Not gonna list recipe or steps.....far too easy and plenty of places on the webz shows how to do it.


Made some....pretty easy.

Next step, gonna try and make some over a coal fire or camp fire or maybe gas grill.


May not always have an oven.


Also, for the "why".....


Because maybe prepackaged survival food won't always be available.


It's good knowledge to know how to do this

I had it pretty often as a kid. It was a staple as far as camping with the older guys went. Broken up and added to squirrel gravy over squirrel with eggs isn't bad at all.

Yup.  Used to Tony Cs  ..in mine.
Had to eat that shit for a month. Wife and kid..spit it out

No but we have a thread or two once in a while.



Will have to make some time some time.



https://www.ar15.com/forums/t_10_17/660621_Hard_Tack.html&light=hard%7Ctack

I think in the old days they very seldom ate it as is unless no other option.  Most of the time they used it to thicken something like a soup or stew.  Of course if there was nothing, it beats hollow belly.

Doc

I baked it with a group of students one year when we were reading a novel set on an 19th century tall ship.

We made some in 3rd grade. We made a map of California with it-- the recipe's the same.

This guy has lots of useful videos.

I have made it.


Winter cooking as the oven is on a long time and the drier the air is the better.




Used to just break it up and stick a chunk in my mouth to suck on during online gaming.  Keeps from eating fritos and stuff like that.




Mine was so hard it rang like a porcelain tile when you whacked it.




Kept a LOOOONG time. Ate a piece a couple of years after I made it once. Not a lot different but a little "musty" smell.


 

Considering what is in it, and how easy it is, the stuff you buy is stupid expensive.

In regards to hangry Vs. hungry Vs. starving. Belive me here or don't.

When I'm hangry I should eat because it's been a few hours. When I'm hungry I should eat because I haven't eaten all day.

"I'm starving". I have been what you can call lucky enough at this point in my life to starve. Starving is when you boil frogs and eat them. Starving is when you almost get ejected from a school in the Army because you very seriously threatened to kill a guy you have known for 5 years over stolen wheat snack bread with a Vietnam era E-tool, starving is when you literally can not stop eating bugs, starving is when the CPS lady breaks down in tears because you as a 9 year old killed the neighbors pig with a pick axe  and cooked it on a burning tire.

That being said I do honestly think everyone mildly serious about getting by should be able to make hard tack and gravy from forest critter.

I even have a wood GH Bent Co hardtack box to put it in. Now you just need some pickled beef and some desecrated veggies and you have a Civil War meal.

Ok then.

I tried some hard tack as a kid at an Oregon Trail museum field trip. As an adult I was reminded of it when I ate old school mre crackers. I am wanting to mak3 some to tRyan out in case of emergencies

One step above hard tac is tortillas.  Flour, lard and salt.  Takes a little practice but much more versatile .  One step above that is sourdough bread made with:  wait for it .......
YES - your own home grown sourdough!  A real staple in the old days.  
A little off topic but knowing how to use all this material - cook it - use it - it may just save your (and yours) life's - take the time and practice.  You may be surprised.

Off topic but good.  That's what these threads are for.....discussion and ideas.


Along the lines of "knowing how to use the material" ,  I decided to try and cook bread several different ways  

Found a great website that discussed the fact that in a power outage or emergency you may not have access to a generator or traditional stove.

You should know how to cook bread on the grill, on a jet stove, and even boiling it (bagels)

The "bagel" I found most interesting. Boil it, then a few minutes on a grill to toast it.

I don't think it's exactly hardtack but I get the Wasa multigrain "crispbread".  It's not bad.  You have to be in the mood for something crunchy...it's kind of cracker-like.

We do it all the time.. have a super simple, 4 ingredient recipe. No kneading. Made some this weekend while camping..





And used one loaf to make a "french toast casserole"..

Down here (NM) tortillas are the thing (a unleavened flat bread of sorts).  3 cups flour, a little salt (need to adjust for individual taste), 3 tsp. baking powder and 3 tbl lard (or other oil products but lard is best).  Mix with water until fairly stiff but not sticky.  Make small 'balls' (about half the size of a tennis ball) and roll out flat and round (this part takes practice).  We use a cast iron 'cazmal' or any flat surface will do with high heat.  Cook until slightly brown - these things can be eaten by themselves or are soft enough to make burritos .... fast, easy, cheap and versatile.  
Making pasta is also about as easy but that's another thing ................  

That's the reason they have those holes in them: make them bake evenly.

You mind sharing?  Always looking for another easy bread recipe!

Doc

2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast (1 packet, if you roll that way, we use SAF-Instant in the pound blocks)
1 1/2 cups warm water
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 cups bread flour or all-purpose flour and a bit more for dusting the bread after rising and the bench. (I am currently experimenting with getting a good rise with fresh ground flour)

Proof the yeast in a large bowl, then stir in the flour and salt, mixing well. Cover, and let stand 6-18 hours.
Turn it out onto a floured surface, and fold a few times, forming a ball. It's often "looser" then I like, so I add in some flour as needed, usually a couple tablespoons.
Form into a ball and place on a sheet of parchment paper, cover and allow to rest for another hour or two.
Preheat a dutch oven to 450F.
Remove lid, lift in bread on parchment, slash with lame, cover. Bake until done, usually around 35 minutes.. should sound solid and hollow when thumped.
Lift out of oven, let stand an hour..

For camping trips, I usually just put all the dry in a ziplock together, when ready, I dump it into a bowl, add water, stir. So far.. never a yeast failure, but it is a possibility doing it this way.

OP: sorry for going off track from hardtack.. my thoughts have always been to be prepared, and to make bread if at all possible. I keep a sourdough starter running, along with a couple friends, at their homes, that runs back to the 1840's.. With that starter, everything else you need to make good edible, not teeth shattering bread, is normal food stuffs. Wheat, Salt, Water, Sugar, Oil.