What Goes in the Bag: Hardtack

[Paul Elliott]

I use an American Civil War hardtack recipe, its the same stuff.

http://americancivilwar.com/tcwn/civil_w...oking.html

Because I (the soldier Fortunatus) lives in Northern Europe the fat I use is either lard or butter. I use wholemeal flour or spelt, depending on what I have in.

I make it all by eye these days, dumping a bag of flour into a bowl, adding a big pinch of salt and a nice lump of fat. I rub in the fat then keep adding cold water until the dough is the right consistency. Knead for a while then put on baking trays, shape them as squares or circles. Prick them with holes to increase dehydration, use a fork.

I leave them for 10 minutes then put them in the middle of a very low oven for 4 hours. Now and then I leave the oven door ajar to release any moisture, and if they aren't rock hard after 4 hours I take them out, let them cool, then put them back in (upside down) for 30 minutes on a higher setting to finish them off. Twice baked, the Roman way!

I consider square hardtack to be to reminiscent of boxes and manufacturing, so I make mine disc shaped.

[Magnus]

Very cool...thanks for the link. I'm going to make some for our next event in May.

[Paul Elliott]

Hi Matt, one thing we've found is that just because they are cheap and simple and supposedly 'unappetizing'if you use good quality flour, especially good wholemeal flour, the hardtack can taste absolutely delicious !

[Marcus Mummius]

Thanks for the recipe Paul.

Just one question: how low is a very low oven? How many °C?

[Robert Vermaat]

Thanks Paul.

Just one question: how low is a very low oven? How many °C?

Indeed.
or:
"1/2 to 3/4 cup water". A cup is how much water? :wink:

[Paul Elliott]

I set mine around 80 degrees C

As for cups of water ... I don't know! I just add a bit of water at a time until I get a good dough texture, no loose flour in the bowl and not too sticky. If it gets sticky, add a sprinkle of extra flour. When you've got a decent bread type dough, knead it for 10 minutes of so.

I'm not one for measuring out ingredoents much, except when it comes to making Yorkshire Puddings - no guesswork involved there!!

Thanks for the recipe Paul.

Just one question: how low is a very low oven? How many °C?

[M. Demetrius]

A "cup" is 8 oz, or about 240 ml. 30 ml per oz. So 3/4 cup is 3/4 of 8, or 6 oz, 180 ml.

That's not exact measure, but pretty close.

[Redguru]

118 ml to half a cup (if you are using the US standard for a "cup"

[garrelt]

Meat and cheese are smoked.
Hardtack recipies can be found on the net or in books like Panis Militaris.
Backing the hardtack twice is one thing involved in the making proces.
It makes it hard as a rock, so you have to soak it before eating or have to grind it down.
Important is to keep it dry from moist otherwise it want last long and will turn blue/green from fungi.

[Semisalis Abruna]

Double baked hardtack lasts for years if kept dry, mine was 6 years old and still okay until I had to throw it all away recently.

A mouse nested in my kitbag over winter, it tried to eat one of the hardtack biscuits (not a mark on any of the others) gave up and ate 90% of my leather sling and a big chunk of my civilian tunic instead ad:

[M. Demetrius]

I had a mouse get into the bag where my papilio was stored. I guess it was a mother mouse nesting...the way it ate through the tent was right where it was folded. Made six bigger than thumb sized holes. I was not amused, but what to do? I patched the tent. Oh, well, no doubt some of their tents were patched, too.

[Marcus Ulpius Tranquillus]

Thank You very much for Your recipes Mithras, very useful for me, I tried them - yes they are little big (weight about 70g)but I think that its edible for first attempt