How to make traditional Aussie damper

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Traditional Australian damper, an Aussie favourite thats been around for generations. I think of damper as half way between bread and scones. A really easy recipe with only 5 simple ingredients. No yeast required, It’s delicious served warm with butter and jam and of course freshly brewed tea.

My son Jamie started prep this year. It’s been a hard year for so many Victorian school kids as we navigate blindly through this pandemic. I feel particularly sad for Jamie and all the kids starting school in 2020 as I remember all the fun things my daughter Olive experienced in her first year of school.

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To say that home schooling has been tough on our family would be an understatement as we try and find a routine that will fit in both me and my husband working, home schooling Olive and Jamie and trying to give William our three year old some much needed attention.

On Friday my stress levels went up another level when Jamie came running up to me at 9am with “Mummy we have to make bread today” my first reaction was a lot of obscenities (in my head of course) and then my second was OMG does it need yeast because finding yeast at the supermarket is like winning the lottery thesedays.

After reading the task I was relieved that making the bread did not require yeast and that it was in fact damper we were making.

It brought back memories of making damper when I was in primary school and suddenly I had my mojo back and I was back into Mrsfoodiemumma mode!

What is damper?

Damper is an iconic Australian wheat based bread which was traditionally baked at a camp fire in a camp oven.

Predominantly made by stockmen, who looked after live stock and Swagmen who travelled by foot from farm to farm carrying all of their belongings in a swag (a kind of roll up bed).

These labourers would be in remote locations for long periods of time and had only basic ingredients for cooking.

Back then damper was eaten with dried meat or golden syrup.

Here’s Jamie with his damper looking mighty impressed with himself. I actually gave the kids full reins and fought any urge to jump in and take over. They did a really good job and it was a really fun cooking experience.

Damper is a great Australian family friendly recipe everyone should try at least once. So I just had to share it with all of you!!

Ingredients for making damper

• Self raising flour
• Salt
• Cold butter
• Milk
• water

The ingredients for making an Aussie damper are really simple. The recipe itself is uncomplicated and thats why It’s such a great recipe for kids.

If you don’t have self raising flour you can use plain flour with a tablespoon of baking powder or bicarb soda.

What do you serve damper with

Damper is best served warm and It’s really delicious with butter and jam or golden syrup. It can also be served with your favourite sandwich fillings.

Traditionally damper was served with Billy tea. This tea was made by boiling water in a billy can, a metal can with a wire handle. Once the water was boiled, tea leaves were added and then the billy can was swung over your head to settle the tea leaves.

I have been told a very similar brew to that of the traditional tea used is Lemon Myrtle and you can purchase the blend here.

How to Make Traditional Aussie Damper

there are 3 steps to making Aussie damper, the first being rubbing the butter into the flour and salt until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.

Next make a well in the centre and add milk and water.

Mix with a butter knife until the mixture starts to come together

Turn out onto a lightly floured surface, knead into a ball.

Then place onto a greased oven tray and flatten so you have 15cm round. Using a sharp knife, cut a cross on the top of the dough and brush the top with milk.

Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through.

See below for full recipe.

How long does damper last

For the best damper experience I recommend eating it fresh out of the oven. It will keep for an extra day or two but it will go hard within a day. If you have leftovers I recommend lightly toasting it the following day.

Experimenting with Damper

So this recipe is the basic traditional damper recipe. Once you have mastered this you can experiment with lots of other flavours. Here are some other flavours to add into your dough.

• Cheese and chives
• Other fresh herbs such as parsley, rosemary, marjoram
• cheese and bacon
• sultanas
• blueberries
• dates

So that is how you make traditional Aussie damper! A fun cooking adventure to be had with the kids. I hope you give it a go and enjoy it with a pot of freshly brewed lemon myrtle tea. If you do be sure to let me know how it goes by leaving a comment below 🙂

Tools to make the job easier

Le Creuset deep baking tray

Measuring cups

Make clean up a breeze with a dough scraper

Silicone pastry brush

You may also like these recipes

• Blueberry scones
• Banana, chocolate chunk and walnut Cake
• 4 ingredient homemade scones
• Blueberry and banana muffins
• Fluffy pancakes

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