camping

Hello,

This is my first posting (although not my first bread). I've been researching an easy campfire bread recipe, and I ended up with a recipe for Australian Damper bread (actually there were several). I tried baking the bread at home, but because it used chemical leveners, I thought it tasted more like a biscuit rather than a bread (it was still good however). I did a little more research and found a recipe for a damper made with yeast (which is not the traditional way to make it). I had planned on baking it the traditional way in campfire ashes this weekend but I ended up baking it in my oven using baking tiles. So here's the recipe:

Australian Damper with Yeast

2 1/4 tsp yeast

2 Tbsp sugar

3 cups bread flour

1 Tbsp baking powder

3/4 tsp salt

1 1/4 cup warm water

1/4 cup melted butter

Mix the dry ingredient in a bowl. Add the melted butter and mix it in the flour mixture. Slowly add the water, knead lightly (about 1 minute), adding more flour as necessary. Let the dough rest in a bowl for 10 minutes. On a lightly floured surface, knead and shape the dough into a boule. Place it in a floured linen-lined proofing bowl and let it rise for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile preheat the oven to 375 degrees F with a baking stone on the middle rack and an old pan on the bottom rack. When the dough is risen, transfer it to parchement paper on an upside down cookie sheet (it helps slidding the dough onto the baking stone). Slash the dough.

Add ~1 cup boiling water to the old pan in the oven and let it steam for 1 minute before slidding the dough onto the baking stone. Bake for 35 minutes then cool on a baking rack. Enjoy!

Next time I'll try the bread on a campfire.