Gabes Damper - or MC friendly bread alternative

[Gabes-Apg]

background:
damper was made by the shearers and bushies 'swagmen' that roamed the country areas seeking work.
basic ingredients of damper were flour, water, milk if they had it, and baking soda. It was normally cooked in the ashes of the fire. an equipped bushie or camper would grease a camp oven (cast iron pot) with butter then cook the damper in the pot in the ashes.
it was eaten dry, with butter if they had some, or with stew or with golden syrup also known as cockys joy!
(slang for cockatoo joy)
basically it is like eating a savoury muffin top where the outside is crunchy and the middle is softer


Gabes damperI am lucky that there is a GF/CF/YF/SF/EF breadroll mix that i buy, it has minimal amounts of casein in the mix. basically the mix is a GF flour mix with baking soda

the 350gm mix can be made with egg or without egg
to this i add 1 egg, 400mls of my home made stock, 1 cup of cooked chicken, 1 cup or so of cooked vegetables (ie the ones i can tolerate)

instead of making this as muffins or rolls as the mix says, i find it much easier to line a 20cm springform tin with baking paper, cook it in a slow to mod oven (150c) for about 40 mins. (i generally make it as a double batch so this can take about 70 mins to cook)

once cool, i slice it into 8 triangle segments as you would a cake, i freeze these individually.
for breakfast i cut a piece in half, warm it in the oven for about 20- 30 mins (while i have shower and do my hair etc) and then have it with boiled or poached eggs.
this mix works well as i dont have to use my hands to knead it, one bowl to mix it and one tin to cook it keeps the washing up minimal.
the veges and chicken have been cooked in the stock so this also helps with the flavour

due to my aversion to soy, there are no cooking sprays that i can tolerate, i was baking the mix in muffin tins but the GF/DF spread that i have did not work well enough and they would stick to the pan and it would be a nightmare to scrub and get clean, so springform tin to the rescue, i use small amount of the GF/DF spread to hold the baking paper in place on the sides of the tin, baking paper to line the bottom, and once the damper is out, baking paper in the bin, the tin barely needs washing up.

it is much much nicer to eat when it is warm, albeit workwise for offsite meetings or interstate meetings, it is quite edible slightly cool out of my day pack esky/cooler bag.


some alternatives for making it from scratch that i got off some camping sites off the net

Ingredients
self raising flour
baking powder
salt
1 egg
1 tablespoon cooking oil
milk

Method
Half fill the camp oven with the SR flour. Add 1 teaspoon of baking powder and a good pinch of salt. Mix these dry ingredients and make a well in the centre of the flour mixture. Add 1 egg, 1 tablespoon of oil and enough milk to mix. Mix well, adding more milk a little at a time as required. Mix until the dough is well mixed and a little sticky. Even out the mixture and brush the top with a little milk to help in browning.

Cover the camp oven with the lid. Place on moderate coals and cook for about 15 to 20 minutes, then test with a sharp knife. If not cooked, cover and cook for a little longer. (You can smell when it's ready!)

For a savoury damper, top with grated cheese before cooking.
For a sweet damper, add sugar and sultanas to the dough before cooking.


For those that dont mind kneading the dough

Ingredients (serves 4)
450g (3 cups) self-raising flour
Pinch of salt
80g butter, chilled, cubed
185ml (3/4 cup) water
(Gabes edit - using home made stock with some of the fat could replace the butter water measurements, when converting normal recipes for GF flours i find i have to increase the liquid by about 20% or reduce the flour quantity by 20%))


Method
Preheat oven to 200°C. Line a baking tray with non-stick baking paper. Combine the flour and salt in a large bowl. Use your fingertips to rub the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
Add the water to the flour mixture and use a round-bladed knife in a cutting motion to mix until the mixture just comes together, adding 1-2 tbs extra water if the mixture is a little dry. Use your hands to bring the mixture together.
Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently for 1-2 minutes or until smooth. Shape into an 18cm disc and place on tray. Use a sharp knife that has been dipped in flour to mark 8 wedges on top. Dust the damper with a little extra flour and bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes or until the damper is cooked through and sounds hollow when tapped on the base. Transfer to a wire rack for 5 minutes to cool slightly. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Note: 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. It was usually served with tea made in a billy over the camp fire. Damper was originally made with plain flour, salt and water. Adding butter and self-raising flour came later on and gives a much tastier result.



