Hardtack?

M

Minibear464

Joined
Jul 14, 2011
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I know it's a 3:1 ratio of flour and water, but anyone know how to cook it over a fire? I want to be able to make it on certain trips and such. Also, how do you tell when hardtack actually does go bad? Whenever that may be.
 
Not sure how long it will last. But you might look up recipies for "Trenchers" as well.
 
It should also have some salt added. If it's "baked" to where it's quite hard so all the moisture is baked out, it should last quite a long time (several weeks?). Another option is to add some flavor and go the bannock route. I pack a small baggy of dry premix and just add water, mix and bake. Mine consists of whole-wheat flour, baking soda, salt, brown sugar, sunflower/pumkin seeds, raisins, crasins, a little oatmeal, etc. I like mine more moist, but it still lasts a day or two depending on the weather and storage conditions. I use a small 6.5" carbon steel skillet along with some olive oil to keep the bannock from sticking. You can also roll the wet mix into strips and wrap it around a stick over the fire and you can also bake it on the flat of a clean rock.

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ROCK6
 
I thought the idea was to make it before hand so you have it on the trail already to eat.
 
Look at the hardtack on the market, like Sailor Boy Pilot Bread.

How long it will last depends on weather and how you store it.

And, yes, the idea is that it is ready to consume, being prepared beforehand.

http://preparednessadvice.com/food_storage/making-pilot-bread-or-hardtack/
This link is very informative, however the person who wrote it was ignorant in a few respects.

1. Companies that produce hardtack/pilot bread bake 2-4 times to ensure that all moisture has been driven from the bread.
2. Do not store it in something breathable, it will go stale much faster.
3. Cut the dough in portions that will fit the container you plan on using.
4. If using a bag to store, cut your dough in circles, the crackers won't rub through and spill.

If you want more information on the very amazing super awesome thing that is Sailor Boy Pilot Bread, just ask, I am a fiend. :D
 
I know it's supposed to be done before hand, but I'm interested in knowing how to make it over a fire, since if things go south, I'll probably have to cook on a fire, and I don't want to premake all of them, since it'll probably go bad. I have some oven baked, but I'm just interested in the fire aspect. Would wrapped in a-foil work? Like potatoes.
 
If things go south, you'll lose your mix. :p

Like others have said, it's rather pointless to make hardtack out in the woods.... unless that's all the ingredients you brought.

However if you do manage to craft an oven in the woods, you would follow the same steps for a normal oven.

You don't want to use foil, because the idea is eliminating moisture.
 
Sorry for my unclear writing, I meant bake it wrapped in foil, and just toss it into the fire, much like one would do with potatoes.
 
Wrapping potatoes in foil helps keep the moisture in the potato so that you aren't eating a little lump of dusty rock. I think what Skimo is saying is that if you wrap your hard tack dough in foil you will not be able to drive the moisture from the bread.
 
You live in San Jose. How much farther South do you want to go, San Digeo?
 
There is a lot of south between San Jose and San Diego... Almost 500 miles. But, I think he meant- and you probably knew he meant- "If the world as we know it comes to an end" and all he has is 3 cups of flower, 1 cup of water, a roll of aluminum foil and a single match, how should he go about making hard tack over a fire?
 
I made some hardtack about 20 years ago. It was some horrible stuff by itself. I think you could place it in the vented aluminum foil on top of hot rocks. Replace the hot rocks ever so often until the hardtack is good and dry. Try not to burn it. If you wrap it and seal it hot, it should last a good while. Weeks if not months. I think I baked mine at 325 F for a long time.
 
Thanks hlee. Yea, I don't want to plan for food too much, since I'm not one of those guys who has a basement full of stuff for the end of the world, I just have a little zip lock of stuff prepared, and I'm going to grab the bigger things (tents, sleeping bags, axes) if I have time, the essential tarps and fire and all that stuff is in the zip lock. So if it does happen, I'm not so worried about water, since there's a creek right behind my house, and I can purify it/boil it with the things I have. But food, I don't want to carry around so much of it, and hardtack just seems like a good thing to be able to make on the go. I have some food, but not enough to last more than a week. Any idea how close to the fire it should be? I don't want the inside to be uncooked.. but hardtack seems to be easy to make.
 
Minibear464 said:
I know it's a 3:1 ratio of flour and water, but anyone know how to cook it over a fire? I want to be able to make it on certain trips and such. Also, how do you tell when hardtack actually does go bad? Whenever that may be.
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The traditional hard tack that I'm thinking of should last for years. It doesn't go bad at once, you just have to scrape away any mouldy or rotten parts and keep eating the rest, just be sure to pull the worms out -or I suppose it would be a good source of protein.

I would consider what you want to make to be more like camp bread.
 
Yeah, he's confusing hardtack with bannock, or some other sort of camp bread.

What we are saying, is that making hardtack is a home solution, NOT a camping solution, due the the need for minimal moisture and regulated temperatures AND time.

I don't know how else to reply, hardtack is not something you want to attempt outdoors if you don't understand that you would need an oven and know how to operate the oven you made.

This could be possible IF you managed to make an oven in the wild, IF you can maintain temperatures, however the expenditure of time and resources does not lend itself to anything less than a dedicated campsite.
 
Don't forget to add salt to the flour and water mixture, and be sure to bake until moisture is out - it's something best done at home before you head out. I always used to carry a good amount of hardtack in my saddlebags, sometimes for more than 10 days at a time. One good thing is that it doesn't easily break up into pieces and crumbs with hard traveling, pack or saddlebags. It can also be boiled or crumbled into soups or stews on the trail for thickening. I don't think I've ever seen it go bad.
 
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