Hardtack: A Great, Cheap Addition to Your Survival Gear
Looking for a way to use up surplus flour, or make a cheap trail food or durable survival ration? One answer may be hardtack, a baked, unleavened wheat cracker. As a survival food, hardtack has a proven track record.
A sit-down dinner was usually a luxury! (Library of Congress photo)
by Leon Pantenburg
Vicksburg, MS: My gray-clad brothers-in-arms and I hunkered down to eat. In the morning, we would do battle with those “heathen Yankee horde” Civil War re-enactors at Champions Hill, between Jackson and Vicksburg, Mississippi.
I was “under cover” on assignment for the Vicksburg Post to photograph the battle, one of the biggest re-enactments of the year. Except for the Nikon safely hidden in my haversack, my gear, weapons and accouterments were authentic in every way.
Since I was working for the Post, I had to represent the home team and be a Confederate. (This probably caused a minor earth tremor in Ruthven, Iowa, as my great-great-grandfather, James Hallowell, 92th Illinois Infantry, rolled in his grave!)
- Hardtack is easy to make, has a long shelf life, and all the flavor and texture of a fired brick!
Hardtack is one of the original trail and emergency foods, and it is worth considering if you are a prepper or are interested in wilderness or urban survival. The advantage is that hardtack is easy to make, transports easily and will last a reasonably long time if stored in appropriate containers. The disadvantage is the bland taste, and traditional toughness.
Even after yeast was discovered by the Egyptians, there was a purpose for unleavened breads. It was easy to carry and durable, so it was standard fare for hunters and warriors. Centuries later, Christopher Columbus took unleavened bread on his journeys.
Hardtack remained a staple in the New World. During the early settlement of North America, the exploration of the continent, the American Revolution, and on through the American
Hardtack was a durable, if bland-tasting, field ration.
Civil War, armies were kept alive with hardtack. A basic concept in war is that the side that keeps its soldiers from going hungry will probably win.
Hardtack is also reasonably nutritious. Wheat flour is more than 10% protein and includes Vitamin B. During emergencies, people can live for quite a while on just bread and water. Although raw flour is hard to digest, in the form of hard bread, it is edible.
No one has determined just when, or how, during the American Civil War, hard bread began to be referred to as hardtack. Apparently, it was first called hardtack by the Union Army of the Potomac; although the name spread to other units, it was generally referred to as hard bread by the armies of the West.
Regardless of the time frame, if you’re a history buff, prepper or hard-core survivalist, you should consider including hardtack in your emergency food supplies or survival kit. A guaranteed conversation starter at any campfire, campout or outdoor event, hardtack can have a useful place in today’s survival kit.
(It only takes a few additional ingredients to turbocharge the nutritional value of hardtack. To each cup of flour in the recipe, add one tablespoon of soy flour, one teaspoon of wheat germ and one teaspoon of powdered milk. There is no difference in the taste, and these ingredients combine to make the bread a complete protein.)
There are many versions and varieties of hardtack recipes: Try some of these to start out.
- 4 cups flour (preferably whole wheat)
- 4 teaspoons salt
- Water (about 2 cups)
- Pre-heat oven to 375° F
- Makes about 10 pieces
I cup water
3 tbsp. vegetable oil
3 tbsp. honey
>3 cups rye flour (or 1 1/2 cups rye & 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour)
>1 1/2 tbsp. brewer’s yeast (optional)
1/4 tsp. salt
Mix liquids together. In a separate bowl, mix dry ingredients. Combine the mixtures, stirring to moisten throughout. Form a ball. On a floured surface, flatten the dough, and roll out thinly. Cut into squares and prick each cracker with the tines of a fork a couple of times. Transfer to lightly greased baking sheets. Bake at 425° F for around 8 minutes, checking to be sure not to over-brown. It is best served warm.
Mix: two cups of all-purpose flour and a half teaspoon of salt. Use more salt for authenticity. Mix by hand. Add a teaspoon of shortening and a half cup of water, stirred in a little at a time to form a very stiff dough. Beat the dough to a half inch thickness with a clean top mallet or rifle butt. Fold the sheet of dough into six layers. Continue to beat and to fold the dough a half dozen times until it is elastic. Roll the dough out to a half-inch thickness before cutting it with a floured biscuit cutter or bayonet. Bake for about a half hour in a 325° F oven.
The basic ingredients are flour, salt and water. General directions are also similar: Dissolve the salt in water and work it into flour using your hands. The dough should be firm and pliable but not sticky or dry. Flatten the dough onto a cookie sheet to about 1/4 inch thick, and cut into squares 3 inches by 3 inches. Pierce each square with 16 holes about ½ inch apart. Bake in oven until edges are brown or dough is hard.
