11+ Easy Steps to Get Perfectly Smoked Bark on Your Oven-Baked Brisket

Learning how to use mother nature’s resources is a necessary skill during survival situations. Centuries before us, our ancestors scaled the forests and woodlands, learning the ins and outs of the wilderness, most of which can be easily overlooked by the modern-day outdoor enthusiast.

However, if ever found in a fight or flight circumstance, we are surrounded by life-saving earthly materials, one of which is the mighty pine tree.

Cinnamon roll bark is a super simple, quick and easy sweet treat that combines creamy white chocolate with a buttery cinnamon sugar swirl reminiscent of a cinnamon roll!

In the food blog world, autumn is all about apples, pumpkins, spice cakes, caramel and candy corn. There are adorable edible monsters for Halloween and turkey shaped cookies for Thanksgiving.

Meanwhile, I’m over here craving all things cinnamon sugar. Give me all of the cinnamon rolls and snickerdoodles you can find. And while I’m waiting for you to collect those and deliver them ASAP, I’m going to chomp on this white chocolate cinnamon roll bark.

Here’s the thing about this bark: it’s ridiculously easy. You melt some butter and add brown sugar and cinnamon, melt some white chocolate, and then spread it out and swiiiiiiiiiirl. It’s a good time.

Then you just pop it in the freezer and let it set. It won’t become 100% hard like most bark because the cinnamon sugar swirls won’t fully harden, but that’s exactly what I wanted. Most bark is snappy and crunchy (like my Christmas Crack), but your teeth will melt right into this one giving you a creamy and sweet treat.

Side note: are you as mesmerized by the swirls as I am? I kinda can’t look away. It’s a special kind of food art.

As with any bark, you can take a big knife or pizza cutter (love love love this pizza cutter) and roughly cut it into big pieces. You’ll find that they’ll inevitably break in random places, which gives it the perfect imperfection that I love so much about bark.

Speaking of stuff I love, have you been to my Amazon Influencer Shop page? It’s a collection of all my favorite products that I use and recommend. So often I get questions about what kind of mixer I have, or what kind of silicon mats I use – the answers are all there!

P.S.: You can make the bark as thick as you want. If you want it thicker than you see below, you’ll want to double the amount of white chocolate, but you can still use the same amount of the rest of the ingredients.

More cinnamon!

to 30 pieces

Prep a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
In a small microwave safe bowl, heat butter until barely melted. Add brown sugar and cinnamon, and stir to combine. Set aside.1/4 cup unsalted butter1 teaspoon ground cinnamon1/4 cup light brown sugar
In a double boiler, melt white chocolate over low heat, stirring constantly until completely melted.12 ounces white chocolate
Pour white chocolate onto prepped baking sheet and spread into an even layer.
Drop a tablespoon of sugar mixture into several different places across the top of the bark, then drag a knife across across the length of the pan through each spot of dropped sugar, back and forth to create the swirls you see in the pictures above. Alternatively, you can drizzle the sugar mixture in a few evenly spaces parallel lines that run the width of the pan and then drag a knife through them perpendicularly to create the same effect.
Place the pan in the freezer for at least an hour to let it set, then cut it using a large knife or rocking pizza cutter to create individual pieces.
Keep stored in an airtight container until ready to eat – they will get slightly soft when left at room temperature. Enjoy!

Cranberry white chocolate bark is an easy homemade bark with creamy white chocolate, a hearty mix of fruit and nuts and a hint of orange! Try my copycat cranberry bliss bars next.

I have a thing for white chocolate and cranberries. They go hand in hand in my book (er, blog). White chocolate is one of those ingredients that’s easy to use, but also super fragile.

If you don’t heat it enough, it’s chunky. If you heat it too much, it scorches and because unusable – and it’s not cheap, so the idea of just throwing away a batch of white chocolate makes my wallet sad.

