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- Oct 25, 2004
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Ever since Sarge's thread on hardtack and my own batch, I've been...well...less than impressed with what our ancestors ate while in the field or on the water. I'm known for having an iron stomach and I can tolerate food that many would find inedible but after a certain point, even I must draw the line. If coyotes won't eat it, can I be reasonably expected to? This left me I wondering: knowing what we do now about nutrition, is it possible to build hardtack that's both healthier and tastier than what came before?
I don't presume to know better than centuries of existing wisdom but ladies and gentlemen, I'm proud to present edible masonry for the 21st century: RisHardtack.
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup wheat germ
1/4 cup flaxseed
1/2 cup rolled oats
1-2 pinches of salt
2 heaping tablespoons honey
2 heaping tablespoons blackstrap molasses
Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Some water will be necessary for the mixture to bind; add a little at a time until it does. (It took about half a cup for me.) If you add too much water, simply add a bit more flour a little at a time until you have a good, firm, dense dough that doesn't stick to your hands. Don't be afraid to add a little more water or flour to get it just right.
Roll it out thin, 1/4" or less. Punch out pieces to a shape and size of your choice and score well with a fork or somesuch. (I use the lid of a mason jar.) They should be firm and stiff enough to hold their shape fairly well.
I baked mine at 350F because I already had beef roasting but this is too hot. Try 250F-300F for an hour or two. They'll still be slightly flexible when they come out but that's fine -- they'll harden properly as they cool. I figure that the honey and blackstrap are causing this as there's very little water present to begin with. They are still pretty hard but not quite as hard as hardtack -- the honey and blackstrap keep things a bit softer.
Theory:
The base is still flour; however, honey and blackstrap molasses do the majority of the binding, rather than water. They not only bind the mixture but also provide a pleasant (but mild) sweet taste to make things easier to swallow, and due to their nature should not affect the storage life of the finished produce as neither of them attract moisture or go bad on their own. The blackstrap also provides a nice dark color, an earthier flavor, and adds a healthy dose of vitamins, particularly iron. The sweet taste is advantageous for trail food as it tends to suppress the appetite, yet it's not sweet enough to overpower anything that it's mixed with.
The wheat germ, flaxseed, and rolled oats all add additional nutrition and bulk, not to mention improving the flavor. While they might get a bit stale after some months or years, none of them will truly go bad if kept dry.
Everything present provides carbohydrates except for the salt and water. (The salt provides a bit of sodium and the water is necessary for mixing.) The wheat germ and flaxseed supply protein and the flaxseed is also rich in healthy fats, particularly omega-3. Taken together, the result is pretty darned healthy. All the ingrediants are natural and (relatively) unprocessed, all supply something valuable to the body, and the final product doesn't taste too bad. One could probably survive on this stuff for a while.
The unanswered question so far is how well it keeps. I wouldn't expect it to last for years like traditional hardtack but such longevity is not required in my case. It ought to last for weeks (if not months) and the ingrediants will keep far longer seperately and are easily combined. I will report back when I know more but I'm not anticipating any problems.
I'm not quite where I want to go yet but this is a good foundation. The next experiment is to add a dried fruit (blueberries?) to improve the flavor further and, more importantly, supply vitamin C. Chopped nuts could also probably be included to add additional fat and protein but I don't think that it's necessary.
R&D is, of course, continuing, but I believe that we're on the right track.
I don't presume to know better than centuries of existing wisdom but ladies and gentlemen, I'm proud to present edible masonry for the 21st century: RisHardtack.
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup wheat germ
1/4 cup flaxseed
1/2 cup rolled oats
1-2 pinches of salt
2 heaping tablespoons honey
2 heaping tablespoons blackstrap molasses
Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Some water will be necessary for the mixture to bind; add a little at a time until it does. (It took about half a cup for me.) If you add too much water, simply add a bit more flour a little at a time until you have a good, firm, dense dough that doesn't stick to your hands. Don't be afraid to add a little more water or flour to get it just right.
Roll it out thin, 1/4" or less. Punch out pieces to a shape and size of your choice and score well with a fork or somesuch. (I use the lid of a mason jar.) They should be firm and stiff enough to hold their shape fairly well.
I baked mine at 350F because I already had beef roasting but this is too hot. Try 250F-300F for an hour or two. They'll still be slightly flexible when they come out but that's fine -- they'll harden properly as they cool. I figure that the honey and blackstrap are causing this as there's very little water present to begin with. They are still pretty hard but not quite as hard as hardtack -- the honey and blackstrap keep things a bit softer.
Theory:
The base is still flour; however, honey and blackstrap molasses do the majority of the binding, rather than water. They not only bind the mixture but also provide a pleasant (but mild) sweet taste to make things easier to swallow, and due to their nature should not affect the storage life of the finished produce as neither of them attract moisture or go bad on their own. The blackstrap also provides a nice dark color, an earthier flavor, and adds a healthy dose of vitamins, particularly iron. The sweet taste is advantageous for trail food as it tends to suppress the appetite, yet it's not sweet enough to overpower anything that it's mixed with.
The wheat germ, flaxseed, and rolled oats all add additional nutrition and bulk, not to mention improving the flavor. While they might get a bit stale after some months or years, none of them will truly go bad if kept dry.
Everything present provides carbohydrates except for the salt and water. (The salt provides a bit of sodium and the water is necessary for mixing.) The wheat germ and flaxseed supply protein and the flaxseed is also rich in healthy fats, particularly omega-3. Taken together, the result is pretty darned healthy. All the ingrediants are natural and (relatively) unprocessed, all supply something valuable to the body, and the final product doesn't taste too bad. One could probably survive on this stuff for a while.
The unanswered question so far is how well it keeps. I wouldn't expect it to last for years like traditional hardtack but such longevity is not required in my case. It ought to last for weeks (if not months) and the ingrediants will keep far longer seperately and are easily combined. I will report back when I know more but I'm not anticipating any problems.
I'm not quite where I want to go yet but this is a good foundation. The next experiment is to add a dried fruit (blueberries?) to improve the flavor further and, more importantly, supply vitamin C. Chopped nuts could also probably be included to add additional fat and protein but I don't think that it's necessary.
R&D is, of course, continuing, but I believe that we're on the right track.