Preheat the oven to 400° F For each cup of flour add 1 teaspoon of salt. Mix salt and flour with just enough water to bind. Bake 20-25 minutes. The longer you bake the hardtack, the more authentic it will appear.
A Sailor’s Diet
- 2 1/2 cups old-fashioned or quick oats.
- 3 cups unbleached flour.
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt.
- 1 teaspoon baking soda.
In a separate container, mix:
- 1 1/2 cups buttermilk.
- 3 tablespoons honey.
- 1/2 cup melted bacon drippings or shortening.
Combine the two sets of ingredients. When the dough is thoroughly mixed, roll it out on a floured board to a thickness of about a quarter inch. Cut out circles of dough with a large drinking glass dipped in flour and put them on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake for about 5 1/2 minutes at 450° F.
Let the hardtack cool on a wire rack before serving with jam or jelly.
Another excellent recipe Leon!!
I think a lot of our traditional foods and dishes were designed for long term storage. (IE: sausage, jerky, kim chee, various aged cheeses, smoked meats etc) Sour kraut, for example, is almost a food group in my ethnic background. But I eat it because I like it!
I guess Matzo is Hebrew Hardtack! Same ingredients, easier to eat (does not hold together as well), can be purchased at a store and it’s Kosher. And the reason they would have taken that on the Exodus is that is would keep, not that they didn’t have time for it to rise.
…I also believe the guy said that the hardtack was several years old…. Im not too sure though. i was young but very interested. Especially when they fired the mortars and the cannon. I guess it wasnt a reenactment. more like a private showing/field trip for school. one of my classmates helped out with the reenactments.
I tried hardtack at a civil war reenactment for the first time. That was about 12 years ago. I remember one of the men saying that you could just scrape off the mold and keep on eatin’ it. I’m not so sure I’d want to but if desperate times called for it, I might have to. I guess I’ll have to make some for myself. I just remember it being tough but I thought it didnt taste bad.
I will try this recipe out – sounds like it would be really good! The basic hardtack recipe is pretty bland!
Ive been making and enjoying hardtack for years. i like to use native pecans in mine. 2 cups organic whole wheat, 2 cups unbleached organic flour, 2 cups whole rolled oats 2 cups pecans(chopped), 1 cup rasins or any dried fruit that you like,1 cup organic olive oil, 1 tbl. spoon baking soda, 1tsp sea salt and 2 cups buttermilk. mix dry ing. and wet ing.seperately then combine. roll to about 3/8 th thick. cut into squares or rounds, place in oven at about 375 for 40 min. let cool and enjoy. I’m not sure of shelf life as they disappear quickly
Yes – hardtack can be a nutritious food! Amend each cup of flour with: 1 Tbs soy flour; 1 tsp wheat germ and 1Tbs of dried milk. This gets all the enzymes working together to make a complete protein, similar to meat. This info came from a great bread book: “Classic Sourdoughs” by Ed Wood
Is there a way to add protein to hardtack?
Good question! I imagine a ziploc bag or some sort of air-tight container would be best. I have seen hardtack from the Civil War at the Old Court House Museum, in Vicksburg, MS, so I have no idea what the shelf life might be! I assume that if no mold developed, hardtack would last a long, long time.
Excellent advice on hardtack. The US Army used it during the Mexican Punitive Expedition and the soldiers softened it in bacon grease when hey had bacon to add to the flavor, or they softened it in a molasses gruel. What do you recommend to store it in? Could ammo cans serve. Great site!
Anything would be an improvement! I will try the caraway seeds – thanks for the tip!
Hardtack CAN be made a bit tastier – add caraway seeds. They’ve always been popular among north european immigrants. My oma taught me this trick and it REALLY helps. Excellent website. Keep up the good work.
Hardtack usually comes out of the oven kinda soft. Give it a little while and it should “set” and will be hard as a brick!
Leon,
Thanks for the recipes!
I made the Sailor’s Diet. Is this supposed to come out hard like the other hard tack recipes? Or is this more like a biscuit? Mine came out moist after 6 min. @ 450 deg. I like it but I’m not sure it will preserve like hard tack.
Thanks for reading!
great post as usual!
Oh, I don’t think hardtack is all that bad!!! I’ve been hungry enough a few times elk hunting that hardtack (and my MRE) tasted really good!
I don’t recommend taking hardtack to a potluck, though.
It can be made healthier, too. Just add 1 tablespoon of soy flour, one teaspoon of wheat germ and one teaspoon of powdered milk to each cup of flour and the enzymes combine to make a complete protein. Not a lot you can do to make the flavor less bland, though!