Whats “Damper” and How is it made?
Camp bread. Or a little slice of heaven. Depends on who you ask. “Damper made with wheat flour is certainly not traditional, but the concept of damper itself is. In both central and northern Oz, traditional dampres are still made on occasion but this has largely been replaced by the use of white flour as it is a far less exsertive practice. In the north, the flour was produced from cycad seed (like sago palm), usually of the genus Cycas. Preparation is critical as these plants produce a slow acting, accumulative poison – cycasin. This the same stuff that causes Guam disease. The seed coat is cracked and the seed allowed to dry for a few days in the sun before pounding and soaking in a nearby flowing stream for 7 days. The mixture is then reground, mixted with water to make a doughy paste and cooked in the ashes of the fire to make a bread. This bread is highly seasonal, but will keep for weeks. The Yolngu produce large quantities and take the opportunity to get together for bunggul (ce
