Damper Recipe

You won’t beat this easy 3-ingredient Aussie Damper Recipe.

Based on an original recipe used by Aussie bushmen and early settlers in the 1800s and another Damper recipe promoted during the bread shortages of 1943, this yeast-free bread is just as tasty and comforting today.

Enjoy it with lashings of butter or golden syrup around a camp fire or serve it with soup at a dinner party. In fact, it’s great any time you feel like your own easy homemade bread fix.

This Damper Recipe includes instructions for cooking at home in an oven or if you’re in the great outdoors and using a camp fire.

The Great Aussie Damper Recipe

Damper was first mentioned in memoirs edited by Barron Field who was a Supreme Court Judge in NSW between 1817 and 1824.

Back then, the ingredients included flour, water and salt and the damper bread was cooked by being buried in the hot coals of a camp fire. The ashes were brushed off before eating.

We’ve come a long way since the 1800s, and so have our damper recipes.

Today, the recipes generally rely on self raising flour and sometimes butter is rubbed into the flour. Milk is often used instead of water.

The recipes I’ve used here to create this one have two important things in common.

1. They’re simple – no unnecessary ingredients or steps.
2. They get the balance right – producing a tasty damper while staying as true as possible to the original bushman’s damper.

The first is a Damper recipe provided by the Home Science Department of the East Sydney Technical College, printed in a Sydney paper during the 1943 bread shortages.

The second recipe I’ve used to create this one is the “Fair Dinkum Damper” from the Bushell’s Cook Book: 100 Recipes from Australia’s Past, published in 1983.

Damper Recipe: the ingredients

To make this iconic Australian Damper bread, you need only three basic ingredients:

– 3 cups self-raising flour (SR flour)

– teaspoon salt

– 1 ¼ cups milk.

If you only have plain (all purpose) flour, don’t fret. Simply add 1 ½ tablespoons of baking powder with 3 cups of plain flour.

If you don’t have milk, or enough milk, you can substitute with water. It will still be damper, just not quite as tasty in my opinion.

You’ll also need this equipment:

– large bowl

– butter knife

– baking tray (for home cooking) or camp oven/cast-iron pot/foil (for cooking on camp fire).

Simple steps for perfect Damper

1. Sift flour and salt

First, sift your flour and salt into a large bowl.

Use a bit of height above the bowl to get the air incorporated.

If you don’t have a sifter, simply whisk the flour in the bowl with a whisk or fork.

2. Warm and add milk

Next, warm the milk (without boiling) and add to the bowl. Mix with a butter knife until mixture sticks together.

If there are still dry crumbly bits in the bottom of the bowl add another 1-2 tablespoons of warm milk until mixture holds together.

If mixture feels too sticky, add a little extra flour.

3. Knead dough gently into a round

Turn dough onto a floured surface and knead very gently into a round.

If you’re camping or don’t have an available surface, simply attempt this step in the big bowl you’re using.

If you’re cooking at home, place round onto a greased and floured baking tray and flatten gently so it’s about 13-14cm in diameter.

If you’re cooking this bush bread on an open fire, wrap damper in foil or place on a greased piece of foil in a camp oven. Again, you‘re aiming for a 13-14cm round.

4. Cook for about 25 minutes in oven or camp fire

If you’re cooking at home, pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees celsius (fan-forced) and place damper on the bottom shelf. Bake for 25 minutes or until a rich golden colour.

If you’re cooking on a camp fire, cover damper with hot coals and bake for about the same time.

Remove from oven or fire and turn damper upside down on a wire rack to cool.

Check the damper is cooked properly by tapping on the base. It should sound hollow. If not, return to the oven for another 5 minutes.

Enjoying your Aussie Damper Bread

Serve your damper warm or allow to cool.

It’s traditionally eaten with butter or “Cocky’s Joy” (also known as Golden Syrup).

You can also enjoy it with jams, preserves or condiments.

Looking for more easy and delicious bread recipes?

Explore the Cooking with Nana Ling bread collection here.