I just made some oven damper and I am pleased with it. I called it oven damper because I have watched a number of videos about making it, and in most of them, the loaf is made in a Dutch oven, over and under campfire coals, or even just tossed directly on the coals. It is the simplest of breads and takes very little to prepare.
Damper is what they call it in Australia. I imagine that this sort of bread has been made all over the world by all sorts of people and it must have all sorts of names.
I don't have any pictures of my efforts yesterday, when I made it to accompany a pot of lamb stew. Instead, I'm going to attach one of the videos I watched about making it so that you can get some visual reinforcement, and possibly, motivation.
This was my recipe:
2 cups of flour + a little bit to put on my hands and dust the loaf with and baking pan with.
2 teaspoons of baking power
3/4 teaspoon of salt
water
Bake at 375 F for about 30 minutes. Your oven might vary. Check it now and then.
I didn't measure the water. I just poured it in a little at a time and tried to approximate the consistency of the dough in the video. I did well.
Further, you obviously don't have to bake it in a camp oven over coals. I put mine on some baking paper in a cast iron skillet, but it would have worked just a well I'm sure on a cookie sheet. It's the kind of recipe that doesn't call for perfect conditions.
The consistency of the finished bread is a bit coarse, so don't expect light and fluffy. But it's surprisingly tasty in its simplicity and wonderful with jam or honey or something of your choice. Mine worked perfectly with the stew. And, it's not the sort of bread that will stay fresh for long. I used two cups of flour and Jeanne and I finished the loaf between us at dinner. She toasted the last of it and we had it for a sort of dessert a little later with jam.
So, there you have it. It is inexpensive to make and doesn't take much work. Why not give it a try sometime?
I know that I'm going to make it again. Here is one of many videos that are available. I'm showing it to you so you can see how he treats the dough. Several of the other videos added butter to the recipe, one used milk instead of water, and others added everything from grated cheese to bacon bits, turning this very plain bread into something like fancy scones. I'm sure they are all tasty, but I wanted the simplest possible bread, period. And I was satisfied with what I got. -djf
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0DjWOb099k&ab_channel=RangerNick
