Campfire to Crust: Baking Pizza in the Great Outdoors

Enjoying Pizza on the Trail

No matter where your adventure takes you, near or far, one of the things you can look forward to after a long day on the trail is sitting down by the fire to swap stories and share great food with your fellow adventurers. But, after a rigorous day off the road, it would be nice to simply call out for some delivery. Because it’s unlikely you’ll get pizza delivered to you miles from civilization, you’ll have to go another route. But what if you’re still craving pizza?

If you thought having a freshly baked pizza while out in the wilderness (or even in the middle of a parking lot) was not feasible, we’d like to introduce you to Camp Chef’s Artisan Outdoor Oven. This mobile oven features a ceramic stone base with a stainless-steel housing, which combine to create a portable, lightweight oven that you can pack into an easy-to-carry bag.

The genius behind Camp Chef’s cooking systems is their modular accessory units, which allow one to configure their stove to cook almost any type of food they wish. In our case, we satisfied our cravings for pizza with the Artisan Outdoor Oven unit. It is about 14 inches on each edge, and is capable of baking personal-sized or slightly larger pizzas when placed on its propane-powered stove.

The Camp Chef Pro 60X two-burner stove folds compactly, and is also stored and carried in a travel-ready bag. Its legs unfold to create a stable cooktop, complete with twin propane burners and two food preparation surfaces. A separately supplied propane tank powers it.

After arriving at our campsite, we were able to set up the stove and oven in under five minutes. We quickly gathered our ingredients from the ice chest and went to work while we preheated the oven. For ease, and to cut down on prep time, we opted to use pre-made, store-bought pizza dough. We topped our pizzas according to our preferences and were soon ready to bake.

Before we slid our first pizza into the oven, we made sure to check if the oven was heated to the correct temperature, using a built-in internal air temperature thermometer that’s located on top of the oven. For best results, it’s recommended by the manufacturer to also check the pizza stone’s temperature. Conveniently, Camp Chef includes a chart that allows you to estimate the stone’s temperature according to the air temperature reading; for more accurate readings, it’s recommended that you use an infrared thermometer. We had one in our truck’s tool kit and used it to get the oven’s temperature dialed in just right.

It only took the oven about six minutes to turn the pizza’s crust golden brown, and to melt the mozzarella into a sea of melty, gooey goodness. We’d venture a guess that it was probably the first time the area was blessed with the wonderful smell of freshly baked pizza.

What’s pizza without chicken? Thanks to the modularity of this system, we also grilled up some chicken on a Deluxe BBQ Grill Box, which we placed on top of the grill’s second burner. The 14-inch cooking system highlighted here is well suited for car camping. While not particularly heavy, each piece of the system does require a fair amount of space, as does the required propane tank. We found the optional carrying cases very useful when packing our truck.

As we mentioned before, we used premade pizza dough that only needed forming before it was topped. You can also make your own pizza dough from scratch to pack in your ice chest or onboard refrigerator before heading out. If you’re looking for something quicker and easier, you can bake your favorite premade, frozen pizza in the oven, too. When equipped with this oven in the backwoods, who needs delivery?

Pizza Toppings and Baking

Pizza baking times and temperatures will vary depending on the type and thickness of crust used. Typically, thin-crust pizzas will require a baking temperature between 500 and 600° for about four to seven minutes, and thick-crust or deep-dish pizzas will require a temperature between 350° and 425° for ten minutes or more. Experiment to find what works for you. Consult the cooking instructions provided with premade pizzas or dough if you’re going that route.

Margherita Pizza

1. Pizza sauce
2. Fresh mozzarella cheese, cut slices
3. Fresh basil leaves
4. Parmesan cheese
5. Olive oil
6. Pizza dough of your choice

Deluxe Pizza

1. Pizza sauce
2. Fresh mozzarella cheese, shredded
3. Pepperoni
4. Onion, diced or thinly sliced
5. Green bell peppers, thinly sliced
6. Italian sausage
7. Mushrooms, thinly sliced
8. Pizza dough choice