Damien's damper

An all-round show-stopper, this one. Impress your mates with your bread-making skills, with little skill at all! Try playing around with any bush spice until you find your favourite. This is best cooked in a fire but an oven will do just as well.

Damien’s Damper Credit: Warndu Mai (Good Food)

• serves

  6

• prep

  15 minutes

• cook

  20 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp macadamia or lemon myrtle infused oil
• 300–350 ml water
• 500 g self-raising flour, plus extra for dusting
• pinch of salt
• 2 tbsp roasted and ground wattleseed (or lemon myrtle, strawberry gum, bush tomato or saltbush)

Instructions

1. If using the oven, preheat to 220°C. 

 

2. Mix the oil and water in a jug. Sift the flour into a large bowl, and mix through the salt and wattleseed. Slowly pour in the oil and water, and mix to make a dough. 

 

3. Turn out the dough onto a floured surface and knead until smooth.

4. Dust with flour, place on a baking tray and bake in the oven for 15–20 minutes, or ideally wrap in foil and cook on a fire in the ashes.

5. Damper is always best eaten hot with lashings of butter.

This recipe is from Warndu Mai (Good Food) by Rebecca Sullivan & Damien Coulthard published by Hachette Australia, Hardback RRP $45.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.