As you may have guessed, this Aussie Beer Damper Recipe has a special ingredient. That’s right, beer gives this traditional Australian bush bread a delicious twist.
A little while ago, I had Scott Brady from Overland Journal around to my home for breakfast. During the course of the morning’s conversations, my wife bought up the topic of me making an awesome damper on a recent camping trip. Now, there are obviously a few cultural and communication differences between us Aussies and Americans, for Scott was looking at us quite puzzled.
“What do you mean he made a damper? Like a shock absorber?” were the words or something to that effect from Scott. A few chuckles ensued before I set him straight and explained that we were talking about ‘bush bread’. A good old Aussie Damper, but with a twist.
I’ve been making plain damper in my camp oven for years from an old “Camp Cooking” Recipe Book. But, on a trip to Cape York, I went ‘off track’ and added beer to the mix, to create my Aussie Beer Damper recipe.
Not having prepared to be cooking damper on this trip, we didn’t have any type of measuring implements. Fortunately, one of our containers had some increments up the side, so after some quick maths, we were ready to get mixing.
The batter was loaded into the camp oven and placed amongst the coals, while I sat down and finished the rest of my beer, waiting until it was time to lift the lid. The resulting damper was one for the ages, so a pen was quickly found and the revised recipe written down so we never had to go through all the calculations again.
Just like my mum’s recipe books, you can tell it’s a popular recipe by the number of stains on the page.
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
** Serves Two **
Put flour and salt in mixing bowl, add beer and water then mix lightly. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently until smooth. If mixture is sticky, add more flour. If mixture is dry, add more beer.
Roll into a round shape and place into a pre-heated camp oven lined with foil. With your knife, mark into wedges then place camp oven on hot coals. Be sure to also scoop a shovelful of coals on to the lid as well.
Check the damper after 15 minutes. If it’s done, it will sound hollow when tapped and be golden and crusty. Remove from coals and serve with a generous helping of butter and golden syrup. And a cup of billy tea.
About the Author:
Hi, I’m Matt. I camp, four-wheel drive, explore the outdoors and get paid to take photos.
I’m happiest when I’m doing all four at once.
Occasionally, I’ll even tap out a couple of words on my keyboard.
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