For soldiers and sailors, hardtack was a dietary staple for hundreds of years, much to the chagrin of those who had to eat it. Although recipes vary somewhat, the goal is to produce hardtack with a long shelf life that is easy to store. Learning make hardtack for war reenactments will add a certain realistic element to the event, as this was often a soldier's main source of food.
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Combine water, adding as much as 2 cups, with 4 cups of flour and 4 teaspoons of salt. Gradually adding the water will keep the mixture from becoming too sticky. Knead thoroughly. It should feel elastic-like when complete. If too sticky, add more flour.
3. Flour a surface for rolling out the mixture. Roll out into a rectangular shape until roughly 1/2 inch in thickness.
4. Cut the hardtack dough into squares. A pizza cutter works well for this. Hardtack came in various sizes, depending on the company that manufactured it, but it typically was small enough to fit into one's pockets.
5. Take a fork and in the dough, creating a look similar to today's saltines. Flip each hardtack over and make holes on the other side as well.
6. Put the dough on a cookie sheet. Do not grease the cookie sheet. Bake the hardtack for 30 minutes, flip and cook for another half an hour.
7. Take the hardtack to a war reenactment for the participants to sample. If not fresh, the hardtack should be difficult to break. Oftentimes hardtack was crumbled into coffee so it could be eaten.
Tags: cookie sheet, make holes