Ingredients for cranberry white chocolate bark

12 ounces white chocolate, chopped, or chips
¼ teaspoon orange extract OR 1 tablespoon grated orange peel
½ cup dried cranberries
¼ cup almonds, sliced
¼ cup pumpkin seeds
¼ cup each of any fruits or nuts

How to make cranberry white chocolate bark

Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
Melt white chocolate in a double boiler or microwave safe bowl, stirring frequently. You want it to be pour-able, but not *too* thin. Don’t overheat as it will become scorched and irreversibly ruined!
Add orange extract or orange peel and stir to combine.
Pour chocolate into an even layer on prepared baking sheet. You can either make a thicker layer with a smaller surface area, or a thin layer with a larger one.
Place your fruit and nuts across the surface of the chocolate. You’ll want to move relatively quickly so that the chocolate doesn’t harden before you’re done!
Place completed bark in the fridge for 30 minutes to an hour to let set and completely harden. Remove from fridge and break into pieces. Enjoy!

Customize your ingredients

The beauty of this is that you can add basically anything you want, and what you see picture was what I had on hand:

dried cranberries
pumpkin seeds
sliced almonds.

But if I’d gone to the store recently to fill my pantry with more than cheesy poofs and chocolate (sorrynotsorry), I would have also included: pistachios, orange zest, and chunks of mango.

How to melt white chocolate

If you use a double broiler, you have a constant eye on it while you stir constantly, and you’ll save yourself the heartache of completely destroying a batch of white chocolate.

Did you know white chocolate isn’t actually chocolate?

There isn’t actually any chocolate in white chocolate – its main ingredient is cocoa butter. And no, that does not mean you should go try to eat that jar of cocoa butter you use on your skin.

That’s gross, and wouldn’t taste anything like white chocolate. You have to add milk fat, milk solids, sugar and vanilla to get the good stuff.

, chopped, or chips
orange extract OR 1 tablespoon grated orange peel
each of any fruits or nuts

Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
Melt white chocolate in a double boiler or microwave safe bowl, stirring frequently. You want it to be pour-able, but not *too* thin. Don’t overheat as it will become scorched and irreversibly ruined!12 ounces white chocolate
Add orange extract or orange peel and stir to combine.1/4 teaspoon orange extract OR 1 tablespoon grated orange peel
Pour chocolate into an even layer on prepared baking sheet. You can either make a thicker layer with a smaller surface area, or a thin layer with a larger one.
Place your fruit and nuts across the surface of the chocolate. You’ll want to move relatively quickly so that the chocolate doesn’t harden before you’re done!1/2 cup dried cranberries1/4 cup almonds1/4 cup pumpkin seeds1/4 cup each of any fruits or nuts
Place completed bark in the fridge for 30 minutes to an hour to let set and completely harden. Remove from fridge and break into pieces. Enjoy!

Note: Nutrition info and number of servings will vary greatly based on your combination of fruit and nuts, and how large your pieces are.

Melted chocolate is flavored lightly with peppermint and topped with melted white chocolate and crushed candy canes for the quintessential holiday treat. Don’t spend money on the expensive Williams Sonoma Peppermint Bark – you only need 4 ingredients and 1 hour needed to make your own!

Add it to your holiday gift tins with Grinch Crinkle Cookies, Chewy Ginger Molasses Cookies and Peppermint Hot Chocolate Truffle Bombs. Then add it to a bowl full of peppermint ice cream!

Let’s get this out of the way: I love the Williams Sonoma Peppermint Bark. I do. It’s delicious and convenient and so easy to pick up and give to friends and family as gifts. I get it.

But I do not love dropping that much money on it when I know I can make it myself.

Frankly, that’s my motivator for most things I make at home – saving money. Saving time and money are two things I feel like I can always improve upon, and I think people always appreciate homemade gifts more than store-bought ones.

And since I have no talents in the craft department, people get the gift of food from me!

