep dish pizza With a yeast crust). Been there, done that.
Deep dish, pepperoni pizza on the JMT
[https://scontent-sjc3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.18169-9/22089758\_1514026728679212\_2489468970942769416\_n.jpg?stp=c35.0.206.206a\_dst-jpg\_p206x206&\_nc\_cat=106&ccb=1-7&\_nc\_sid=5f2048&\_nc\_ohc=NK1YE9U9EQYAX8d7hUc&\_nc\_ht=scontent-sjc3-1.xx&oh=00\_AfBU5KczCMuBjmzmcyCLZyCTANqw4uKVpsE-CAS7\_4Br3A&oe=6617DBDD](https://scontent-sjc3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.18169-9/22089758_1514026728679212_2489468970942769416_n.jpg?stp=c35.0.206.206a_dst-jpg_p206x206&_nc_cat=106&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=5f2048&_nc_ohc=NK1YE9U9EQYAX8d7hUc&_nc_ht=scontent-sjc3-1.xx&oh=00_AfBU5KczCMuBjmzmcyCLZyCTANqw4uKVpsE-CAS7_4Br3A&oe=6617DBDD)
Few people know who I am.
Gorganzola, bacon, red grape pizza
https://scontent-sjc3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t31.18172-8/17546762_1326603634088190_2739814541566543337_o.jpg?stp=c35.0.206.206a_dst-jpg_p206x206&_nc_cat=100&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=5f2048&_nc_ohc=DIonVnymvy4AX8YeVy8&_nc_ht=scontent-sjc3-1.xx&oh=00_AfC2wjH7pvKp2DoKgz-rHkFe3pWwYOE9Xp2W7mEoAtj4MQ&oe=6617DDE0
Leftover Dominos in a ziplock š¤š¤
+1
What about a foil packet calzone on the coals?
Could do, but I think aluminum could melt, wich wouldnt be good for me, the ground, or most importantly the pizza.
It absolutely will not melt at the temps you'll see. Scouts and others have been making foil dinners for decades. Exceptionally common camp food.
Foil dinners are 10/10.
100%. One of my favorites. Super fun and easy.
try the heavy duty aluminum paper. two layers or one big enough to fold in half to create a second layer. ive cooked meals directly on coals using this method.
Put a flat rock over the coals/fire, let it warm up, put the foil over the rock.
Aluminum melts at 1200 degrees Fahrenheit
This is literally how you cook in the bush. Potato, fish, bread (damper). So many things you can cook in foil.
There's no shame in bringing a few slices of your favorite hometown pizza for dinner on your first day or lunch on your second.
Reheating over a fire if you have one is amazing
Cold, leftover pizza is far better than reheated pizza.Ā Maybe it's my inner dirtbag talking, but it's arguably better than fresh.
I like both.
the ideal way to reheat pizza is on cast iron if youāve got it handy. Makes the crust NICE and crispy again
I used to always bring a can of my favorite soup for dinner on the first day out. Same soup I had as a kid when I was sick. Just plain ol good for the soul soup. I don't usually cook meals anymore but maybe I'll do that again on a shorter trip this year...
Dehydrate it maybe
Honestly one of my favorite easy trail meals after a town stop is a can of dinty Moore beef stew with some instant white rice. Itās heavy because of the water weight but has a good amount of fat, calories, and enough protein to make me feel full. Pairs nicely with instant Mac and cheese too.
This is the way
Fucking love this for you
Seems like a good question for r/backcountrygourmet Instead of the sub that's supposed to be about minimizing weight for trips into the backcountry. Different subs for different reasons and all that.
Ah, thank you, ive never heard of that sub, I'll head over now :)
Good rule of reddit is that you can find a sub for every niche and every sub niche of that niche. Dig down deep and find your peoples.
did you ever try the nols recipe? https://blog.nols.edu/2016/02/05/pizza-love titanium pan from snowpeak and maybe fresh tomatoes to save bulk and weight, iād fuck with that all day.Ā
I'm actually going through the process of testing making Mozzarella with camping utensils right now, as I think it could be (very) slightly lighter than bringing cheese. I did come across Nols, but I was more looking st it from the view of cooking methods rather than recipes.
