lost Ships Biscuits info

[Loyalist Dave]

I think you'll find that adding honey (which alone in proper form doesn't spoil), dilutes the honey, and allows stuff to grow on it, unless it's kept in very very low humidity. :shocked2:

LD

 

[Sean Gadhar]

I tried eating one and it was hard as a rock, but went well after a dip in hot coffee with small bites. k.

If you use the Soft (summer) whole wheat pastry flour, AND 1/3 wheat bran they should be about as hard as a Ginger snap that has dried out a bit, but not much harder.

The ones I make can sometimes be a bit tough as a round, but once broken (so you have a corner to start on) they are not hard to chew up :hmm: Well, like I said, no harder than the last few ginger snaps in the bottom of the bag you bought 2 weeks ago :wink:

 

[coloradoclyde]

Soft summer wheat has less protein/gluten than hard or winter wheat, so that is a good choice......Salt when mixed in the dough toughens it and makes it more elastic. as does over working the dough.....Gluten, kneading and salt all make for a tough biscuit.

Try salting the outside only and treating the dough like buttermilk biscuit dough, nice and gentle.

Normally one would add oil or some other fat to condition the dough and make a tender biscuit.....but oil reduces shelf life.

In theory, anything that doesn't easily absorb water should soften the biscuit....like the husk for example....
Often ships biscuits were made from low quality flour.....We might think that they were just being cheap.....But it may have been intentional.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

Soft summer wheat has less protein/gluten than hard or winter wheat, so that is a good choice......

Often ships biscuits were made from low quality flour.....We might think that they were just being cheap.....But it may have been intentional.

I went to whole wheat pastry flour (soft white wheat) when I found that except for some very small, isolated communities, hard red (winter) wheat was not known in the 18th century.

As for the lowest quality flour being used...., I'm pretty sure since it was a government contract, and awarded to the lowest bidder, it was meant to be cheap. :haha:

LD

 

[Kansas Jake]

Off topic a bit, but I drive autos between several auto dealers and auctions etc. on occasion. We run tight schedules and usually don't stop for lunch. I've found a small bag of jerky and two or three of the biscuits are all I need to stave off the munchies. It is sort of my modern version of trail food for on the go.

I'll make more of these when they are gone. I like the texture and flavor. Also, as noted, once I get a corner nibbled off, they come off in small pieces and are quit filling.

 

[Sean Gadhar]

I'm just going to say it

:hmm: I wonder how much better they are if baked in a wood fire oven?

:surrender: Now don't go blaming me if you have the same thought and start thinking about building an earthen oven.


OK :blah: Now blame me

[youtube]i0foHjPVbP4[/youtube]

 

[Kansas Jake]

Trouble maker. I've often thought a wood fired oven in the back yard would be fun. :hmm:

 

[Loyalist Dave]

You could start out with a ready-made, table-top version with this Terra Cotta Pizza Oven . Unfortunately, they don't make a version, yet, for doing a normal round loaf of bread.

LD

 

[satx78247]

Once we get settled in our new place, one of the first things that I plan to do is build a Latin-American style earthen oven/BBQ in the back garden.

yours, satx

 

[coloradoclyde]

Once we get settled in our new place, one of the first things that I plan to do is build a Latin-American style earthen oven/BBQ in the back garden.

yours, satx

Hey buddy, What happened to your Parrilla plans?

Heres a video of a guy in Kansas that does nice work.
https://youtu.be/grevG5RoF_Y

Oh wait, You can't see me.... :idunno:

 

[Loyalist Dave]

I can't tell if this guy is a mild mannered genius or bloody lucky, but here is a video of a very straight foreward method of making a permanent "pizza oven" and the door is 8" high, and just under 16" wide, so would also work for a Wood Fired Bread Oven from Concrete

Here's the Longer Version but the commentary is a bit low on volume.

It does work for pizza :wink: It's not too bad for a 120 lbs. concrete oven.

LD

 

[coloradoclyde]

Thanks, neat.... :thumbsup: ....Not where did I put my Thera ball...

 

[Darto]

If you take that basic recipe and add baking powder then you have a great breakfast biscuit, if baked normally in a hotter oven. We eat them every morning for many years now.