Ingredients for peppermint bark

16 ounces chocolate chips, dark or semisweet (divided)
¼ teaspoon peppermint extract
20 ounces white chocolate chips

Tips for making peppermint bark

Use good quality chocolates. The chocolate and white chocolate are the main ingredients here, so you want them to be top notch flavor! I always use Ghirardelli, and sometimes I even use a mix of semisweet and dark chocolates for the base layer.

Chill the base chocolate layer. If you try to pour the white chocolate layer on top of the still not set chocolate layer, it’s going to be a mess.

Crush your candy canes on top of a cutting board you don’t mind denting a little. If you’re brave enough to do it right on a counter top, power to you – but I like to do it on top of a cutting board that has some dents and dings over the years that I don’t mind adding to.

Keep a close eye on your white chocolate, and stir constantly. White chocolate is more temperamental than other chocolates, and can seize up more easily if something goes awry.

Stir constantly and make sure to remove from heat as soon as you see all the chocolate is almost completely melted. Give it a few stirs off heat and the rest will meld together nicely without beginning to get grainy.

Add the candy canes, quick! You need to add the crushed candy canes before the white chocolate sets, so just be sure to have them ready to go once the white chocolate comes off the stove.

Don’t stress about how you cut them. Seriously. Let all the pieces be different shapes and sizes. No one will care, I promise.

Store in an airtight container. The fridge or the countertop is fine, but just be sure it’s covered.

I channel my inner Salt Bae when I make these.

Is Peppermint Bae a thing? Can we make Peppermint Bae a thing?

How to store and transport peppermint bark

My favorite thing about peppermint bark is that it’s a relatively simple treat that transports easily in a covered container with little to no frills. And most people like candy bark, right?

I can say with 100% certainty that I have never gone home with leftovers, because it’s always demolished long before the party is over.

to 40 pieces

, dark or semisweet (divided)
white chocolate chips

Line a baking sheet with parchment or wax paper and set it aside.
Melt chocolate in a microwave safe bowl, stirring every 30 seconds until melted. Alternatively, you can melt using a double boiler, heating over low heat, stirring frequently until melted. Add peppermint extract and stir to combine.16 ounces chocolate chips1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract
Pour onto prepared baking sheet, spreading using a spatula. You can have this layer be thick or thin – totally up to you. Just keep in mind that the thicker the bark ends up being, the harder it will be to cut apart. Place baking sheet in fridge to set and harden for at least 20 minutes, or in the freezer for 10 minutes.
While the chocolate sets, place unwrapped candy canes in a plastic food storage bag. Place the bag of candy canes on a cutting board and use a rolling pin or mallet to crush them as much as possible. You’ll have a mix of chunks and peppermint dust, and that’s okay!
Now melt the white chocolate the same way you did the chocolate (but I strongly recommend the double broiler method, stirring constantly). As soon as it’s completely melted, remove from heat.20 ounces white chocolate chips
Take the baking sheet out of the fridge and pour the white chocolate on top of the chilled chocolate layer, spreading with a spatula.
Sprinkle your crushed peppermint over the still-warm white chocolate layer, trying to distribute as evenly as possible.

Note: Number of servings depends on how it’s broken apart.

One of the delights of perfectly barbecued brisket is the smoky, flavorsome crunch of the bark. Barbecue experts can debate the many elements that go into bark creations for hours: they discuss seasoning, the wood, the meat quality, and the temperature, all of which combine with the smoker to make magic. Can you create perfectly smoked bark if you’re oven-baking your brisket?

To create bark on an oven-baked brisket, trim the fat for increased area. Coat the brisket with a dry rub with charcoal and liquid smoke, and rest overnight. Bake the brisket, covered with a foil tent, for six hours. Uncover and bake for two hours to develop the bark. Broil for 15 minutes for crunch.

