Back in the day, stockmen (people who take care of livestock… yes I had to Google that) who were working and traveling in remote areas used to make damper over a campfire. Back then damper was made from a simple mixture of wheat flour, water and salt, although it seems like it’s evolved over the years to mean almost any sort of Australian quick bread.
It took me a couple tries but I finally got a gluten-free damper that I was happy with. It was springy, had a soft crust, and kept surprisingly well (although it didn’t last too long). I baked this in a small springform pan to get the same roundish shape of the original dampers, but feel free to bake it in a normal loaf pan. I also added some beer… I have a feeling that the stockmen wouldn’t mind.
Just one note of caution: I tested the bread after about 45 minutes and a toothpick came out clean. I started slicing it and another part of the bread was still wet. So make sure to test several areas of the bread before taking it out of the oven.
Beer Damper
* 1 cup brown rice flour
* 1/2 cup cornstarch
* 1/4 cup millet flour
* 2 Tablespoons rice bran (can substitute brown rice flour if you’re unable to find)
* 1 Tablespoon brown sugar
* 2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1 1/4 teaspoons xanthan gum
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1 1/2 cup beer
* 3 Tablespoons oil
* 2 eggs
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a 6.5-inch springform pan and dust with rice flour.
In a large bowl combine the brown rice flour, cornstarch, millet flour, rice bran, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, xanthan gum and salt and stir to combine.
In a medium bowl, mix about half of the beer with the oil and eggs and then add to the dry ingredients and stir to incorporate. Â Add the remaining beer and stir well to mix.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for approximately 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted in several areas all come out clean.