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Like the recipe for Billy Tea, Damper was a staple food in the bush in colonial times. It could be made with dry ingredients that could be carried easily and which needed only water to complete.
We now make it as a treat for our children, who think that it is a special food! - salt
- bicarbonate of soda - in more modern versions
- Mix plain flour and water together to make a dough - use your own judgment about how much to make - lots if you are hungry and not so much for a snack!
- Add a pinch of salt if you want to - it's your choice.
- Add a pinch of bicarbonate of soda if you want your damper to have a lighter texture (but that's only for softies!).
- Form the dough into a ball and then flatten it until it is about 75mm thick.
- Cook it in a warm to hot oven for about half an hour. Test by tapping. If it sounds hollow, it's probably cooked.
The settlers cooked their dampers in the ashes of their camp fires or in a camp oven (Dutch Oven) in the coals.The settlers ate their Damper with "Cockies' Joy" - golden syrup or treacle. A "cockie" was a smallholding farmer who was usually struggling to make ends meet.
I think that Damper is best eaten hot with lashings of butter and honey or golden syrup or strawberry jam.
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