The bark on a piece of brisket is a dark brown crusty, spicy layer that forms outside the meat during smoking and barbecuing. Most barbecue fans will argue that you need the extended smoking process to create this layer. An oven won’t be able to provide the smokiness, char, and savory flavors. Well, the purists are wrong. Here are 11 steps to get perfectly smoked bark on your oven-baked brisket.

Trim The Brisket

The first step in creating bark is trimming the fat and silverskin on your brisket. (Your butcher may do this for you, in which case you begin with a pre-trimmed brisket.)

This step is crucial, as it allows the brisket to cook evenly and absorb the seasoning that makes the bark taste so good.

Although bark can’t form on top of fat, you need to retain a little fat for the spices to dissolve in as a basis for the bark. Fat also infuses the meat with juiciness and flavor.

Hence, a well-trimmed brisket provides the maximum surface area for bark formation while keeping enough fat.

Get out a large cutting board and a sharp paring knife.
Lay the brisket flat, fat side up.
Trim off the entire silverskin.
Use the knife to gently shave off a small layer of fat at a time. This prevents you from cutting off too much fat from the fat cap.
Remove the fat until you have ¼ inch left on the flat side of the brisket.

Dry Brine With A Salt And Pepper Rub

The basis for the bark is a dry rub containing salt and pepper. This coating has three functions: it seasons the brisket, protects the juicy inner meat, and creates a crisp crust.

You can use the rub as a dry brine if you apply it the day before. This extended rest gives the rub time to penetrate the meat, tenderizing it and imbuing it with rich flavor. Leave the brisket in the refrigerator overnight.

There are as many spice rubs for brisket as stars in the sky, so choose one that you find tasty. A traditional Texan brisket would have mustard and pepper flavors, while other typical rubs for brisket contain:

Coarse kosher or sea salt
Cracked black pepper
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Mustard powder
Chili powder or flakes
Cayenne pepper
Cumin
Ginger
Paprika
Brown sugar (Go easy on sugar as it can burn rather than create bark.)

First, coat the rub with mustard, water, ketchup, cooking oil, or mayonnaise to get the rub to stick to your brisket. Without this moisture, the seasoning may become patchy and uneven, unable to form a hearty bark layer.

The liquid binder (or slather) doesn’t significantly influence the final flavor, so choose whatever appeals to you. The flavors of the rub are more important.

Then apply your rub, ensuring you have covered the whole surface, including every fold and corner of the meat. Massage it into the meat for succulence.

There is a balance between applying too little rub and having no bark, and too much, and overpowering the meat. You’ll need about half a cup of rub for a medium-sized brisket. If the layer is too thin, add more rub during cooking if necessary.

Add Smoke And Charcoal To The Rub

Because oven-baking means that your brisket isn’t exposed to woodsmoke, you need a couple of tricks to get that authentic smoker flavor.

Add a heaped teaspoon of food-grade charcoal to your rub to get an authentic-looking black bark. A little charcoal goes a long way, so don’t overdo it.

Another secret is to add liquid smoke if you’re marinading the brisket. Two tablespoons of hickory smoke should add enough flavor. You can also rub it directly on the brisket.

Rest The Brisket Overnight

Once you have applied the dry rub, cover the brisket and place it in the refrigerator overnight, at least for 10-12 hours.

It’s easiest to place the brisket on the rack and baking sheet you will use in the oven. Tent the meat and pan with aluminum foil.

Return Brisket To Room Temperature

Remove the brisket from the refrigerator. Let it rest, still covered, until it reaches room temperature.

If you put a cold brisket in the oven, it won’t cook evenly. The meat will take ages to heat through, with the outside cooking more quickly than the inside.

Bake Brisket On A Rack

When you prepare a brisket in a smoker, the meat is surrounded by smoke.

There is no way to replicate these conditions in a regular oven, but you can expose more of the meat to heat by cooking it on a roasting rack.

Place the rack over a baking sheet or pan to catch the drippings, but don’t lay the brisket flat in a pan. The brisket will then cook in its own juices and fat and won’t develop bark.

