Ingredients (1 round loaf)

• 7 ounces / 200 g roasted pumpkin or winter squash (see instructions below about self-rising flour)
• 1 pound / 450 g flour divided as follows (see Note below):
• 260 g low protein all-purpose flour or King Arthur Flour Perfect Pastry Blend
• 190 g pastry flour OR 120 g whole-wheat pastry flour + 70 g pastry flour
• 1 1/2 tablespoon / 16 g baking powder
• 1 teaspoon / 5 g baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
• 1 tablespoon / 15 ml extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 cup / 240 ml water OR 1/2 cup / 120 ml water + 1/2 cup / 120 ml [homemade] kefir or buttermilk, well stirred
• 2 teaspoons / 10 ml additional water, if using whole-wheat pastry flour

Instructions

Note: all the recipes I have seen for damper use self-rising flour, i.e., flour containing some baking powder and salt. If you have access to it, you can try using it. To make my own, I adapted the instructions on the KAF site to the flours I had in my pantry and tried a couple of different flour blends.

How to prepare the pumpkin / winter squash

Different types of pumpkin / winter squash have different water content. If the specimen you choose is quite watery, drain it before using it. I would suggest not to use a dry squash like Kabocha, but if that is what you have, you’ll need to increase the amount of water.

Preheat the oven to 375 F. If the pumpkin is hard, pre-process it as follows: pierce it with a blade in a few places, place it on a baking sheet lined with a silicone baking mat, and bake it for 15 minutes, then let is cool slightly. This makes it easier to cut it in half.

Cut the pumpkin (pre-processed or raw) in half lengthwise and remove the seeds (a grapefruit spoon is my preferred tool for this task). Place halves on the silicone baking mat, cut side down. Put in the oven and bake until tender, easily pierced with a blade. Let cool, drain any water, then scrape the flesh off the skin, again using a grapefruit spoon.

Let the pumpkin pulp cool completely and weigh the amount required by the recipe, making sure you avoid watery pulp. Mash well with a fork and set aside to use for the damper. Use leftovers to make other recipes.

How to prepare the damper

Place a baking sheet in the oven and preheat oven to 395 F / 200 C.

Place the dry ingredients and thyme leaves in a large bowl and mix them well with a whisk. Place the wet ingredients and pumpkin in another bowl and stir. Pour wet ingredients onto dry ingredients and mix with a wooden spoon or a dough whisk until the ingredients are just combined. The dough will resemble that of scones.

Turn the dough onto a silicone baking mat or a piece of parchment paper lightly dusted with flour. Dust the surface of the dough lightly with flour and with delicate hands shape the dough into a circle of 8 inches / 20 cm diameter and even thickness. With a bench scraper, score 4 diameters deply in the dough to obtain 8 sections.

Take the baking sheet out of the oven, transfer the silicone baking mat or a piece of parchment paper with the dough onto the sheet and place in the oven.

Bake for 30 minutes, or until the bottom bottom is golden. When ready, move the damper onto a rack and serve warm or at room temperature. The scoring prior to baking will make it easy to cut or break the bread into sections.

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Go to the full post on damper: pane australiano / damper: Australian bread