If you google 'damper recipe' there are about 30 or more variants on the web.
if you are struggling with the metric measurements - google can convert these for you.......

[Joefnh]

As I have now been learning to bake things, I think this will be next on my list. Thanks for posting this Gabes

--Joe

[Linda in BC]

Hi Gabes, thanks for posting your "damper" recipe. I had looked it up on the internet as you suggested last time and when I had a good look at the ingredients, I realized it's exactly the same as what we call Bannock here, a traditional staple of trappers and aboriginal people. I have been told that the old trappers used to just mix it right in the a sack of flour because they had no bowls, without measuring, just throwing in the salt, baking powder and bear fat, then some water and mixing it up to the right consistency. I have made it for years out on the trail, because it is so easy to make and when moving camp everyday it's hard to make yeast bread.

Recently I heard a funny story about Bannock. I guess our native Indians consider it to be one of their traditional foods, and a friend of mine told me of when she was living with a coastal tribe for a while, ( she is part aboriginal) she tried to tell an elder that Bannock was actually invented by the Scotts in Scotland, and brought over to Canada. Apparently he was very offended that she should suggest this! It's probably true that just about every culture that had grains made some form of it or another.

Linda

[Gabes-Apg]

Linda

before english settlement in Australia (1788) our native aboriginals did not make flour, so the concept of mixing flour with water and salt and cooking it in the fire must have come from our english/scottish/irish ancestors.

i too have made it while camping, it is one of those things that there is no right way or wrong way, you just make a doughy mix and cook it!

[Linda in BC]

Linda

i too have made it while camping, it is one of those things that there is no right way or wrong way, !

That's right.. just like Gabes' MC philosophy

[Gabes-Apg]

I googled 'irish soda bread' the description of when it is cooked is the same as for damper.

for those with milk alternatives in their diet (ie home made almond milk or coconut milk) then it would be easy to adapt the receipe to suit your current tolerances. As there are versions with or without egg.

[JoAnn]

When I read all this, I thought "that's Irish soda bread", (just made some last week) except you forgot the part where you cut the cross on top to let the fairies out! If you don't they'll be after you with all sorts of bad luck. Joe, this is from the Bannon side of the family. I believe you have an O'Bannon grandfather.

Have a good week all, JoAnn

[Celie]

Thanks Gabes,
As soon as I get my kitchen back, I will try it.

Celie

[Joefnh]

JoAnn that's right my maternal grandfathers name was O'Bannon (county Antrim). While I don't know the ingredients she used, my grandmother used to make a bread to go with dinner on Sundays. I am going to have to try making this and it see how it comes out. Time to test my newly acquired baking skills I guess.

--Joe

[MaggieRedwings]

Like JoAnn I immediately thought of soda bread too - guess my Irish heritage kicked in. Just got finished making soda bread yesterday and it was tasty.

Thanks Gabe.

Love, Maggie

[Kari]

Hi Gabes and all,

I just made "Linda's simple oil biscuits" from my MRT booklet recipe, which has pretty much the same ingredients as damper, only different proportions and baking method (12 minutes in 450 degree oven). I used to make them as individual biscuits, but this time I tried a spring baking tin, like Gabes recommended. I'm much happier with the outcome since it was quite a bit moister. I ate some with a touch of maple syrup - heavenly for sugar and bread starved me . Thanks for the idea Gabes.

Love,
Kari

[Joefnh]

OK Kari & Gabes and those who know how to cook... I am planning on making this damper tomorrow. What in the world is a spring tin? I asked the kid working at the kitchen goods store and he had no idea either?

If successful this will be the 3rd item that I ever have baked... Gabes I hope I don't totally mess up your recipe, although no matter what I do Nestle is always glad to offer her tasting services. She rates foods on a scale of 1 to 5 tail wags...

--Joe

[Kari]

http://www.amazon.com/Cuisinart-Classic ... B0000ULZYK

Hi Joe - instead of trying to explain it, I thought I'd give you a link so you can see what it looks like as well. It works better than just a round pan, since you don't have to deal with prying it out of the pan.

Lots of luck with your baking adventure - let us know how it turns out, and please make sure Nurse Nestle gets a piece no matter how well it turns out .

Love,
Kari

[Joefnh]

Thanks Kari, that looks a really good idea. I don't think I have ever seen one of those, but I will bring the picture of it to the kitchen store, that should help.

-Joe

[Gabes-Apg]

Joe
you know what my reply will be

GOOGLE IT!