Jonny Cakes

What would a bush recipe book be without an aboriginal standard. In the tradition of damper and bush bread, “Johnny Cakes” are a staple in any aboriginal camp. A close friend of ours, Browny, swore us to secrecy on this recipe. So don’t tell anyone where you got it.

What you need

• 1kg bag of self raising flour
• Water
• Salt
• Chicken wire (or wire grill)

What you do

You will need a flat bed of coals to cook on and no flame. If you don’t have a manufactured flat grill, you will have to fashion one out of chicken wire. Mix a dough the same as you would for damper. Spend some time on it cutting and kneading. This will aerate the dough and give you a lighter bread.

Break off a piece of dough the size of a tennis ball, roll this into a ball shape and then flatten it out to about 1cm thickness. Throw the grill straight on the coals and the Johny cake straight on the grill. The cake will swell and ‘bubble’ when the bottom is cooked, just turn it over and give it about the same time on the other side.

Tricks & Tips

Because the heat will be so direct, the coals don’t need to be that hot. If you have flames on your coals you will definitely burn these.

If you are making your own grill out of wire, use something flat and heavy to get the grill nice and flat.

Rating

It’s a pity you will have to keep this a secret, because everybody would have loved these.