Campfire cooking is a rewarding experience and traditional Australian Damper is one of the easiest and most traditional Aussie campfire foods that has been enjoyed and passed down through many generations dating way back to traditional Aussie stockmen, drovers and swagmen, who would travel to remote areas with basic supplies including Tea, and flour, salt and sugar, and their trusty camp oven.

To make your own damper, we’ve written up a quick recipe, but just like anything, it is to be taken with a pinch of salt. Everyone has their own way of doing things, so feel free to adjust this to suit your own taste!

What you’ll need;

1 Good sized campfire, that you can steal a couple of coals off for cooking with (or an Adventure Kings Camp oven/stove for places with tighter restrictions on campfires)

1 shovel (for stealing coals off the fire)

1 Spun steel Bedourie camp oven

3 cups of self-raising or plain flour

1 teaspoon of salt

1 mug of milk (approx. 300ml) – can be substituted with water if needed

1 tablespoon of butter or a quick spray with cooking oil.

Golden syrup for taste!

* if using plain flour, include 4-5 teaspoons of bicarb soda

Let’s get started.

Firstly in a large bowl, add your 3 cups of flour (and bicarb soda if using plain flour) salt and mix well.

It’s now time to add approximately half of your milk (or water) to your flour mixture.

Mix the lot well with a knife or a fork. Once you have mixed everything up well you might need to add more milk until your dough no longer sticks to the edges of your mixing bowl.

You most likely won’t need to use all of your milk so don’t worry if you have some left over.

Spread some butter on the base of your Bedourie Oven to prevent your damper mix from sticking and seal with the lid.

ITS time to cook!

To get your damper going, you should steal enough red-hot coals from the base of your campfire to create a platform for your Bedourie Camp Oven and enough to cover the lid.

 NOTE: don’t steal too many coals, as this might wreck your fire and make a heap of smoke.

Cooking time can vary depending on how good your temperature control is, but usually will take about 20 – 25 mins. You can check your damper at about 18-20 mins to check how the golden-brown crust is coming along.

To check if your damper is ready you can use a wooden BBQ skewer or a sharp knife to puncture the crust, pull it out after about a second.

If it comes out clean you are ready, if there is a gooey doughy center, you need to keep it on the heat for a little longer.

When it’s ready take it off the heat and let it cool off for a little bit so you don’t burn yourself.

Personally I love my damper smothered in golden syrup or with a smear of Vegemite and butter, but the rest is all up to your imagination and personal taste!