Hi Patrice,
Paul and I frequently made bread in our Presto Pressure Cooker while cruising
in the Bahamas. A helpful reference is "Cooking On The Go" by Janet Groene.
Here is what she said about baking in a pressure cooker: "Place the rack in
the bottom of the cooker and make sure to remove the pressure relief valve and
the rubber ring because they are damaged by high heat. Put the dough into
any pan that fits inside the pressure cooker, with the rack in place. Greased
tin cans are ideal because they are tall and thin and produce pretty little
round loaves or cakes. This is best for quick breads and firm cakes. Preheat
the cooker for about 10 minutes over high heat. Take off the lid, quickly place
the baking pans inside, and replace the lid. Don't peek until the baking
time is almost up. Do not raise the pressure."
Paul and I successfully used two 1-pound coffee cans in our cooker.
Janet had a very simple recipe for beer bread in her book:
3 cups self-rising flour, or 3 cups regular flour with 3 teaspoons baking
powder and 1 tsp. salt
1-3 Tablespoons sugar
1 can beer
melted butter (optional)
Mix together all the ingredients except the butter, and turn into a
greased and cornmeal-coated pressure cooker. (Paul and I used the greased, coffee
cans instead). Bake until bread tests done with a toothpick. Bake at 375 for
about 35 minutes.
Obviously, you will have to experiment with the heat adjustment and amount of
time needed with a pressure cooker. Be sure to use a flame tamer. The nice
thing about the beer bread is you don't have to knead it!
Also, there were numerous bread recipes, including other Coffee-Can breads,
in the May 1998 issue of Cruising World. If you can't get a hold of that
issue, you could e-mail me your address and I could send a copy of the pages to
you. I think they are in too rough a shape to try and scan to computer.
Smooth sailing,
Melanie Halvachs
V1826 Double Fantasy
Holden, Maine
