5 Ingredient Australian Damper Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How was the traditional damper made? ›

Once the grain was winnowed, it was ground using a millstone, to create flour. The flour was then mixed with water to make a dough and placed in hot ashes for baking, either into small buns, today referred to as johnny cakes, or a large loaf, known today as damper. The dough could also be eaten raw.

Damper is a thick home-made bread traditionally prepared by early European settlers in Australia. It is a bread made from wheat-based dough. Flour, salt and water, with some butter if available, is lightly kneaded and baked in the coals of a campfire, either directly or within a camp oven.

Bake the damper in the pot over your camp oven for about 30-35 minutes, or until the loaf is golden brown. If you're at home, place the damper into the preheated oven and cook for the same amount of time. You will know if the damper bread is cooked if it sounds hollow when you turn the bread over and tap the bottom.

Choose your cooking method

An easy way to achieve this is to use your kitchen oven and create a double-oven effect. To start, placing your damper dough in a lightly oiled Dutch oven, then close the lid. Put the Dutch oven in an oven, pre-heated to 220°C and bake for 30-35 minutes.

Dampers typically consist of several adjustable blades contained in a frame. This basic design can differ from damper to damper, but the general principle is the same: the damper will open and close to regulate air flow.

Damper invented in Pitt Street

The inventor was First Fleeter William Bond, Australia's first baker, whose business was in Pitt Street, and much of the early bread he made was 'damper'. His custom of 'damping' the fire – covering it with ashes to preserve the red coals for the morning – gave the bread its name.

As explained above, this bread was made by drovers and stockmen in the early colonial history of Australia. At its most basic, damper is cooked with just flour, salt, and water. These ingredients were easy to carry on the journey, making it a perfect rest-stop meal.

Millstones have been discovered which have proven to be as old as 50,000 years. The flour was then mixed with water to make a dough and placed in hot ashes for baking. The results could be small buns, today referred to as johnny cakes, or a large loaf, known today as damper.

It may well be, however, that the damper was actually invented in Sydney. Historian James Bonwick ( 1817 – 1906) refers to a First Fleeter by the name of William Bond, who had a bakery in Pitt Street, and claims the first bread he made was damper.

"Damper is the bush-bread of Australia. Drovers (cowboys) baked Damper in camp ovens buried in the hot ashes of their camp fires in the Outback, but if you don"t want to build a camp fire in your backyard, damper can also be baked in a normal kitchen oven.

Is damper healthier than bread? ›

Breads like damper and soda bread can be healthier alternatives to plain white bread.

A good rule of thumb, according to Corriher, is that 1 cup of flour can be leavened by ¼ teaspoon baking soda or 1 to 1¼ teaspoons of baking powder.

Preheat the air frying oven to 200°C by turning the timer dial to 5 minutes. Turn the dough out on a lightly floured surface and knead gently until the dough is smooth. Divide the dough in half and shape each to fit into rectangular baking tins that fit inside the Air Chef basket.

Seal the dough inside the foil and then bury it deep in the campfire's hot coals. Cover with more coals and light the fire around the damper. Cook for about 20 minutes before removing the foil and opening it to see if the it is well-cooked. If you notice a crispy crust, it means that it is almost ready.

Bush damper is a food tradition that's been shared among First Nations peoples for thousands of years.

It became a staple for swagmen, drovers, stockmen and other travellers, as flour and salt could easily be carried and all that was required was to add water. As the sugar industry developed, damper was often eaten with “co*cky's joy” – golden syrup – which was easily transportable and cheaper than jam.

A few fun facts about damper

How was damper traditionally made in the Outback? Damper was traditionally made in a cast-iron pot with a lid, called a “camp oven”. The entire pot was either covered in hot wood coals or the camp oven was placed in a hole in the ground and surrounded with hot wood coals.

Dampers are a lot more than simple airflow adjusters. They are integral to the control of cool, warm, high temperature, dirty, or even toxic air. They may also be used for fire protection. Dampers maintain air quality and provide worker safety, which is why they are essential for industrial airflow regulation.