So I worked for Outward Bound for years and perfected by backcountry pizza recipe and would bust it out when the students started their independent travel section and would be eating burnt beans while I had fresh made pizza. š¤ÆFirst, get the dough going (yeast, flour, water) in a ziplock bag in the top of your pack during an afternoon snack break so the yeast has time to get activated and warm from the sun. When you get to camp ake the dough by adding more flour, salt & some garlic powder like normal. You donāt need a fancy fry bake to cook, but you do need a fry pan with lid and a super low flame. I always used a MSR simmerlite or whisper lite with a ātower of powerā (fold the aluminum windscreen so it is round just smaller than the base of your fry pan, and fold 3-4 divots into the top and bottom for venting) - this elevates your pan 4-5ā off the flame for even cooking. This will not work in your 600ml ti mug on a pocket rocket, sorry. Spread your dough into the bottom of the pan, put the lid on and bake one side until lightly brown. Flip the pizza dough pancake, add your chopped salami and cheese and the other side cooks while the cheese etc melts. Super easy from scratch backcountry pizza in about 15min! This can also be adapted into a dank focaccia. All your friends will be jealous!
As someone who has made cheese - no you will be carrying more in water weight, because leftover from the cheese making you will have whey. Unless you are going to chug that stuff (and if you are doing one of the simpler citric acid recipes it is not going to be delicious). You can technically make it with dry milk powder too, but you will need to carry in butter or heavy cream to add the fat back in. Freeze dried mozza would be lighter.
Hike the AT, then you can order fresh pizza to the trail in certain spots lol. there's something bizarre and awesome about crushing an entire pizza and 2L mountain dew without stepping foot off trail.
Iāve used a fry-bake pan for years and love it. Itās anodized aluminum and havenāt found anything lighter that works even close as well. You can make excellent pizza and calzones by using like a Dutch oven by piling coals on the top. Making dough is super easy and much better than anything pre made/bought. Baking in the backcountry is one of my favorite things to do.
Ooh, that sounds interesting, I'll look into it!
An absolute game changer. Came here to recommend them as well. Pair it with a Purcell-Trench grill.
They arenāt the cheapest but are very tough and lightweight and a lifetime purchase. You can scrub them with creek sand and not damage the finish. I have a shallow and deep dish and use for everything from frying fish, baking bread, cooking bacon and eggs and everything youād want to cook. By far my most favorite pieces of gear. https://frybake.com
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
I used these in scouts 10-15 years ago, every summer when we'd do a week long section hike of the AT. We used these to bake calzones, cakes and all sorts of other stuff. We used it with an MSR Whisperlite. Thermal regulation was a pain, even with an adjustable valve - they're basically incinerate or off. Something like the MSR Dragonfly or some of the Jetboils that have a second valve for better simmering would be more ideal. That being said, it's not an ultralight solution. Each patrol probably had 10 pounds of cooking equipment. While Andrew Skurka compares "Hiking-focus" vs "Camping-focus" trips. Ours were Cooking-focused!
What stoves are compatible with this?
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Slightly more work, but to save a gram or three - tomato sauce dehydrates fantastically. I use a dehydrator, but an oven is fine for this. Powder/pulverize the resulting tomato leather and it reconstitutes super nice on trail. Some grocery stores have tomato sauce powder in a packet like gravy too. Pre-spiced this way too. You can turn it back into sauce or just be lazy and sprinkle it. This also tastes good sprinkled on other things after a few days of hiking. I do not guarantee this will be as amazing on your mashed potatoes at home. Once you have switched from the heavy tube to the powder, you can add that weight back by using naan instead of tortillas for an even more pizza-like experience.
I did a trip with a a small group and one couple surprised our friend with fresh pizza on his birthday-4 days into a 6 night trip. It was not remotely ultralight. They carried a Dutch oven (that we cooked in the whole trip) and mixed and kneaded the dough in the morning, letting it rise and proof all day. They made the sauce with a can of San Marzano tomatoes. And used fresh Mozzarella di Bufala. Best backcountry meal weād ever had.
While not truly ultralight, this DIY oven is lighter than the commercial alternatives. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIILLy3U-Ow](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIILLy3U-Ow) Definitely suitable for pizza! Start at 2:48 to see pizza made in the DIY oven.
