We're not heading away for Easter this year. There's a bit too much going on around the farm to leave, so we'll be spending the weekend here.
I'm not too disappointed, sometimes on the weekends I look up and realise the farm is a beautiful spot to be when you're not working!
We'll put the tinny in the creek this afternoon and try our luck with a few crab pots.
Many of our friends are heading camping this weekend. The weather looks perfect - sun shiney days and nights that are cool enough to cook over a campfire and sleep comfortably in a tent.
So, for those of you who are camping, here's my fail-proof damper recipe.
how to make damper
Prep
Cook
Total
Yield 1 loaf
Damper is quintessentially Australian fare. Whether you make it in a camp oven or wrap it around a stick and hold it over the fire - there's something special about making it yourself.
Kids love cooking over the coals (and busy cooks will love my food processor method)
Ingredients
4 cups self-raising flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon sugar
30 grams butter (room temperature)
1 cup milk
½ cup water
Instructions
Traditionalist version:
Sift the flour and salt. Stir in sugar. Rub in the butter using your fingertips until the mixture resembles bread crumbs.
Make a well in the top of the flour, pour in the milk and water and mix well with a knife(!) until the mix comes away from the sides of the bowl.
Turn out onto a floured board and knead until smooth. Shape into a round and cut a cross on the top.
Amanda's Busy Mum Version:
Whack the flour, salt and sugar in a food processor. Give it a little mix.
Slice the butter into fine slivers. While the processor is running add the slowly add the butter, piece by piece.
Add the milk and water and process until the mix comes together.
Turn out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth. Whack the mix into a freezer bag and refrigerate until required.
I like to make damper dough at home and take it camping rather than deal with the mess (and the labour-intensive traditional method) in a camp kitchen. It will keep in the fridge for a couple of days. Pack some extra flour just in case the mix becomes a bit wet in the fridge.
From here you can either shape your damper into a round loaf and bake it in a floured camp oven or wrap it around a stick and let the kids cook their own over hot coals.
Serve with butter and golden syrup.
Courses Camping
Cuisine Australian
I made a batch last week when Bearhands and the fellows had a bonfire in the back paddock. Wrapping the damper around a stick is our favourite way to cook it - the hole left in the middle of the damper when you slide it off the stick is a perfect receptacle for pouring golden syrup into!
Whatever you're up to this weekend, have a safe and happy Easter,
A x
Not the camping type? Then perhaps this dark chocolate and ginger cheesecake is more your style.
Sharyn says
Thanks for the tip to prepare the damper beforehand when going camping. Great idea.
Amanda Smyth says
No worries Sharyn. Enjoy your trip! 🙂