Learning to Bake in Africa

I tried baking pumpkin/squash during our first month in Niger. What an adventure! It took about 1 ½ hours to bake it! Here are the instructions. Who knows when you just might need to use a gas oven....during the next dump of snow or ice or a province-wide power shortage.

1. First of all, try to locate where to light the burner. Lift up the metal cover at the bottom of the oven. Turn on the gas. Light the burner with a long gas BBQ lighter. Replace the cover. Don’t expect to get access to the burner at any other time during the baking process! Once the oven is lit, keep it lit since you don’t want to be fiddling with a hot element later on.

2. The dial shows only a picture of a “large flame” or “small flame”. Somewhere between the two is “medium flame”. Translated, that means: “Hot oven”, “Not so hot oven” or “Somewhere in-between”. There are no temperatures on the dial.

3. You will need an oven thermometer if you want to keep track of the temperature, especially for baking desserts. A thermometer is also useful to see if the oven is losing heat and needs more flame.

4. Without a thermometer at your disposal, use your nose to check for smoke or burning! Use a fork to check the squash for “doneness” and use your eyes to look for browning or burning spots.

5. CAUTION: The entire oven (door, dials) gets very hot while the oven is on. Use thick oven mitts for safety.

6. Reminder: There is no door handle. Open the oven from the edges. Be careful not to slam it closed.

7. Unless you want a sauna in an already hot and poorly ventilated kitchen and you don’t mind emptying your gas bottle, you might want to forgo using the oven and find an alternative method (e.g. steaming or boiling on the stovetop ) to cook your food in the future.

8. Remember: there is no microwave in your apartment. All leftovers have to be reheated on the stove.

Happy baking! :-)

Since my first experience, I have cooked squash two other times. The second time I steamed it. It was okay, but not as flavorful as using the oven. The third time I tried the oven again. Success with less frustration this time! Our guests enjoyed my cinnamon-flavoured specialty.

Postscript: I thought you might be interested in reading about my first experiences with our gas oven. Since then, I have made banana bread/cake/muffins, apple-cinnamon muffins, pumpkin muffins, and an egg casserole in the oven. We bought a used microwave in December which has proven to a big lifesaver and added to the convenience of re-heating leftovers. Thanks also to my mom for sending us an oven thermometer in a care package. :-)