Henry and all,

Thank you for all the responses.  We are first looking at suppliers and
would use making it ourselves as a secondary option.

Henry, I do agree with you on not using saltines.  While I can see
instances where you could use it in explaining what hard tack was, we
choose to use authentic as our museum teacher is out in full Civil War
dress and carries authentic artifacts to share with the children.  In
this case, the authenticity is a paramount goal of the program.

Christina
Christina M. Myatt
Theatrical Programming Coordinator
Putnam Museum
1717 West 12th Street
Davenport IA 52804
563.324.1054 ext. 207 (phone)
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-----Original Message-----
From: "Henry B. Crawford" <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Date: Wed, 10 Sep 2003 10:39:06 -0500
Subject: Re: Looking for hard tack

> > 1. Looking for hard tack
> >
> > If you want original hard tack, some are for sale on ebay.
> >
> > If you're giving it to kids in a history program I'd try something
> like those
> > puffy Saltines from the supermarket.
> >
> > Janey
>
>
> No, No, No, No, No!!!!
>
> We're supposed to be as historically honest as possible.  Passing off
> saltines as hardtack is like showing off a Jeep and telling the
> public it's
> a Model T.  It's wrong.
>
> There are ways to make historically authentic hardtack (also called
> sea
> biscuits, navy bread, pilot bread) which are completely and safely
> edible
> AND give the look, feel, and texture of the originals.  Ask most
> living
> history reenactors, as we all know and teach these things.  Here's a
> recipe
> from the Civil War era.  It is taken from the 1862 US Army book of
> recipes.
>
> 5 cups flour
> 1 tablespoon baking powder
> 1 tablespoon salt
> 1 - 1 1/4 cups water
>
> Preheat oven to 450 degrees (of course, back then, the oven was
> considered preheated when the heat felt right).
>
> In a bowl, combine the ingredients to form a stiff, but not dry
> dough.
> The dough should be pliable, but not stick a lot to your hands.
>
> Take this mound of dough, and flatten it out onto a greased cookie
> sheet.  Roll the dough out flat, with a thickness of about 1/2 inch.
>
> Using a knife, divide the dough into 3X3 squares, using a 10-penny
> nail, put a 3X3 matrix of holes into the surface of the dough, all
> the
> way through, at even intervals.  (You can also buy a tin hardtack
> cookie
> cutter which cuts the squares to the right size and punches the holes
> at the
> proper intervals.)
>
> Bake in the oven for approximately 20 minutes, till lightly browned.
> Take out and let cool.  After 24 hours the hardtack will be slightly
> soft.  Thereafter, it hardens, making your dentist your best friend.
>
> The Union Mechanic Baking Company of Baltimore was the primary
> contractor of
> hardtack for both the Federal Army and Navy during the Civil War.
> There are
> several companies which create a credible edible replica the UMBC's
> product.
>
> Cheers,
> HBC
>
> ***************************************
> Henry B. Crawford
> Curator of History
> Museum of Texas Tech University
> Box 43191
> Lubbock, TX  79409-3191
> [log in to unmask]
> 806/742-2442  FAX 742-1136
> Website: http://www.museum.ttu.edu
> ***  Living History . . . Because It's There  ***
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