hard tack shelf life

[Kentucky45]

I just finished my first batch of hard tack. I used a very simple Civil War recipe that I found on the net. There are so many recipes that you just have to pick one that you like. I decided to use this one because most Civil War soldiers didn't have yeast, milk, baking soda, and the other items mentioned in so many recipes. Their choices and supplies were very limited. This is a Civil War recipe. Of course the soldiers didn't have an electric oven either.

5 cups flour
1 cup water
1 table spoon salt
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Knead mix well, do not mix more water than needed or it will stick to your hands and to the pan. Tack should not be sticky. If you need more water mix in small amounts or let water run over your hands and continue to mix. I found that a very small amount of water can change everything.
Roll out dough on a large cutting board.
Cut into 3"x3" squares 1/2" thick. I used a pizza cutter, works great.
Poke holes 3x3 in rowes as evenly as possible, not going thru. I used the round end of a small marker pen for this. Works perfectly.
Place squares on dry cookie sheet.
Bake for about 30 minutes until lightly brown, then flip over and bake the other side until lightly brown. I found the flip side to be about 20 minutes.
Remove from oven and let it set, cool and dry completely for a little while. The hard tack will firm up. Important to let it cool so that the inside doesn't remain soft. A soft inside will affect shelf life.

Hard tack shelf life cooked this way is supposed to be 50 years.

A ten pound bag of flour will make about 100 pieces. Ten pieces per pound. And 100 pieces will fill a 4 gallon bucket.

The most popular ways to eat it were dipped in coffee to soften it up. A buddy and I tried this and at first it seemed kind of bland but we kept eating it, kind of addictive, like a BIG saltine cracker.
Another way to eat it is broken into pieces and cooked in bacon grease. Haven't tried this yet.

I also made some batches mixed this way.
5 cups flour
1 cup water
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
better taste

5 cups four
1 cup water
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cinnamon
even better

and finally
5 cups flour
1 cup water
4 tablespoons sugar
also very good

Try making some hard tack. It's interesting
very simple, and fun.

I have searched the net and have found that when you get away from the original salt recipe with a 50 year shelf life, and you change the recipe, the shelf life dramatically changes. But I cannot find to what extent "in years" that the shelf life shortens.

I would appreciate any input about the hard tack shelf life when using the different mixes.

Thank you, K45

 

[Muskeg Stomper]

Mind you that I'm only specualating here but I doubt that any of the batches that you made with sugar and/or cinnamon would significantly alter the self life. Now if you added things such as eggs or lard to the recipe, I'm sure that you have an effect.

In any event, why not just set aside a biscuit or two from each recipe and keep an eye on it for the next 50 years? I'll give you something to look forward to!

 

[buford87]

I remember in the early 1990"s a civil war era boat was salvaged from the Tennessee river in western Tennessee . There was still hardtack on the boat..................watch yer top knot...............

 

[m-g willy]

I remember in the early 1990"s a civil war era boat was salvaged from the Tennessee river in western Tennessee . There was still hardtack on the boat..................watch yer top knot...............

Even the fish wouldn't eat the stuff!

 

[Hammerhead]

make your hard tack but with 10 minutes left put some shredded cheese on it its good

 

[Kentucky45]

Mind you that I'm only specualating here but I doubt that any of the batches that you made with sugar and/or cinnamon would significantly alter the self life. Now if you added things such as eggs or lard to the recipe, I'm sure that you have an effect.

I won't be here in 50 years anyway so that length time doesn't really matter. I would think the original recepi lasts so long because of the salt. Not sure what affect the sugar and cinnamon have. I did set some of each batch aside and will check it periodically. As long as it's not allowed to get moist, and mine won't, it's supposed to be pretty durable. Armies probably ate theirs as fast as they made it. But someone out there has experimented and made the stuff, and has some knowledge about the shelf life. I know I'm not the first to make it with different ingredients.

