Hard tack

[tg]

Anyone have a good mix for hard tack or any other hard biscuit that will keep a while?

 

[Maestro]

I've used the following receipt but I make the biscuit round. I've seen some period drawings that show them to be around 4-5 inches in diameter. I make mine about 3 inches... (you can definitely have too much of this "good thing") :wink:

Ingredients:

4 cups flour (preferably whole wheat)
4 teaspoons salt
Water (about 2 cups)
Pre-heat oven to 375° F
Makes about 10 pieces

Mix the flour and salt together in a bowl. Add just enough water (less than two cups) so that the mixture will stick together, producing a dough that won’t stick to hands, rolling pin or pan. Mix the dough by hand. Roll the dough out, shaping it roughly into a rectangle. Cut into the dough into squares about 3 x 3 inches and ½ inch thick.

After cutting the squares, press a pattern of four rows of four holes into each square, using a nail or other such object. Do not punch through the dough. The appearance you want is similar to that of a modern saltine cracker. Turn each square over and do the same thing to the other side.

Place the squares on an ungreased cookie sheet in the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Turn each piece over and bake for another 30 minutes. The crackers should be slightly brown on both sides.

The fresh crackers are easily broken but as they dry, they harden and assume the consistency of fired brick.

 

[tg]

Will they keep better if frozen? and not be thick like a brick in 5 months?

 

[ohio ramrod]

The purpose of hardtack is to keep the flour for long periods with out any other care needed other than keeping it dry. Freezing it would probably help to some degree. But when you get it out of the freezer it will draw moisture from the air and then it might start to mold if not consumed right away.

 

[Lostrifle]

I have some rounds of ship bisquit(what it was called during the 18th century, as it was mostly made for the British Navy. The term hardtack, I believe, was coined 'round about the Civil War) I made more than a year ago sitting in a platic bag on top of my fridge. Still harder than a rock, with no signs of spoilage whatever.

 

[tg]

Thanks for the info we cooked up some many years ago but I had forgottten what the mix was....I had teeth back then also, this may be interesting.I will probably make barley and hardtack soup

 

[tg]

Thanks for the biscuit mix, I made up a half batch and it is not bad, we'll see if I can bust it with my bag axe come deer season.

 

[mazo kid]

Here's a thread I started a while back...Some people use other ingredients to make the hard tack softer or more palatable, but it won't keep very long when done that way. http://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/fusionbb/showtopic.php?tid/229311/

 

[crooked eye]

T.G. here is something that my mothers family brought from Italy. I have read that it dates to Roman times. The recipe couldn't be more simple. You place 16 oz of honey in a pan and heat over low flame until the honey gets real thin. Poor honey into a bowl and add a cup of flour and mix thoroughly. Continue to add flour a little at a time and mix. You will eventually have added about 3 to 3-1/2 cups of flour. You'll need to grease your hands during this as it gets quite sticky but will eventually be failry dry with only a touch of stickyness. Roll out into shapes of approx. 1/2" thick ( I usually do something a little larger than a finger)and place on greased cookie sheet. Bake on middle rack at 375 for about 20 minutes (depending on your oven). They should be slightly browned, remove and cool. These will keep almost forever. The only down side is that they get harder with time. You could break a tooth on one after it sits long enough. BUT they are great as a trail food broken and sucked on like a candy or softened in your tea/coffee and eaten.

 

[tg]

Thanks CrookedEye I will give it a try next time I make a batch.

 

[JimboAfg]

Made my own using a Civil War repro cook book. I think most of you know it is best to serve it in soup, stew or veggies with water, like green beans!

 

[Curtis Makamson]

This is not an “authentic” recipe, but it looks like the real stuff and tastes right good. It is actually more like a hard cookie than real hardtack. It has been used successfully in “Civil War presentations” at public schools, civic organizations, and church groups. If you do those kinds of presentations, cut the dough into tiny squares so everybody in the audience will get a sample. However, if you are strictly into being totally authentic this receipt is not what you want.

1 ½ cups milk
4 cups plain flour
4 tablespoons Crisco
half a bag (+) of brown sugar
3 teaspoons salt
Cinnamon (to taste””the more, the better)

Mix together, make dough, roll flat on wax paper, cut into squares, punch holes, and bake on greased cookie sheet at 350 degrees for half an hour. If the hardtack is not hard enough for you, let it bake a bit longer.

The only drawback is they will mold. However, I've had some lying around for several weeks here on the Gulf Coast and they've lasted OK. Once the mold starts it goes quick. It may be my imagination but the mold seems to be quicker after Katrina than before.