Hard Tack - Old Age Style

[timhines]

2 cups flour
1/2 tb spoon of salt
1/2 tb spoon of sugar
1/2 cup water
roll out about 1/4 inch thick, cook at 350 for 30 minutes

Ok, so i've always read about sailors using this stuff and even civil war soldiers. Has anyone else tried making it? It's supposed to be hard as a rock and I've read some blurbs where it was double baked.

I made some last night, out of the oven it was nice and warm and was just like crackers. The next day it wasn't so great.

I was thinking about making a couple hand sized portions to take on overnights. It would be great in soup.

Has anyone else tried this old school rock hard bread?

[Jaybird]

Nope...but, i hear DIRT tastes pretty good w/ soup, too!

[corentin]

Didn't they use to soak the bread after a few days of aging to soften it up a little again? I can't think they would have just gnawed on the rocky stuff, they probably didn't have enough teeth to do that. I would think it should work perfect in soup.

[TinAbbey]

yeah i thought the idea was you had to cut yourself a piece with your knife and then let it soak in your mouth awhile, till you could gnaw on it

[timhines]

Yeah, teeth were bad then so you soaked it.

Actually, most of the time it was stored months at a time and would get bugs in it. They would soak it in their coffee or hot water a few minutes, bugs would float to the top, they would skim them off and then eat the softened bread.

[corentin]

Yummmmm, bugs. Protein good. why waste?

[Undershaft]

Also known as Ship's Biscuit. Yeah, that stuff is hard as a rock. I used to work at a museum where hard tack was part of the food displays. I've tried it a few times and its fairly inedible. Hard tack's only real virtue is the fact that it lasts for months without spoiling. If you do want to eat it, soaking is the best method. I once cut my finger open trying to break a piece off to throw overboard to the fish. The fish wouldn't eat it.

[Frolicking Dinosaurs]

The dinos remember hard tack from childhood, but don't remember much about it except it was added to soupy foods like crackers are today. Adults also dunked it in coffee.

[Hikes in Rain]

I've made it and had similar results. The difference with mine was I used fresh ground wheat for the flour (I grind flour for our bread, anyway) and also experimented with multi-grains. Hard but tasty the first day. Next few days, they gradually absorbed water from the air (I guess - we live in a pretty humid climate) and got far less crunchy, but never quite limp.

[TDale]

Hikers eating hardtack...the ultimate masochicm.

[littlelaurel59]

What if you added some dried fruit, cinnamon or other spices for a little flavor? Could this be the next fad to compete with alky stove building?

[clicker]

I have had hard tack with a cinnamon sugar coating, great amount of carbs with decent flavor. I think there might have been some cinnamon in the hard tack itself.

[Skidsteer]

I've made it and had similar results. The difference with mine was I used fresh ground wheat for the flour (I grind flour for our bread, anyway) and also experimented with multi-grains. Hard but tasty the first day. Next few days, they gradually absorbed water from the air (I guess - we live in a pretty humid climate) and got far less crunchy, but never quite limp.

Makes me wonder if that might be closer to the original recipe instead of the refined white flour we see today..

[Critterman]

Made some ( flour, salt and water ) and tried it. It was hard as a brick and tastes like paste. They have some found on the battlefield on display at the Manassas Battlefield and 146 years later it looks like it was made yesterday.

[generoll]

i'm making some using whole wheat flour which i think was probably closer to the original recipe. dunno how it will taste but it smells good.

[Skidsteer]

i'm making some using whole wheat flour which i think was probably closer to the original recipe. dunno how it will taste but it smells good.

Let us know how it ages, Gene!

[NICKTHEGREEK]

Modern day equivalent is biscotti. I haven't mastered the technique at home. Luckily the local artisan bakery makes an excellent example, hard enough to drive a nail. So I take a half dozen or so along on every trip. It costs much less to make at home than buy if price is a big factor.
They aren't as durable as you would think so keeping them very dry is the trick to long life.

[timhines]

Maybe i'll make a few and put them in the vacuum sealer. On my next trip I plan on mainly eating soups so this will work out good.

hmm, maybe I will get some boullion cubes, crush them, and cook them in the hard tack. That way a little more flavor is released when it's breaking apart in the soup.

[Chache]

What do you think would happen if you put a little jelly between two sheets of it then pinched the sides to seal it then cooked it.

[timhines]

jelly would crystalize