Roast Low And Slow

A brisket will smoke for 12 to 18 hours in a smoker at a temperature of 250⁰F. Temperature is an essential factor in bark formation. However, this extended baking time is impossible for a regular oven, as the meat will dry out completely.

You can still bake your brisket at a low temperature and for an extended period, so there is enough time for the crunchy bark to form. Slow oven roasting, around eight hours, is enough time to gently render the fats and tenderize the meat, leaving it juicy and luscious inside. It is also long enough to create bark.

Place the brisket, pan, rack, and aluminum tent in a preheated oven at 300⁰F. Cover the brisket with aluminum foil for the first six hours to prevent it from drying out.

Insert a digital thermometer into the brisket’s thickest part: if it reaches 180⁰, uncover the brisket.

You may be tempted to increase the oven’s temperature to speed up the cooking process. Do not yield to this temptation, as your brisket will develop a charred, bitter bark and end up tough and dry.

Another temptation may be adding a pan of water to the oven so the meat won’t dry out. Don’t be tempted. Wrapping the meat in foil will stop it from drying out. The water evaporating from the pan will prevent a crunchy bark from developing.

Uncover For The Best Bark

The final stage in bark formation is allowing your brisket to roast uncovered for the last two to three hours of cooking.

Because the brisket has been cooked at a low temperature, the caramelization or browning that makes bark has not occurred. The so-called Maillard Reaction, where fats and proteins are transformed by heat, has been postponed.

Instead, the surface rub has been gently basted in the meat’s fatty juices, boosting the flavor. The spices and sugars have dissolved in the water and fat, creating a slurry or glaze on the brisket.

This is the basis of the bark, but crunchy bark won’t develop properly in such a moist environment. Humidity is the main reason bark doesn’t form even when prepared in a smoker.

Once the meat is uncovered, the surface moisture evaporates, allowing the dissolved rub to dry and harden.

As the rub and fat bake, the Maillard reaction occurs. The crust becomes crisp and dark brown, forming the delicious bark layer.

Don’t worry about basting or spritzing the brisket for this period – you want to minimize moisture.

Keep The Temperature Steady

While the bark is forming, you don’t want the interior of your brisket to dry out.

Over the last couple of hours of cooking, check that the inner temperature of the brisket remains at 200⁰F for at least an hour, using a digital thermometer. Check every 30 minutes until the brisket is done.

Your brisket is cooked once it has a finished temperature of 195-205⁰F. The outside should be crisp and brown, and the inside tender and succulent but not falling apart.

An old pitmaster’s trick is picking the brisket with tongs and holding it in the middle. If the brisket bends, it is done. If it breaks, it is overcooked.

Broil For Crunch

Just as chefs reverse sear a steak, creating a crisp crust, broiling your brisket for the last 15 minutes can help form bark by encouraging the Maillard or browning reaction.

Turn the broiler on and allow your brisket to bake for only 10-15 minutes. Broiling for longer can burn rather than char and dry out the succulent meat.

Rest The Brisket Before Slicing

Once the brisket is done, remove it from the oven and place it on a large cutting board. Let the brisket rest for 30 minutes to two hours to be juicy when you eat it. You can cover it again while resting.

Slice the meat thinly, working across the grain so that each slice has a layer of peppery, crunchy bark.

Serve Texan-style with sauce on the side.

Baking Instructions

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Add the flour, water, and salt into a large bowl and combine until a dough forms.

3. You can keep the shape of one large dough ball, or separate and shape the dough into 6 dinner rolls.

4. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until the outside is crispy and the inside is no longer moist and doughy.

Tip: This is a very basic pine bark bread recipe that you can easily add your own twist on.

