Damper was originally prepared by workers in Australia and New Zealand who travelled in remote areas for weeks or months at a time, with only basic rations of flour, sugar and tea, supplemented by whatever local meat and vegetation was available

Ingredients

• 2 cup flour
• ½ tsp salt
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 3 tbsp sugar (Kea special)
• 1 cup milk

Equipment

• Mixing bowl
• Knife
• Baking tray

Method

Mix dry ingredients together

Grate cold butter into or just work hard to blend butter into mixture

Use a knife to quickly work ½ of milk into mixture, and more milk until a soft dough ball has formed. Do not over work the dough or you will have tough bread You normally need about ¾ cup of milk, but it depends on temperature, flour moisture ratio, type of flour etc

So just add it slowly. I you add to much milk add some more flour to mop it up

Pile onto a flat surface and quickly knead into a ball

Place in middle of greased baking sheet, slash the top a couple of times with a sharp knife or razor

Bake at 200°C for 10 minutes until golden brown

Optional brush surface with egg or milk at this stage

Bake at 180°C for another 20 minutes (use fan bake at this stage)

Leave to cool a bit before cutting

Cooking on hot coals

If using hot coals, place damper on top of flattened hot coals for 10 minutes. Then scatter coals and pile them over top of damper for another 20+ minutes cooking. You may have to replace the coals halfway depending on how long burning (hard) the wood was to begin with

Cooking in a Dutch oven

Use a well-greased Dutch oven just like the hot coals recipe. This (sometimes) saves getting the outside of the damper covered in ash

Cooking on sticks

Find a stick as long as your arm, and as thick as your thumb. If not green wood, soak well before use

Break the dough into four portions and roughly roll into a sausage shape as thick as the stick

Roll the dough near the end of the stick into a tight spiral and pinch the ends down to hold it together

Suspend sticks over hot coals, not flames, for 15 to 20 minutes until golden brown

Making great damper

Try adding one of these to make this bread really good

• A handful of chopped and pitted olives
• A handful of grated Parmesan cheese
• A handful of slow fried (sautéed) chopped onions
• Sprinkle the top with sea or kosher salt after brushing with milk

Note: A handful is just less than a cup