Simple Hardtack

Name: Simple Hardtack
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 1 h
Total time: 1 h 30 min
Yield: 12-15 biscuits, 12-15 serving(s)
Ingredients: 4 -5 cups flour; 2 cups water; 3 teaspoons salt

Submitted by Sica6488

"The other recipes on here have more ingredients this is a simple basic way to make it. Perfect survival food. I recall when I was younger them having some on a plate at Plymouth Plantation and they said that even though it was hundreds of years old it was still ok to eat. This recipe was found on Survival News Online. http://www.survivalnewsonline.com/index.php/2012/02/hardtack-a-great-survival-food-stock/"

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photo by Branson Coltrane

Ready In:: 1hr 30mins
Ingredients:: 3
Yields:: 12-15 biscuits
Serves:: 12-15

ingredients

4 -5 cups flour
2 cups water
3 teaspoons salt

directions

Mix the flour, water and salt together, and make sure the mixture is fairly dry.
Then roll it out to about 1/2 inch thickness, and shape it into a rectangle. Cut it into 3×3 inch squares, and poke holes in both sides.
Place on an un-greased cookie or baking sheet, and cook for 30 minutes per side at 375? (or 350? if you have a convection oven).
When it’s done, you’ll want to let it dry and harden for a few days, just out in the open. When it has the consistency of a brick, it’s fully cured. Then simply store it in an airtight container or bucket. To prepare for eating, soak it in water or milk for about 15 minutes, and then fry in a buttered skillet. You can eat it with cheese, soup or just plain with a little salt added. Any way you do it, it’s delicious!

Questions & Replies

good

MARTIN V.
Can I store the hardtack in a Mylar bag? And if so would it need a Oxygen Absorber?

christinamontesano23
Can you safely add vanilla and berries ?

Shecountrygal
Should I ad vanilla?

mbeck

Reviews

Mostly, hard tack and related was made before roller mills were extensively used for flour milling, which means the flour was stone-ground whole meal. And, modern, pure seed was not available, so the grain going into the mills was more of a mix, and would contain several closely related varieties of wheat, along with some other cereal grains such as oats and rye. Bottom line, the flour was whole meal, and not as strong as modern bread flour or possibly more like whole meal pastry flour. A house or shop handling such dough on a regular basis, without modern sanitation would be a haven for sourdough, and thus, the product would have some sourdough character, even if not in the recipe. Sourdough fermentation would/does significantly add to hard tack's keeping qualities, and its nutritional benefits. The bottom line is that whole meal, sourdough crackers, are more authentic, keep better, and much easier to eat.

Aaron L.
Absolute crap

tobias.fowler
Great recipe! I have made 2 batches. The first time following the above recipe, and added some corn meal. Turned out great after soaking in coffee overnight and frying with butter. The second batch I substituted 1 cup of regular flour with a cup of stone ground whole wheat, and some corn meal. It turned out tasty and a wee bit softer. I dropped a new one into a cup of hot soup and let it soak up some broth and soften. Very tasty.

Brian P.
Swans awesome worked percfectly

clayton.ezra
Great

Yams H.