Iconic Australian bread damper, from its history to the Aussie bush foods it pairs with

Is there anything more quintessentially Aussie than damper? The team at Taste.com.au have pulled together everything you need to know about this awesome food - from the history of the icon to the variety of ways it can be cooked.

2 min read

September 7, 2023 - 5:00AM

Damper is an iconic Australian dish historically prepared by swagmen, stockmen and drovers out in the bush, but now you can make it too!

A basic bread, the traditional damper recipe calls for only a few ingredients (flour, water and occasionally milk), loosely mixed together before being cooked in the ashes of a camp fire.

If you’d like to learn how to make this Aussie icon, keep reading for an easy guide to making a tasty damper recipe in your kitchen.

How to make damper

It’s really easy. All you need is flour, salt, butter and water. The trick is using cubes of chilled butter that you rub into the flour until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs (similar to making scones).

You then add the water to the flour mixture and use a blunt knife to ‘cut’ the mixture until it just comes together. Simply knead, score it into wedges, dust with flour and bake for 30 minutes.

Damper making is really easy. All you need is flour, salt, butter and water. The trick is using cubes of chilled butter.

Top damper tips from our experts

Our food editors have all the tricks up their sleeves when it comes to baking damper. Here are a few of their favourite (ahem) crumbs of advice:

When you score the wedges onto the top of the damper, dip your knife in flour first - this will stop it sticking or misshaping the dough.

You’ll know the damper is cooked through if it sounds hollow when tapped on the base.

Serve it warm (with golden syrup, if you want to experience it the Outback way).

Discover our simple damper recipe in full here.

A few fun facts about damper

Where did the name damper come from?

“Damper” comes from a Lancashire expression meaning “something that damps the appetite”.

How was damper traditionally made in the Outback?

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.

How to make damper in the bush?

Follow the instructions for making the Damper recipe. Then, grease the camp oven or round baking pan and dust with flour. Place the damper dough in the camp oven or pan. Cut a cross in the top surface of dough. Close the lid of the camp oven and bake in the hot ashes of your camp fire for about 30 minutes.

Try this quandong cake recipe.

Bush tucker: a few of our favourites

Quandong: These hardy fruits also known as wild or desert peaches are perfect for making jams, chutneys and pies. We love this delicious quandong cake recipe from taste.com.au’s native food expert and chef Mindy Woods.

This burger will go down a treat at any Saturday arvo gathering.

Kangaroo: Historically, indigenous Aussies would chow down on kangaroo due to its nutritional value and availability, but it’s only recently that we’ve seen it in mainstream supermarkets, restaurants and cafes due to its sustainability factor. This burger will go down a treat at any Saturday arvo gathering.

This native spinach is probably the most famous of Indigenous veggies.

Warrigal greens: The first Australian food plant to be cultivated overseas, this native spinach is probably the most famous of Indigenous veggies. We love this incredible warrigal greens pesto, also by Mindy Woods.

DAMPER: The bush tomatoes of the kutjera bush taste like sweetened sun-dried tomatoes

Bush tomatoes: The fruits of the kutjera bush taste like sweetened sun-dried tomatoes and are perfect for throwing into dips, sauces, chutneys and soups.

Discover more native ingredients from Mindy Woods here.