Eggs and bread in the dutch oven

French Toast (Eggy Bread) Over the Campfire with the Dutch Oven

Posted by Gav Grayston.
First Published Jun 2012; updated May 2023.

Here's a simple breakfast for the campsite. Not only fills you up, but the fire warms you and keeps any midges at bay. It's not going to win any awards for looks, but goes down well.


Imagine the scene.

It's an early summer morning, but it's cold, it is wet, and everyone's energy levels are the opposite to the midges franticly feasting on their human breakfast.

That was the situation we were in.  What we needed:

a) Some warm breakfast to get the energy up and get the cold off

b) Some smoke under our cooking tarp to create a midge-free zone.

French Toast (also known as 'Eggy Bread')

So this is a very simple breakfast to make on camp.

Visually it isn't going to win any awards, but it hit the spot on that morning.

We used a dutch oven, but it could have easily been cooked with a large cast iron frying pan over the fire.

Step 1 - Get the fire going or BBQ

Step 2 - Get some oil hot in the Dutch Oven and toss in some bread

Bread in Dutch Oven

As you can see, we just tore up some slices of white bread we had with us.

Fry the bread until it starts getting crispy.

Bread frying in Dutch Oven

Bread frying in Dutch Oven

Meanwhile, whisk up some eggs and add seasoning if you wish.

We used half a dozen eggs.

Step 3 - Pour in the Eggs

Eggs and bread in the dutch oven

Eggs and bread in the dutch oven

Pour the eggs over the bread and stir as it cooks.

If the egg sticks, take the Dutch Oven away from the fire.  You'll still be able to cook the eggs in a hot oven without it being over the fire.

The Result

OK, well, it's not true French Toast, but rather a 'homage' to French Toast, and a sort of omelette come scrabbled egg come French toast.  However, it worked well.

Of course, you could soak the bread in egg and then fry it in the oven to do it the 'proper way', but on camp that morning, this was by far the quickest and easiest to do, and it tasted just the same.

Cleaning Up

If the oven gets very hot, you may find some eggs sticking.  This can be easily solved by pouring boiling water into the oven and heating over the fire.  If your oven is seasoned well, any egg should easily slip off, even if you have to give it a little nudge with a wooden spoon.

Dry and seal with a bit of oil as normal.

Hot Water in Dutch Oven for Cleaning

Hot Water in Dutch Oven for Cleaning

A Bigger Breakfast

That cold and wet morning, we were limited by what ingredients we had to hand, but you can be quite creative, and it is easy to use the oven to make an omelette over the fire - and unlike just using a gas hob, the fire can help keep you warm and keep midges at bay.

A bigger breakfast we've had success with in the Dutch Oven has included frying sausages, adding frozen hash browns, a dozen eggs, and cheese.  This included coals on top and below the oven.  We'll show you how that one is done another time...