Australia day is dawning, and I love how it brings people together. This holiday is laidback, community-focussed and gets pretty warm. The same can be said of this damper! The fact that damper only has six ingredients and needs very little attention is just a plus! Damper is an easy dish to serve at your Australia day gathering – even though I would say it is best enjoyed with a cuppa, this rustic Australian classic will sit comfortably alongside whatever you choose to drink this weekend. 
Damper is so great for sharing that it’s a shame that it is not baked more often. Many bakers (including myself) are guilty of only making damper when international friends are visiting, or when patriotic days roll around…but this versatile little loaf needs more recognition. This recipe can easily be altered to include fruit, chocolate, nuts or savoury morsels – experiment and let me know what you come up with!
Traditional Australian Damper
Serves 8 
- 4 cups self-raising flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 25g butter
- 2 tbsp golden syrup
- ¾ cup water
- ¾ cup milk
Brown sugar butter:
- 150g butter
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
Preheat oven to 210°C and grease two cake tins – one about 18cm, the other, 21cm. Sift your flour into a bowl and mix in the salt. Melt the butter in the microwave and add it to the dry ingredients.
Add the golden syrup, water and milk to the mixture, mixing until a ball of dough forms. 
If there are still crumbs or bits of flour lingering at the bottom of the bowl, add 1 tablespoon of water to pick them up. Try to add as little extra water as possible, as this is not supposed to be a wet dough.
Continue kneading your dough for 2 minutes in your stand mixer (I used Penelope, she’s very obliging) and shape it into a ball, then plop into the smaller of the two cake tins. Flatten the ball to better fit the tin and brush the top with some extra milk. Fit the larger cake tin on top and pop them into the oven.
Bake for 30 minutes – in the first 20 minutes it should start to brown on top. By 30 minutes it should be lifting the larger cake tin. At 30 minutes, remove the larger tin and brush with extra milk, then bake for a further 20 minutes uncovered.
For a fantastic accompaniment to the damper, make brown sugar butter by whizzing together the butter, brown sugar and vanilla in the last ten minutes of the damper’s cooking time.
Damper is best enjoyed fresh out of the oven, steaming hot and slathered in butter or golden syrup. It is also most enjoyable when torn, rather than cut, because the haphazard approach to sharing a dish is fun! If you have leftovers and want to enjoy them again the day after baking, keep the damper in an airtight container overnight and reheat in the oven.
No wonder Norman looks so happy! Looks delish and so simple! No prove bread is a winner with me! 😀
Yes! I love that there’s no waiting around 🙂 thanks Steph 🙂
Reblogged this on Steph and Penny and commented:
Delicious and simple bread! What a treat! Have to try this one 😀
I’m gushing over this! Great bakes you have there! =)
Thank you! It’s so lovely to receive such positive comments 😀
Yum, this looks amazing Gab! Happy Australia Day- p.s Norman is so cute! 🙂
Delicious sounding. Thanks for sharing. Enjoy your weekend!
bread, butter, brown sugar. What’s not to love? Also your dog is adorable! Thank you for sharing this Aussie recipe!
Thank you – I totally agree, it’s hard to go wrong with thos three ingredients! Haha Norman is a bit of a poser, whenever I have the camera out he associates it with food, so he follows me around!!
Looks delicious and easy .. Is this a traditional Australian bread? I will definitely be trying this soon.
Hi Amira, thanks for commenting! Yes, damper is a typically Australian bread (that isn’t baked as much as it used to be.)
It became popular because people who worked on the land could use the few basic ingredients they had and cook it on a stick over a campfire. It’s a great, hearty bread and can be adapted for sweet or savoury dishes. I hope you enjoy it!!
I was also thinking about damper this morning! It would be an easy Sunday breakfast, yours looks great!
It’s such an easy brekkie – and so addictive! Thank you for the kind words 🙂
Wow, this looks delicious… will have to try this recipe!
Thank you! It’s so easy as delicious, it’s worthy trying!
It looks great!
So kind of you! Thanks for stopping by 😊
This looks absolutely delish… I need to try it. I’m not sure what golden syrup is.. is it like honey? Or maple syrup? I’m printing this recipe as I’m typing…it’s a definite “must try” for me! 🙂
You’re too sweet! Thank you! Golden syrup is made during the sugar refining process. Depending on where you’re from, it might also be called pale treacle? It’s not quite honey or maple syrup. You could probably substitute corn syrup if you have some.
I did google it, and found that it’s very difficult to find in the US, except for Louisiana where it’s common in Cajun cooking. I did find it on amazon, and most likely will order it! I really want to try this recipe! 🙂
That’s so interesting – I take for granted simple things like golden syrup! For this recipe the taste of golden syrup isn’t too important, so you could substitute something else if you wanted. I would definitely recommend buying golden syrup though, it’s amazing (especially straight from the spoon!)
Ah bread, my arch-nemesis! Loving your blog and this recipe! Looks like even I could make it…. maybe 🙂
Haha! Bread is my sworn enemy as well… It’s too delicious to resist though! This particular bread is so non-fuss, I can’t help but love it 🙂 thank you for taking the time to drop by!
This looks delish!! I’m totally going to try this out. New breads are one of my favorite things to try! I’ve also nominated you for the Leibster Award! Check out my blog for the details! Leibster Award Nomination!
http://schamb13.wordpress.com/2014/01/27/leibster-award-nomination/
Thank you Sarah, that’s so lovely of you! This bread is great because there’s no waiting around for it! Congratulations on being awarded the Leibster, and thank you for passing it on 🙂
I haven’t tried any damper before. But I love homemade bread. They smell incredible when baking. I love Norman’s reaction. I bet the bread is delicious!
You should definitely try it!! It is beautifully soft, and I agree, the smell of freshly baked bread is amazing. Thank you for commenting 🙂
this bread looks so soft! I love it!
Thank you 🙂 it is soft and squishy, such good comfort food!