Janey (I) wrote:
>
>
> > 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

Then Henry wrote:

> 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.

Henry, Henry, Henry,

While I appreciate your commitment to authenticity, it would be entirely
wasted on the little ones who come for our summer program. They have enough
trouble understanding what ten years ago is, let alone a hundred and fifty.

I promise that if we ever have the occasion to give out hard tack to anyone
over 12 I will use your recipe. But you have opened a can of worms here. Where
do I get the historic flour? Do I grind it from grain myself or do I locate a
flour mill? What kind of oven is authentic enough for me to bake it in?

Oh, Henry! Look what you have started.

Janey

>
> 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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