Hard Tack and a long term view

[WolfBrother]

Based on the Civil War Recipe:

I used the War Between the States US Army Hardtack Recipe

Ingredients:

4 cups flour (preferably whole wheat)
4 teaspoons salt
Water (about 2 cups)
Pre-heat oven to 375

[Irish-Tech]

Interesting, can you cook it as one big peace the break it up after?

[BioG8r]

I've had hard tack,, boyyyeee that there is some yummy stuff!!

My dear departed aunt Ruthie made some one time and added boullion to the mix - my cousins and I were going on an Lewis and Clark Expedition!! We were around eight. we stayed out all night and brought back some of the hardtack. I don't know if flavors would affect the storage length... It was better, but still was pretty hard to bite and enjoy.

I hope I don't have to depend on it but I think I'll put a bit back JIC.
Thanks for the reminder.

@ Irish - Most make it about biscuit or cookie size, but I'm sure any size would work.

[WolfBrother]

Interesting, can you cook it as one big peace the break it up after?

Yes but the down side to that is that it will most likely break like a plate dropped on the floor. Sizing the pieces before baking gives you however many uniform pieces.

[Irish-Tech]

Good to know, thanks for the information. ill try some out this weekend.

[WolfBrother]

Good to know, thanks for the information. ill try some out this weekend.

Let me know if you have any problems. Two of the ladies in the re-enactor group didn't do the long - low temp 2nd day baking. Theirs didn't turn out as indestructable as the rest did.

Here are three links I've kept up concerning Hardtack:

Wiki - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hardtack

A reenactor group (not the one I noted above) - http://www.6thtx.org/Making%20Hardtack.htm

A bakery that's been selling hardtack since before the War Between the States (and sold it to the US Army during that time) - http://stores.homestead.com/bentscoo...k+%26+Crackers

[1Admin]

Great thread! Five stars!

[Doc]

I was wondering what the actual thickness was. Maybe rolling it out thinner would make it easier to eat (not so hard). Dont know if it would change the storage life either. Just some thoughts.

[MustangGal]

I was wondering what the actual thickness was. Maybe rolling it out thinner would make it easier to eat (not so hard). Dont know if it would change the storage life either. Just some thoughts.

You would think that making it thinner would make it not as hard, but according to what I read on one of those links above, the thinner it is, the harder it is.

[Greg B.]

Wolfbrother,
First, thanks for the post and inspiration.

Second; Could this be prepared in the "wild", so to speak? I mean could it be made in a camp setting?

[WolfBrother]

Wolfbrother,
First, thanks for the post and inspiration.

Second; Could this be prepared in the "wild", so to speak? I mean could it be made in a camp setting?

I've never tried it. It's water, salt, flour, and baking. If you have a camp oven - I suspect yes. If you're good with Dutch ovens, I suspect yes.

[Gus14]

Being a lifelong Civil War reenactor and having attended many Mountain Man redezvous I concider myself knowledgable in the ways of the hard tack.
To answer a few questions,
You want the smaller squares and not one big hard tack because you dont want moisture in the biscuit. That is what will make it spoil. As long as there is no moisture in it, it will keep for years.
Hard tack is easily made in a dutch oven. It is just a little labor inensive because you want the dutch hot enough to bake it slowly without burning it. A lot of checking goes into the baking process.
A common recipe to make a filling meal out of meager rations (dried meat and hard tack): Take yer metal cup and fill it with water. Drop in your dried meat and let it simmer over the fire. Once the meat reconstitutes and starts to fall apart, toss in any edible vegitation you may scrounge up and add in any spices you may have. Then drop in your hardtack. Allow the tack to soak up the broth and enjoy. Depending on what you have available to add, this is sometimes a really great soup. I added some red cabbage and turnips and it was really good.

History plays a key roll in my preps. People lived for thousands of years before canned goods, vacuum packing, MRE's and freeze dried foods. Armies were fed with basic items and they moved freely all over the earth. Take their experiences and apply them to today with the modern conveniences like ziplock bags, tupperware, electric ovens, dehydrators, smokers, climate controled homes for storage, etc. Their errors and successes is our free education on what to do or what we could do to stay fed if the need arises.

[Templar]

This is still being made commercially. I consider it Newfie Soul Food, along with salt Cod.

http://www.tidespoint.com/food/hard_bread.shtml

This is the real deal, and I try to eat it every other month or so. The bags I have are going on 5 years old, and are still good, with no special packaging.Look on the websitre for cooking recipes.

Regards,
Templar

[WolfBrother]

Wolfbrother,
First, thanks for the post and inspiration.

Second; Could this be prepared in the "wild", so to speak? I mean could it be made in a camp setting?

Apologies for the long time between answers - life has been interesting the past few years.

To answer your "prepared" in the wild - Best Guess - yes - you'd need a reflector oven or other way to cook it.

[cpt_sfc]

To start off I'm not Jewish, so I'm no expert. Not that it matters. But over the years I have known a lot of them and camped, hunted ,ate, fought, with a lot of ethnic folks, and I have been exposed to the food. If you can get Matzo crackers/bread it is just like the crackers from the 50"s CD cans. They are used like bread/crackers. You can get them at a ethnic store in boxes bags and cans that are sealed tight. They are cheap. I think they taste much like the hard tack I have eaten in a couple country's , I would rather have Club or saltines my self but they will last.