Damper is a traditional Australian bush recipe for unleavened bread baked in the hot coals of a campfire. The dough would be put into an iron pot and buried in the hot coals. Sometimes, the dough would be wrapped around a stick and toasted over the fire.
The name for the bread came about because the fire would be damped, or tamped down, to allow the bread to be cooked over the ash covered hot coals. Back in the day it was a staple food in the Australian outback because the dry ingredients could be easily carried and they only needed to add water to make the damper. The original version had no sugar or butter and used water instead of milk.
The following is a version that you can bake in your oven.
Prep Time : 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30-40 minutes
Ingredients
2 cups self-raising flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 – 1½ cups milk
2 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoon butter
(Extra flour as needed)
Method
• Mix the flour, salt and sugar together into a bowl.
• Cut in the butter until fine crumbs form.
• Add milk slowly and mix to form a soft dough.
• Knead lightly on a floured board until smooth.
• Shape into a round loaf,
• Brush with milk and cut a cross in the top surface of the dough.
For oven cooking
• Heat oven to 375ºF (190ºC)
• Grease, and dust a round cake tin with flour.
• You can substitute a flat baking pan, but the round tin gives a better shape to the loaf.
• Place dough in the pan and bake at 190° C (375° F) for 30 – 40 minutes.
For open/campfire cooking
• Grease a Dutch oven and dust with flour.
• Add bread dough and cover.
• Place in your fire, cover with hot ashes and coals and bake for about 30 minutes.
Note: To test if it’s done, tap on the loaf and it should sound hollow.
Cut into moderately thick slices and serve while still warm. Top with butter, your favourite jam (rosella jam is just right) or, as Gourmet Jack would, golden syrup.
The quick and easy Aussie drover method (Open fire needed)
The cattle drovers in the outback often made damper by wrapping the dough around a stick and toastied it over the coals. When ready to eat, they would fill the hole where the stick was with butter, golden syrup or jam. (rosella jam)