Some suggestions are adding a sweetener or herbs and spices to the dough before baking, like:

1 Tbsp honey or maple syrup
½ to 1 tsp of spices or herbs (cinnamon, rosemary, nutmeg, cloves, garlic)

5. Store bread in a cool, dark area.

How To Harves Pine Bark

Many people are not aware that while walking through the forest they are surrounded by an astonishing survival edible, the pine tree! When harvested, prepared, and stored properly, it is a rather flavorful food source, and harvesting the bark is a fairly simple process.

1. First, identify a pine tree. With pines being the most common coniferous tree worldwide, it is likely you will encounter a pine tree while trekking through the forest. Different species of pines will give you slightly different tastes in the bark. It is said white pine is widely considered the best tasting pine species, but other species come in close comparison, including Red Spruce, Black Spruce, Balsam Fir, Tamarack, Yellow Birch, Black Birch, Slippery Elm, and more.

Sidenote: Although most pines are perfectly edible, be weary of the poisonous species. These include the Norfolk Island pine, the Yew pine, and the Ponderosa pine. While Norfolk Island pines are typically localized near the South Pacific Ocean from New Caledonia to New Zealand, and Yew pines grow in China and Japan, Ponderosa pines are more widespread, growing anywhere between southern Canada to New Mexico, and from Nebraska and Oklahoma spanning all the way to the Pacific Coast.

2. Choose a pine tree that is more mature, pines can live up to 100-200 years! Find one with a larger trunk, or at least larger than the width of your wrist.

3. Take a large knife and begin scraping off the outer bark. The outer bark is NOT edible and therefore is not useful for food preparation purposes.

Continue to scrape the outer bark off until you reach the next layer of the tree called the phloem. The phloem is typically lighter in color than the outer bark, but darker in color than the cambium (or inner bark).

Sidenote: Do not scrape off a section larger than 1/10th the circumference of the tree. The phloem is the life source of the tree, this is where sap runs up and down the tree, giving it nourishment. If scraped off in small sections, the phloem is capable of healing itself so the tree can continue to grow and prosper.

4. Once the phloem is removed and the inner-bark, or cambium, is exposed, begin harvesting by driving the tip of your knife into the bark, and then scoring a vertical line downwards. Do this again an inch or two away from the first score. Next, connect the two lines at top and bottom to make a vertical rectangle.

5. Pry the rectangular strip away from the tree peeling the inner-bark from the top horizontal score, down to the bottom horizontal score.

Sidenote: This process is typically easier to do during the spring when the tree is moister with sap. The bark tends to be drier in the autumn and may not strip off in one clean sheet.

You can use your knife to scrape off any remaining tender white inner-bark and repeat the process until you feel you have harvested enough bark for your needs. One of the easiest ways to transform your pine bark into an easily packable and travel-friendly food source is by making it into flour.

Once in flour form, it can be eaten as is, or used to coat meats and foods for deep-frying, and even baked into bread. Below, is a simple pine bark bread recipe.

Frequently Asked Questions

You can develop bark on an oven-baked brisket. For bark to form, you need a combination of seasoning spices, particularly salt and sugar; low temperature cooking around 250⁰F; and smoke. You can replicate the seasoning spice and the low, slow roasting in the oven, then add liquid smoke for flavor.

How Do I Get More Bark On My Brisket?

Increasing the amount of bark requires you to increase the surface area exposed to seasonings and spice. An excellent first step is trimming the silverskin and fat from your brisket. Secondly, coat the brisket thoroughly with a salt and pepper rub. Thirdly, cook long and slow in the oven, with the brisket exposed to direct heat for the last two hours.

Can You Develop Bark In The Oven?

You can develop bark in the oven, although you face the challenge of not having smoke surrounding the brisket. To prevent a brisket from drying out in the oven, you must cook it in foil for the first six hours.

However, you can develop bark in the last two hours by uncovering the brisket and allowing the seasoning layer to crisp up. Another method would be to turn up the broiler for 10-15 minutes and sear the exterior of the brisket.

How Do You Get Bark On Meat In The Oven?

