Hard Tack

Going on a long sea voyage anytime soon? Needing a little more realism in your monthly civil war reenactments? Want to show your students how life was hard?

Then whip up a batch of hard tack. From Wikipedia:

Hardtack (or hard tack) is a simple type of cracker or biscuit, made from flour, water, and sometimes salt. Inexpensive and long-lasting, it was and is used for sustenance in the absence of perishable foods, commonly during long sea voyages and military campaigns.[1] The name derives from the British sailor slang for food, "tack". It is known by other names such as pilot bread (as rations for ship's pilots[2]), ship's biscuit, shipbiscuit, sea biscuit, sea bread (as rations for sailors) or pejoratively "dog biscuits," "tooth dullers," "sheet iron," "worm castles" or "molar breakers".[3] Australian military personnel know them as ANZAC wafers.

Step 1: Ingredients

You don't need much to make some hard tack

2 c. whole wheat flour
1 c. Water
1 tsp salt
1 nail (clean of course!)

Step 2: Mix Ingredients

First, preheat your oven to 375 degrees

Then mix the flour, water and salt until you get a nice ball of dough that doesn't stick too much to your hands. It should be kinda like pie crust.

Step 3: Cut Crackers

Once you have the dough, flatten it out and cut into 3" x 3" squares. Then poke holes into the squares and lay out onto a cookie sheet. 

Step 4: Bake

Next you want to bake the crackers, about 30 minutes each side, just watch them so they don't burn.

Once brown, let them cool.

Step 5: Serve (and Break Your Teeth...)

Once they are baked, they are ready to serve. Note, these are VERY hard, please soak them in liquid a bit before trying to eat one.

These will last a very long time as long as they are kept dry, perfect for getting lost at sea!