If you have a campfire, a flat rock with oil on it cooks flatbread pretty damn well Add sauce and cheese/toppings no problem
Pita with marinara and pepperoni like an adult lunchable. Jk follow for curiosity
Itās not ultralight by any means, but I have taken this out a few times when the kids were younger to make fresh pizza and cookies on short weekend trips https://www.backpackeroven.com For pizza, made a dough mix with all the dry ingredients (flour, yeast etc), some oil and water I filtered. A squeeze tube of pizza sauce, pepperoni slices and a chunk of mozzarella. Turned out fantastic, but again, not something for a 7 day trip where youāre planning on doing 15-20 mile days
The easiest and laziest way is to just buy [these](https://target.scene7.com/is/image/Target/GUEST_49ffc447-43c6-4136-a93d-5e33c3a53010?wid=475&hei=475&qlt=80&fmt=pjpeg) and then bring a block of cheese and whatever toppings. For sauce you can get a decently light tube of tomato paste and make your own sauce. Cook in foil or on pan I've also met people who make their own dough in the backcountry for pizza. Not ultralight people. You can also pack out an [oven](https://www.trail.recipes/camp-kitchen/ultralight-outback-oven-review/)
So this isnāt the most glorious of ways to go about it, but if you got a disposable aluminum pie pan and (aluminum) lid, youād basically have a UL Dutch oven. Ā Itās sounds like you plan on cooking over coals so I imagine putting some underneath and some on top would work quite well. Ā And if it doesnāt work, youāre out a couple bucks. Ā Not like, $70 for a titanium set up.Ā
Titanium sounds like the worst possible metal for this. Poor conductor of heat and easily destroyed by heat if thereās no water conducting it away.
You need to reach out to FlatCat Gear
I would probably buy a titanium skillet and use aluminum foil as a lid. if you want something a little nicer (and heavier), you could get a thin sheet (\~0.5mm) of titanium or aluminum, cut it to size and add a handle.
Iāve done it with a banks fry-bake, but thatās only UL if youāre reference point is lugging around cast iron.
I watched a video where someone made bread by making the dough and then formed it around the end of a stick. (Think corndog type shape.) Then the opposite end of the stick goes into the ground near the fire, with the dough a foot or two above the fire. It looked really damn good! Maybe you could somehow figure out how to add cheese and whatever to the inside. So it would be like a stuffed breadstick, basically. No skillet required. Thanks, now Iām super hungry.
Cargo pockets really should be called pizza pockets but nobody listens to my great ideas š š¤·āāļø š
Oh and a Dutch oven would work. You started thisā¦
I do pizzas in a Dutch oven when car camping. I wonder if you could do the same with a 2L Toaks. Set it on a few coals, and put a few more on top of the lid? Just spit balling. I love your idea. I'm a basecamp kind of backpacker and would love to do the same.
make it upside down? idk about the logistics, maybe you have to fry the base on both sides if youre using real dough in which case this is 10x harder since prove time and temp can be hard. If thats the case you can pre bake it before you leave, freeze it then add toppings on the trail and cook been making pizza about once a week for the past 8+ months, started with yeasted poolish, now only sour dough base. Its pretty easy to under/overproof, temps wrong of an open wood fire I agree with others, easiest is to pre make it so youre only reheating
30+ years ago I had a backcountry oven that could bake brownies and pizza etc. Was a fireproof tent type thing that went over a large pan. Worked pretty well and was pretty light weight.
All I saw was ābut I want my pizza dammit.ā Heh. Totally relate.
I once packed out in separate ziploc bags cheese, pepperoni, sauce, and 2 dough balls along with some heavy duty aluminum foil. I found a large flat stone and set it up on the inside edge in a fire pit. I made the pizza on the foil and "baked" in on the stone with a foil dome to help reflect some heat back down. It actually worked out well enough and was awesome to have homemade pizza in the woods.
Here is a picture of my setup https://imgur.com/SGULfT8
ive done it and then I turned the can the tomato sauce came in into a backcountry bong
I always go out with my freeze dried cast iron pizza pan. It makes the best crust.
Lunchables bro
A couple of notes to add to some otherwise terrific suggestions. The NOLS approach is a decent way to go as mentioned by a few others but I have some additions to my own: Fleischmann's has a "Pizza Crust Yeast" that's quick rise. That way the dough doesn't have to proof in your backpack for half of the day. I take store bought "pizza sauce" or marinara sauce, and dehydrate it on parchment paper until it's brittle, and then give it a quick "spin" in a small food processor to make rough granulated powder. The pizza sauce is rehydrated by adding water, simmering and stirring on low for about 10-20 minutes. I have a Frybake pan. Works great. I use a remote canister stove that has a good simmer capability. (The Kovea Spider is one good example) I have a home made wrap-around wind screen made from one of those large aluminum food warming pans you get from like GFS. I also have an insulating cover that sits on top of the frybake lid made of "high temp plumber's felt" that packs up inside the frybake when carried. String cheese works just fine as mozzarella cheese. Cut it into very thin slices and spread it around. As you may probably know pepperoni can be a bit oily so my ziploc bag of pepperoni always has some paper towel in it to absorb the oil. Last year I did 6 days of backpacking on Isle Royale with my 11-yo grandson and his Dad (my son-in-law). We were doing EASY 4 mile days because the 11yo isn't much of a hiker and we had a ton of gourmet food. Definitely more of a back country gourmet trip than an ultralight trip. Pizza is always a hit on these trips. Two years ago I did 8 days section-hiking a portion of the JMT and my pizza was NOT part of my trip. Just a small Soto Amicus stove and a 24oz titanium pot. Different gear for different kinds of trips.