 

[R.C.BINGAMAN]

Made some a few yrs. back used stone ground wheat turned out great,Put it in a brown paper sack and stored it in the kitchen cabinet, about 2 yrs. later the wifey was a cleaning the cuppords out and found my stash, it was very authentic by this time complete with the worm holes, period 1860 authentic worm castles she hit the roof and out went the tac, What a waiste the kids at civil war events love the stuff, but you must first put out the dis-claimer to the moms about teeth.Its about time to work on another batch, might even try some ships bread cant be to much different,or corn dodgers remeber the original true grit movie and chin lees corn dodgers, made these a few times and they work great for treking, hold up well in the sack, till next time watch yer teeth

 

[Kentucky45]

Its about time to work on another batch, might even try some ships bread cant be to much different,

I think ships bread and hard tack are the same thing, just have different names. One site I found shows the different names that hard tack has been called.
hard tack
pilot bread
ship's bread
sea biscuit
sea bread
dog biscuit
tooth dullers
sheet iron
molar breakers
There allot of names, there are allot of ways to make it. I would guess the different recipes depended on the availability of ingredients. After making and trying it, I see why it would be a good trekking food. It doesn't take much to fill you up. It's so compressed that the small 3"x3" squares weigh more than I expected. One could survive on it. It can be missed with nearly anything from greens or coffee to meat and will take on that flavor. And with a little meat and or grease occasionally it would make a descent meal. Basically a very good survival and/or trekking staple.

 

[bangfxr]

The two names are correct. I've read accounts of confederate troops eating hard tack taken from a ware house in New Orleans, LA. as well as St Louis,MO. where the creats were marked with dates of 1846/1847 and there is an account of soldiers who were posted with the supply train during Col Custer's Greasy Grass tour. The troops were issued hard tack from creats dated 1865. So the worm castle has many years of longevity. I've heard stories of troops that went to Cuba getting hard tack created and dated 1872. I have not seen any writen evedance on that as yet But I'd not discount that it didn't happen.

 

[Bill Hall]

When I was in a C.W. reenactment group, we made it with only flour, water, and salt. I would tear off a bite, and if nobody was looking, I would soften it up with a slurp of soda. :surrender:

I think the shelf life depends on the humidity of your area and how well it is sealed. I do know for sure that a .36 ball from an 1851 navy revolver will bounce right off a piece. :rotf: Bill

 

[Woods Dweller]

I remember in the early 1990"s a civil war era boat was salvaged from the Tennessee river in

western Tennessee . There was still hardtack on the boat..................watch yer top knot...............

Even the fish wouldn't eat the stuff!

I dont think the fish "woulden't" eat the stuff! I think they "Couldent" eat it.

 

[Woods Dweller]

I believe Hard Tack would last many, many years, back in 72 I bought 2 cases of WWII
K / C-rations. In one of the tins in each ration there was hard tack and it was fine.


This year I went to a Rendezvous and my grandson was with us, in a pouch he had made last year he had some beef jerky, After him and I ate the jerky, he informed me it was jerky he made last year and forgot he had it.

 

[tg]

It lst longer than I care to eat it I make new each 6 months or so as it seems to get harder as time goes by, I do not get out very often anymore so do not make it unless for a specific usage.hunting trip, I do not have a lot of my original teeth left and hardtack is a real good "poormans" tooth extraction tool, I like to make it a bit on the soft side for snacks while at home.The fruit I dry lasts a couple of years in the firge also.

 

[Kentucky45]

When I was in a C.W. reenactment group, we made it with only flour, water, and salt. I would tear off a bite, and if nobody was looking, I would soften it up with a slurp of soda. :surrender:

I think the shelf life depends on the humidity of your area and how well it is sealed. Bill

A friend and I ate some dipped and softened in coffee. Very filling. He tried it with cold milk and it took longer to soften. I think it works better when eaten with a hot drink. I gave some to a couple other friends. One dipped his in hot chocolate and liked it, but said it is real filling and wouldn't want it for breakfast everyday. The other one cooked his up in bacon grease and said it takes on the flavor and he likes it allot. Both said the salt mix was a good as the other mixes. I soaked a biscuit overnight and the next morning it was soggy wet and not eatable. It set there in the dry bowl for three days and never dried out. It began molding quickly and I trashed it. Moisture is the key factor to hard tacks longevity I think. I put my biscuits in a black plastic trash bag, tie the top, put it in a 4 gallon plastic bucket and seal the top. The four gallon bucket holds about 100 biscuits, a 10 pound bag of flour. Airtight, water tight storage. I keep them in a fairly dark room. I figure if the moisture and sun can't get to it they'll last. After trying all the different batches with salt, cinnamon and sugar, I've decided to cook nothing but the salt mixture. It's a survival, necessity, trekking food, not a desert. I'm making another batch today. Easy to make. K45