To get bark on meat in the oven, coat it with a generous layer of seasoning. After cooking the covered brisket low and slow, uncover it for the last couple of hours. If there is no attractive bark, blitz it with the broiler for 15 minutes.

Other Survival Benefits Of Pine Trees

Pine trees are a truly mystical natural resource, and aside from its superfood nourishing benefits, pines can be used as a very versatile survival tool:

Medicine: Being a natural antiseptic with antibacterial and antifungul properties, pine resin can be apply directly to wounds to encourage the healing process. It is commonly used to aide in the removal of splinters stuck in the skin. Just simply apply the resin to the affected area, and the splinter should come out on its own within 1 to 2 days.

Fire Starter: The resin can also be used as a natural fire starter, and is extremely flammable even when branches are slightly damp.

Shelter: Resin can be used as a building tool when combined with a small amount of charcoal from an existing (and extinguished) fire to form a glue for constructing shelters. Also the bristly boughs of pine trees are useful in making walls for shelter, or cushioning for a warm, dry bed.

So if you find yourself in a sticky situation, lost or stranded in the wilderness, and your stomach starts rumbling, seek out a pine tree. It is one of the most plentiful natural resources and may very well be what saves your life.

Where To Find Pine Trees

Native to the Northern Hemisphere, pines prefer cooler climates and are popularly found among forests in Northern America, China, South-East Asia, Russia, and Europe. Although they prefer cooler climates, pines are a sun-loving tree that grows best in sandy, well-draining soil that is on the more acidic and calcareous side.

With nearly 100 different species inhabiting the earth, you are likely to come across pine-ridden woodlands during your wilderness adventures.

Preparing Pine Bark Bread

STEP ONE: Dry out your bark. Heat your oven to 170 degrees F. Lay your bark out into a baking sheet and bake for about 1 hour or until crisp, checking on them every 10-20 minutes during the drying process.

You can do this over a small fire as well (this will give your bark a smokey smell and taste).

STEP TWO: Once your bark is fully dry, it is ready to be made into a powder, or bark flour. You can use a blender or food processor. Break up your dried bark strips into small pieces before adding them to your blender so it is less work on the motor.

Pulse the dried bark until it has reached powder form. It most likely will have a coarser texture to it. Be aware if you run your blender or food processor for too long, the motor may begin to overheat.

You can also use a muddler or a hammer to crush it into flour.

STEP THREE: Once your bark is in a powder form, it is time to prepare the bread dough. Some tips for preparing your bread dough include:

b. Add 50% water (or other fluid) to the total amount of flour used. So if you use 2 cups of bark flour and whole wheat flour combined, you would use 1 cup of water.

Here is a simple recipe to follow

¾ cup pine bark flour
1 ¼ cup whole wheat flour
1 cup cold water
one tsp salt

Survival Pine Trees

Pine trees are a rather bountiful source of sustenance and essential nutrients. Containing rich amounts of fiber and vitamin C, most parts of the tree can bring your body nourishment and fend off the aches of impending starvation. Using pine trees as a major food source began with the native tribes in the Great Basin Area of the United States and parts of Mexico.

Pine trees, specifically the pine nut, was used as sustenance during long tredges of travel and animal hunting expeditions that could carry on for several weeks at a time.

Most parts of the pine tree are edible, except for the outer bark. The pine needles can be dried and used in boiling water as a pine needle tea to help warm up the body and boost your immune system on a cold night. The pinecones are a source of seeds (if female), and a source of pollen (if male), and are quite tasty when boiled.

One of the most popular ways to eat pine is by harvesting the inner bark, which can be eaten raw, dried, or muddled into flour.

Final Thoughts

Purists will argue that it is impossible to create actual barbecue conditions indoors. Your brisket will never have bark with the smoky char you get in a smoker. However, you can roast a delicious brisket with tasty bark in a regular oven: coat it with your favorite rub, roast it covered for six hours, and then open it up for the last couple of hours to form the bark.