Hardtack!

Hardtack!

Sorry.  I keep meaning to update this thing, and I keep postponing it.  But here we go.  The breakfast of champions--hardtack!

Hardtack, at its most basic, is a simple cracked made from flour and water and a pinch of salt.  It is rolled thing and baked hard and, so long as it does not get wet, it will keep for a VERY long time.  It is near-inedible and makes a wonderful shim or backup armor, but not so much a great breakfast.

If you soak it in milk or tea and fry it in pork fat, the flavor is improved tremendously.  You can also add various seeds and maybe some lard or schmaltz to improve the flavor.  A little honey helps as well.  Experiment here!

Historical Accuracy:  This is hardtack.  The only way it could be more historically accurate is if I used worse quality flour for the recipe. Call it a 10/10 and be happy.


What's it Taste Like?  Flour.  Really, it's bland and dry and horrible all on its own.  I added some caraway and celery seed to another batch, plus some schmaltz and honey, and it was better, but still bad.  This is survival food.  This is "trail" food.  Want to feel like a soldier on a march?  Have some tea, hardtack, and salt pork for breakfast.


Difficulty:  Nil.  You mix, roll, cut, piece, and bake.  Super-simple.  1/10.

Ingredients:4 cups flour (any type, although I used a mix of unbleached whole-grain wheat and leftover spelt)
1 cup water
1 tbsp. salt
Seasonings to taste


Mix it all up and knead it a bit to combine.  Roll out 1/4" thick and cut into rectangles.  Using a skewer, poke holes into the hardtack to allow it to bake hard.  Bake at 400 degrees for 20-30 minutes a side, turning once.  Once it feels like a brick, it's done!

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