Damper

If you’ve ever been camping in the Australian bush, you may have had damper, an unleavened bread cooked over or in the ashes of a campfire. It’s also been called “Devil-on-the-coals,” “brownie,” and “woppidown.” The Australians sure have a way with words and outback cooking.

On a camping trip through the outback I had an opportunity to sample damper baked in the bush. Our guide also served us billy tea, brewed in the traditional billy can, with a handful of eucalyptus leaves to flavor it. Don’t try that at home, since you might not get the right variety.

Australian Damper
½ cup flour
½ teaspoon salt
Water—a trickle at a time
Honey, golden syrup or jam

In a small bowl, combine the flour and salt. Pour the water in a trickle at a time—you don’t want too much. Mix with your hands until the dough is a smooth ball. If the dough is sticky, add more flour.

There are two ways to cook damper. One is to pat it into a round and bake it in the hot ashes—aluminum foil is a nice help here. The other is to put it on a stick, the way you’d cook a hot dog over a fire.

If you cook damper over flames, you’ll wind up with a lump of dough that’s burned on the outside and raw in the middle. After the fire has died down and you have some nice embers, hold your stick over them, turning the damper slowly to brown all the sides.

When the damper is cooked, slide it off the stick and eat with honey or syrup poured into the space left by the stick. Or break open and spread with jam. Good on’ya!