Svante Freden Swedish Reflector Ovens

[Rob Stevens]

Swedish Reflector Oven​

Designed and built by Svante Freden (Skara, Sweden)​

Reflector oven – Retailers : SF Canoe – Reflektorugn, kanot, m.m.

www.sf-canoe.se

Placed on the ground in front of a fire, reflector ovens use reflected heat to cook or bake -anything from meat to fish, to bannock (soda bread), brownies, pizza, cake and muffins.

This clever Swedish design offers many advantages:

-lightweight aluminum (0.8 kg or 1.8 lbs.),

compact (collapsible) so easy to pack and carry

-quick and easy to set up due to the integral hinges

-fast baking because it reflects towards the centre from all 7 sides and heats a relatively small volume space evenly

-fits standard 9” round or 8” square baking pans, a loaf tin or 6-muffin pan

Setup:

Remove the strap

Lift the wire handle to open the oven

Spread the hinged sides outward.

Fold the hinged back up. Press the centre top of the back flap bending it outward while rotating the small “button” to engage the notch cut out on the top panel.

Insert the pan support wire and secure through holes on the opposite side (choice of two sets of holes depending on size of pan to be used), Push on end to snap / lock in place.

Hook both ends of the support wire into the back of the oven to keep it level before placing your baking pan inside.

Use:
Prepare whatever you want to cook/bake, put it into a pan, then put it into the oven.

Regulate the oven temperature by altering the size of the fire (should be flaming rather than coals) and the distance of the oven from the fire.

The oven temperature can be roughly judged by placing your hand between the top of the oven and fire. If you can tolerate holding your hand there for about 3 seconds, the temperature is about 350F. If it’s too hot, pull your hand away sooner!

Monitor baking progress and adjust the intensity of the fire or position of the oven. Rotate the pan if needed to ensure even heating. The oven can be picked up by the top wire (using a potholder or glove), but be careful not to spill the contents out.

DIMENSIONS: Open; 16" w x 11.5" h (tapers toward back) Folded’ 13" w x 5.5" (at back) ½” thick

Weight: 800 grams (aluminum)

Contact: Rob Stevens robstevens7777@gmail.com

 

[eckilson]

Thanks for posting this. I've been thinking about getting a reflector oven. I found this one Piragis and got it, along with a new pot grabber.

I love bringing my Dutch Oven along when camping. It is great for stuff that requires long periods of even, sustained heat - anything thick and heavy that requires long baking times. The problem with it is that it is a pain to lug around. I also find that the heat is much more reliable if I use charcoal, which is another thing to lug around.

I've always thought that a reflector oven would be great for stuff that didn't need the long baking times - cookies, pizza, that kind of stuff. When we went to the Allagash in the Fall, a friend brought his reflector oven, so I got to practice with him. We made a few things in it - baked peaches with cinnamon and sugar (worked great), pork lion (baked while the rest of dinner was cooking, but did need to be finished in the frying pan), and cinnamon rolls (let them go just a little too long, but they came out OK). Couple of pictures from that trip.



His reflector oven has straight sides and a rectangular pan for baking. You can probably put more in the rectangular pan but once fitted in place. it was hard to rotate the food to prevent hot spots. If we could have easily rotated the pan, we probably wouldn't have had better luck with the cinnamon rolls.

What I liked about this version is that you use a round pan that can easily be rotated while you cook. The pan is another thing that you need to bring along, but there is probably something in the kitchen kit already that I can use - my metal plate or the top to the nesting pots. The problem is, I don't have a fire pit at my house, so it is not something that I will be able to practice.

I'd love to hear to tips from from others who use reflector ovens on what works and doesn't...

 

[alsg]

Gil Gilpatrick has a design in one of his books for a reflector oven that I built. Somewhere on the site I documented the original build. Doesn't fold. Gilpatrick's design called for a solid shelf, which I think slowed the cooking too much. I ended up cutting out most of the shelf and leaving the remnants as brackets that were properly spaced to support a jelly roll pan. This helped the cooking time.