Are you looking for an easy, indoor homesteading activity to try with your kids this summer? Why not make some traditional hardtack?
Estimated reading time: 7 minutes
For centuries, hardtack has been a staple survival food for pioneer homesteaders, soldiers, explorers, sailors, and many others. In fact, historical records show variations of hardtack being used in ancient times by the Egyptians and Romans.
Hardtack is a dense, brick-like mixture of flour, water, and salt, also known as sea biscuits, sea bread, dog biscuits, and a host of other names. You can add many additives and other ingredients to hardtack, but making traditional hardtack is a good place to start.
What is Hardtack?
The term hardtack comes from the British slang “tack” for food. Meaning “hard food,” the name perfectly warns a person what to prepare for before eating it.
In fact, the unleavened biscuits become so dense and hard that you have to soak them for several minutes before you can safely chew them.
Hardtack History
In the 15th and 16th centuries, the British Royal Navy began mass-producing hardtack to supply its sailors with their daily ration of a pound of hardtack. The inexpensive ingredients needed to make hardtack made it a perfect way to feed armies and fleets around the globe.
Nearly every port in the world had savvy businessmen making hardtack near the docks to resupply ships.
In the 19th century, hardtack was a main source of food for gold prospectors in the California Gold Rush, as well as the Union and Confederate soldiers in the American Civil War. Soldiers on both sides hated the biscuits and would find many creative ways to improve the flavor and edibility so it could be served at breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert.
Interestingly, the Confederate armies had less access to wheat needed to make flour since most wheat was farmed farther north. As a result, Confederate soldiers made a similar hardtack recipe with a cornmeal base rather than wheat flour. These were called "Johnny Cakes."
In the same way that Canadian pioneers, the Metis people, and voyageurs packed smoked game meat or pemmican, the lightweight hardtack was perfect travel food.
Although hardtack became less popular after the invention of refrigeration and canning, it's still used today as part of some countries’ military rations worldwide. Many people also like to add it to a gift list for preppers and survivalists. Or even include it in their homemade wilderness survival kits.
Making a Traditional Hardtack Recipe
Wondering how to make hardtack? You almost certainly have the necessary ingredients to make a traditional hardtack recipe: four to five cups of flour, one cup of water, and two teaspoons of salt. Once you’ve gathered your ingredients together, follow these simple steps.
How to Make Hardtack
Traditional Hardtack
This traditional hardtack recipe is an easy way to start making your own supply of survival food that will last years.
Ingredients
- 4 cups of white flour
- 2 cups of water
- 4 teaspoon of salt
Instructions
- Set oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Slowly mix the flour and salt into the water in a large mixing bowl. The mixture will get very thick, so use a wooden spoon instead of a whisk.
- Transfer the dough to a flat, lightly floured surface.
- Knead the dough by hand to make sure it's thoroughly mixed.
- Using a rolling pin flatten the dough to ½ inch thick.
- Once flattened, cut the dough into 3" by 3" squares.
- Use a skewer or toothpick to poke 3 rows of 4 holes into the top of each square.
- Transfer the squares to a baking sheet and bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes. Flip the squares and bake for another 30 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack.
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Nutrition Information
Yield 20-25 Serving Size 1 BiscuitAmount Per Serving Calories 100
More Traditional Hardtack Bread Recipe Links
National Park Service Hardtack Recipe
Skilled Survival Long-Term Survival Bread
American Table Civil War Hardtack Recipe
Primal Survival: How to Make Hardtack the Traditional and Modern Way
Adding Flavor to Hardtack
In some modern-day recipes, butter, sugar, honey, or spices are added to improve taste. For a touch of sweetness, try adding 1 tablespoon of honey while mixing the dough. If you want to add some spices, try adding oregano, rosemary, or cayenne pepper.
While extra flavor helps make these biscuits more edible, additional ingredients do have a major drawback: they will drastically reduce the biscuit's shelf-life.
Hardtack has become coveted as a survival food because it lasts for decades without spoiling. The simplicity of the recipe and its stable ingredients ensure this.
So before you get excited to add extra ingredients, make sure you plan to keep the biscuits from going bad.
Storing Hardtack
If you make traditional hardtack without any additives, it can last decades without going bad. In fact, Manassas National Battlefield Park has hardtack from the Civil War on display in its museum. It has lasted over 150 years.
To last this long, it must be stored in a cool, dark space, ideally in an airtight container or vacuum seal. Moisture is the nemesis of storing any dried preservative, so make sure it stays bone dry.
Furthermore, the airtight container will help keep out any larvae or pests. You don't want to spend all this time making hardtack to help secure your food supply, only to find it destroyed by rodents or insects. Storing your biscuits properly will ensure that if you ever do need them, they'll still be edible (and there).
Related: Canning, Dehydrating & Preserving Food
Weevils in the wheat grain have been associated with ruining batches of hardtack, so make sure you check your flour before beginning. In the past, sailors and soldiers would submerge their hardtack in water or coffee and see if any larvae floated to the top.
If so, they would skim it off the top and continue eating. You should double-check your flour.
Eating Hardtack
There are a few different ways to eat hardtack. Don’t just bite into it; there’s a reason one of its nicknames is “molar breakers.”
A popular way to soften the hardtack is by submerging it in a glass of milk, coffee, or water for about 15 minutes. Then fry it in butter. Yum.
You can also mash it up and mix it with water to create a hardtack meal, kind of like a disappointing porridge.
The desperation of Civil War soldiers during the conflict led to new and creative ways to make hardtack a little more palatable. They would use the stock of their rifles to crush the bread, which they would then mix with water and form into a pancake. This would be either fried in a pan or cooked directly on the coals of a fire.
Soldiers would add hot water, brown sugar, and whiskey to the crushed hardtack for dessert to create a simple pudding. Alternatively, hardtack can be soaked in a hearty venison stew or soup.
Hardtack As a Survival Food
No matter your reason for making hardtack, this hard biscuit is one of the ultimate survival foods next to pemmican. It uses basic ingredients many people already have, including all-purpose flour, cold water, and vegetable oil or animal fats. It has a long shelf life. It's also a good option for long journeys when fresh foods might be hard to pack.
Hardtack biscuits are great for long-term storage when food sources are uncertain and for prepping for a survival situation. Plus, this hard bread offers good nutritional value in an emergency or during hard times.
Use this simple recipe when paired with peanut butter, salt pork, or pemmican to boost the grams of protein. Pemmican and hardtack pair well together.
Try A Hard Tack Bread Recipe
The dense caloric content and long shelf-life of hard tack mean you can prepare a large amount and store it as emergency rations for a long time as an emergency food supply. As sailors and soldiers on long voyages have proven, a little creativity can make a hardtack seabiscuit useful for every meal on long trips.
If hardtack isn't already an emergency ration in your bugout bag or cellar, get started making your own supply of this great survival food today and let us know what creative preparations you come up with!
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This post is part of the Homestead in Your Homeschool Series.
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Blake is Sarita's son, and an avid outdoorsman. He enjoys back-country hiking, camping, and honing his wilderness survival skills. Look for Blake's posts on hunting, fishing, homesteading, foraging, and food.
