Here are some alternatives that will work just fine.
In the Spanish American war, the cooks made a bread for the fighting troops without formal ovens. They came up with a make-shift Dutch Oven using two pie pans, a shovel and some earth. Here are the instructions from a cookbook called, "How to Feed an Army." (Lewin, J.G. and P.J. Huff, Smithsonian.)
Dig a hole in the ground 18-20 inches in diameter and depth, and burn a fire in it for 5-6 hours. Take a government mess pan [like a pie pan] and cut off about 1 1/2 inches of the rim, leaving a rough edge. Into this pan put dough [or meal] enough to fill it two-thirds full; cover with another mess pan [pie pan.] Then take out all the cinders from the fire except a bed two or three inches deep; upon this place the mess pans and surround and cover with hot cinders. Spread with a covering of earth and leave for 5 or 6 hours. The bread will not burn, as in rising it will not reach the bottom of the upper mess pan. The rough-cut edges of the lower mess pan afford egress to any gases that may be discharged.
Another idea is to substitute a Bundt pan or a donut-shaped metal jello mold as the lower pan, a large lid for the upper pan, and a live fire with a grate on top. Withe the meal in the Bundt pan, place the Bundt pan on the grate with the lid on top. The hole in the center of the Bundt pan allows the heat to come up and over the meal, heating it like an oven on all sides. The heat continues through the fluted edges outward. Butter the pan first or you'll end up scraping and soaking for a long time after the meal. Here are some comments online about it:
You'll need a metal jello mold and a metal cake pan that fits over the top of it. The plainest jello mold possible, so you have the fewest nooks and crannies for your baked goods to get stuck to. Grease the jello mold well, and pour in your brownies, or whatever. Set it on a not-too-hot area of the grate and put on the lid. Check it periodically to see how it's coming. Bring along a pliers to act as your hot pad. You'll be checking it fairly frequently and turning it so one side doesn't get burnt.
The hole in the middle of the jello mold allows heat to rise and the cake pan traps it, so the top of your baked goods get cooked. And, the finished item will be mostly "edge", so you don't have the dastardly problem of burnt edges and gooey raw center.
One jello mold will work for a pouch of brownies or cornbread/bisquits/etc- for maybe 4 people. I use 2 for larger groups....I'm of the opinion that it's probably impossible to have too many brownies!
I confess that I just use the mixes from the grocery store- even ones that ask for eggs. I do bring eggs, although you could substitute dried eggs(ugh!) There is a pretty wide variety of "just add water" stuff at a big supermarket like Super One.
(Dogwoodgirl on http://www.bwca.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=forum.thread&threadId=12222&forumID=18&confID=1)
Consider reading through the forum to see what other people found out using this method of Dutch Oven cooking.
It's always great to see new ideas especially when they are cheap!
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