For those who don't know, damper is a bread type of substance used to replace bread. It is generally attributed to Australian bushmen who would make some up to cook in the dying embers of their campfires (my apologies to those in California

) )

The recipe was made from the staple products available to the average "bushy" at the time - plain flour, water, milk and salt.

There is no quantity type recipe for this - you make it up as you go.

Basically you take a quantity of flour (say 250 - 500 grams, or 4 - 8 oz) and a pinch of salt. Add to this either enough water to make a dough, or equal quantities of milk and water to make a dough. The dough should be rather firm, unlike scone dough which tends to be sticky. It may need some kneeding too.

Anyway, take a large sheet of foil and plonk the dough right in the middle. Wrap the dough in the foil and place it under the coals of your fire, or in your oven heated to, at a guess, 200 °C (work it out, I can't be bothered!) and take it out and check occasionally until it's done.

That's how you make it. It's best eaten with a knob of butter and a cup of billy tea. This is made by putting a few teaspoons of tea and a heap of eucalyptus leaves in a billy - a tin can used to heat water over a fire.

Billy tea should *Never* be drunk with milk and damper should *Never* be made with self-raising flour...