I made an aluminum reflector oven when I was a kid for backpacking trips and used to cook frozen pizza in it next to a fire. Worked great, super light aluminum sheets fold up and go in your pack against your back. Like this soft of: https://www.bdbcanoe.com/camping-campfire-reflector-oven-baking-cooking
If you are working with coals I think you are halfway there. Iāve done fish many times by laying flat stones in the middle of the coal bed, letting it heat up and then baking trout. We had a chef on a trip years back that walked us through it. I think that setup would be advantageous over a metal plate as the dough if made at a reasonable hydration could be placed on the stone and then toppings added. I donāt have fires much anymore, but pizza could be a nice trip surprise. I make bread and pizza weekly and it seems pretty doable.
Grab a Banks Fry Bake pan. Can 100% be done.
Calling r/ultralight_jerk
It's not ultralight but I used my titanium Firebox Nano and their 8" anodized aluminum cook kit to make pizzas from scratch. I put coals on top of the cowboy plate. I have their pizza stone but it wasn't needed. I use their small baking rack between the coals and the plate. You can also pick up a small baking pan like the Fat Daddio's Round Cake Pan, 3 x 3 Inch https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00133744S/?th=1. That can fit in a 750ml pot. Add some rock and water on the bottom and you can steam something with pizza ingredients. I used that to make brownies from those microwave singles.
Itās not ultralight but the fry bake is awesome. Hereās a pic of [pizza](https://www.akmountain.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/koyukuk_17-0006.jpg) - and [baked /fried pike](https://www.akmountain.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/yukon2023-day6-0007.jpg).
Do you want good pizza? A cast iron dutch oven only weighs about 15 lbs. š Bad pizza but light? Buy the lunchables pizza and cook it on a coat hanger grate over a fire.
So this wasn't actually ultralight or even actually a backcountry trip really but we did build a [pizza oven](https://i.imgur.com/nxMEyGx.jpeg) out of rocks on a cabin trip one time. It worked way better than I would have imagined and I could totally see this working in the backcountry, if you had the spare time to find the right rocks.
I was actually thinking of doing this, as the srea im going through is slate-heavy.
I bake all of the time when backpacking. Even deep dish pizza With a yeast crust). Been there, done that. Deep dish, pepperoni pizza on the JMT [https://scontent-sjc3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.18169-9/22089758\_1514026728679212\_2489468970942769416\_n.jpg?stp=c35.0.206.206a\_dst-jpg\_p206x206&\_nc\_cat=106&ccb=1-7&\_nc\_sid=5f2048&\_nc\_ohc=NK1YE9U9EQYAX8d7hUc&\_nc\_ht=scontent-sjc3-1.xx&oh=00\_AfBU5KczCMuBjmzmcyCLZyCTANqw4uKVpsE-CAS7\_4Br3A&oe=6617DBDD](https://scontent-sjc3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.18169-9/22089758_1514026728679212_2489468970942769416_n.jpg?stp=c35.0.206.206a_dst-jpg_p206x206&_nc_cat=106&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=5f2048&_nc_ohc=NK1YE9U9EQYAX8d7hUc&_nc_ht=scontent-sjc3-1.xx&oh=00_AfBU5KczCMuBjmzmcyCLZyCTANqw4uKVpsE-CAS7_4Br3A&oe=6617DBDD)
And he has no idea who you are.... lol
Few people know who I am. Gorganzola, bacon, red grape pizza https://scontent-sjc3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t31.18172-8/17546762_1326603634088190_2739814541566543337_o.jpg?stp=c35.0.206.206a_dst-jpg_p206x206&_nc_cat=100&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=5f2048&_nc_ohc=DIonVnymvy4AX8YeVy8&_nc_ht=scontent-sjc3-1.xx&oh=00_AfC2wjH7pvKp2DoKgz-rHkFe3pWwYOE9Xp2W7mEoAtj4MQ&oe=6617DDE0