3/4 cups white flour,
1/2 cup oat bran (such as Bob's Red Mill or Quaker from any supermarket, or much cheaper oat bran from Swanson's vitamins (online).
2 teaspoons of baking powder,
About 3/4 cups water to make it wet when stirred.
Some oil if you like or not (a tablespoon of olive oil or like that).
Tiny bits your favorite seasonings : like salt, black pepper, tumeric (a healthy Indian spice), cinnamon, a sweetner like stevia or sugar, seeds (black sesemie, dill seeds, etc).
Bake 400 degs 40 minutes, more or less until they look about right.
The more white flour the higher they rise. Can substitute whole wheat for some of the white flour.

 

[coloradoclyde]

Not ships biscuit but worth sharing.
Last week the wife made banana bread and I wasn't "digging it" (She made 3 loaves). So I took some and sliced it and twice baked it in a slack oven until it was bone dry.
Now I had the best tasting square banana cookies I've ever eaten. Really enjoyed them. Twice baking also improved the shelf life, (not that they lasted cause I gobbled them all down).

Makes me wonder if twice baking normal items was ever done traditionally to extend the shelf life or transportability of items.

 

[Hawken]

I've half a mind to start a Cornbread recipe thread here, I'd expect there are some opinions on this subject.

But I'd hate to be thought of contributing to rancor and dissension amongst the muzzleloader comminity. I think we could all agree it should be baked in a cast iron skillet, but after that, I'm not sure on how much agreement there would be.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

If you take that basic recipe and add baking powder then you have a great breakfast biscuit, if baked normally in a hotter oven. We eat them every morning for many years now.

RIGHT!
BUT..., the original thread that this thread asked about, were meant to be close approximations of the 18th century food item, and alas baking powder was not a thing yet. In another thread one chap pointed out how the denser the dough the longer they were known to last, but he was applying 19th century Royal Navy procedures, while this was to again approximate the 18th century product.

LD

 

[Loyalist Dave]

I've half a mind to start a Cornbread recipe thread here, I'd expect there are some opinions on this subject.

But I'd hate to be thought of contributing to rancor and dissension amongst the muzzleloader comminity. I think we could all agree it should be baked in a cast iron skillet, but after that, I'm not sure on how much agreement there would be.

We have had some already.
It sounds like you're talkin' about the cornbread that uses 50/50 wheat flour/corn meal and an egg, salt, (maybe a lil' bit of sugar) as well as some baking powder or soda, and some milk or water... in a greased cast iron skillet...

However, you might indeed not get a consensus on what to bake the cornbread in, nor what it should look like as it's a tad different when it's all corn flour (not to be confused with corn meal) without any wheat flour, nor milk, and when there isn't any baking powder nor soda used..., a la the 18th century on The Frontier.

LD

 

[Hawken]

We have had some already.

It sounds like you're talkin' about the cornbread that uses 50/50 wheat flour/corn meal and an egg, salt, (maybe a lil' bit of sugar) as well as some baking powder or soda, and some milk or water... in a greased cast iron skillet...

Well what I meant by that, it is controversial, the recipe itself. Particularly the sugar.

However, you might indeed not get a consensus on what to bake the cornbread in, nor what it should look like as it's a tad different when it's all corn flour (not to be confused with corn meal) without any wheat flour, nor milk, and when there isn't any baking powder nor soda used..., a la the 18th century on The Frontier.

Well, those might be called Hoe Cakes, Johnny Cakes, Corn Pone ... I am a Yankee, but I maintain anybody who would cook Cornbread proper in anything other than a cast iron skillet would like as not push his grandmother down the stairs! (No, I'm not opinionated, why do you ask!??)

 

[appalichian hunter]

Sacrilege too make corn bread in anything except a well seasoned cast iron skillet.

 

[Treestalker]

We have had some already.
It sounds like you're talkin' about the cornbread that uses 50/50 wheat flour/corn meal and an egg, salt, (maybe a lil' bit of sugar) as well as some baking powder or soda, and some milk or water... in a greased cast iron skillet...

However, you might indeed not get a consensus on what to bake the cornbread in, nor what it should look like as it's a tad different when it's all corn flour (not to be confused with corn meal) without any wheat flour, nor milk, and when there isn't any baking powder nor soda used..., a la the 18th century on The Frontier.

LD

Masa harina hoe cake? Maybe reinvent the comal cooked corn tortilla, only thicker? Sounds delicious, would be great with some campfire cooked posole or menudo! Con mucho gusto!