Hard Tack - Old Age Style

[Ronin]

Those table water crackers you can buy in the store are supposedly inspired by the old naval hard tack. They seem pretty fragile though (i.e. easily crushed).

[SunnyWalker]

Hard Tack: I've had it for weeks and I remember the time I was on all dehydrated food so the hard tack was great. I put tuna on it an PButter. Now I have replaced it with bagels. A bag of bagels is pretty industructible. I have even strapped them to the outside of my pack. Hee, hee.
-SunnyWalker

[sloopjonboswell]

just put two in the oven, one white flour and the other maseca/ corn based.

[highway]

I have never had hardtack but I have had Canadian bannock bread and that was delicious. I dont know if it is Canadian but that was where i was when I had it and does stick to one's ribs when it is cold...REALLY COLD!!!

[sloopjonboswell]

cornmeal has more flavor than flour. i will probably take hard tack made with corn over the cinnamon flavored flour, although, the cinnamon flavored will probably be great for breakfast. thanks again white-blaze folks

[moondoggy]

I grew up on the Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake Bay, (and still live just across the line in Delaware). My grandmother and Great Aunt used to make Maryland Beat Biscuits......legend has it they originated for the watermen working on the Bay could have something to eat while out fishing for days at a time....They will keep for a week or more and are really delicious.....
They aren't heart healthy.....old recipe uses a pretty heavy dose of lard.
My grandmother always beat the dough with an ax until it was lightened...

Here's a link to a recipe....

http://www.lockhousemuseum.org/biscuit%202.htm

[Outlaw]

Moondoggy, that had to be one of the most graphic recipies I have ever read. I'm gonna print out a copy and give it to my teenage daughter, who loves to bake. I think she'll get a real kick out of the details.

[Outlaw]

By the way, has anyone ever tried these? http://www.vermontcommonfoods.com/commoncrackers.html

[Spork]

I learned to make hardtack as a wee-scout many moons ago, and the simplest (and admittedly blandest) recipe is simply flour and water. We poked some holes in the cutouts with a fork to help to bake consistently throughout. If memory serves (no guarantees) it held up reasonably well as long as you kept it dry; we probably used wax paper or something similar. I believe that adding more ingredients, even salt, sugar, etc. in an attempt to make the stuff taste good may actually shorten the "shelf life". Anybody attempt this "basic" recipe?

[Turtlehiker]

Vermont Common Crackers are great. The come in plain and cheddar. They are like little biscuits, split them open in the middle so they make a small dish fill it with cheese or jelly. Pretty hard and durable should last ok in a pack.

[TJ aka Teej]

Here's some info and photos of oldtimey hardtack:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hardtack
Evidently my ancestors ate their fair share, following Arnold to Quebec.

[Outlaw]

Vermont Common Crackers are great. The come in plain and cheddar. They are like little biscuits, split them open in the middle so they make a small dish fill it with cheese or jelly. Pretty hard and durable should last ok in a pack.

I've been enjoying VCC's since I was a small boy. Up until now, I've never considered taking them backpacking, but I think they would probably work quite well... assuming they are kept dry in a plastic bag.

Hey Turtlehiker, to WB!

[Newb]

Hard tack was frequently carried along with some salted fat-back. The soldier would carve off a piece of fat-back and get it sizzling in the pan. Then, he would drop the hardtack in the grease so that it would soften up and would eat the resultant "food item".

[moondoggy]

I'm sorry Outlaw, I didn't see the comment on my post until today...yeah that was a pretty cute recipe...
You'll have to let me know how your daughter makes out baking them.....It's really a lost art around here, anymore.
I really love them...I'm one of the few who do but they bring back some good memories.....

[Spock]

Hard tack..
Good stuff. I mix half Bisquick and half unbleached flour, add water until stiff, roll out 3/8" thick, cut with biscuit cutter or drinking glass, bake at 375, turn oven off and take out in morning. The Bisquick makes them rise a little and these won't be as hard as the traditional hard tack. Not quite, but almost.

Other ingredients. Whole wheat has oil that can go rancid, but it is OK for short term. You can add chopped dried fruit or nuts, too. However added ingredients tend to reduce shelf life.

I have stored plain hard tak made with this recipe for 5 years in paper bags inside cloth bags with no bad results.

[timhines]

I took a couple slabs with me this past weekend. I was pleased. I did amend the original recipe on the first post and added somewhere between a tablespoon and teaspoon of good old fashioned (home made) lard.

I had ramen noodles with a foil pack of chicken. Once the noodles were gone I broke up the hard tack and let it soften. I heated the mixture back up and it tasted like chicken dumplings!

[generoll]

Well, in the interest of science I made up a batch of hardtack using whole wheat flower and took it along on my recent section hike. For those who are interested, the stuff lasts forever (apparently), can be safely eaten after softening in a cup of coffee or similar beverage, and can be made to last for the entire trip. I had nearly as much in my pack when I came home as I did when I left.

It also resists crushing when stuffed into your pack. It would probably resist crushing if driven over by a tank, but I didn't have the opportunity to test that out.

So much for whimsy.

[Skidsteer]

Well, in the interest of science I made up a batch of hardtack using whole wheat flower and took it along on my recent section hike. For those who are interested, the stuff lasts forever (apparently), can be safely eaten after softening in a cup of coffee or similar beverage, and can be made to last for the entire trip. I had nearly as much in my pack when I came home as I did when I left.

It also resists crushing when stuffed into your pack. It would probably resist crushing if driven over by a tank, but I didn't have the opportunity to test that out.

So much for whimsy.

LOL. Well it sounds like we could use it to anchor a tent on rocky ground.

[Outlaw]

LOL. Well it sounds like we could use it to anchor a tent on rocky ground.

Better yet, you could drive tent stakes in rocky ground with just a single chunk of it. You could probably sharpen one on a piece of rock and make a knife with it too. It even multiplies in your pack. Talk about a multi-purpose item!

[fvital]

Hikers eating hardtack...the ultimate masochicm.

The nicknames for hard tack help prove your theory.

Hardtack aka: tooth dullers, crown breakers