Hardtack
List of Ingredients
Hardtack, pilot bread, hardbread—all the same product issued by the army in the North or South as a staple for men on the march. It was often accompanied by beef jerky. (Did you know cattle rustling by armies
during the Civil War wasone of the biggest hazards to trail herds?)
Alternately known as "tooth-dullers," "sheet iron," and "crown-breakers," hardtack was more something to be sucked on than chewed. Eaten straight, it was often broken on the top of a fence post or corner of a
box to make smaller pieces. Dipped in hot coffee, it was more edible. Soaked well in water and fried in salt pork fat, it was almost tasty.
The men of both Union and Confederate regiments sometimes referred to hardtack as worm castles. After being carried in hot, humid weather, it not only absorbed moisture from humidity but also from the sweat of
the men carrying it. It sometimes became just plain wet when carried in a rainstorm or camping in a swamp. Cloth, even tarred cloth, did little to protect the hardtack from moisture and humidity. When the hardtack
became inhabited, men often boiled it in their coffee so as to make the worms rise to the surface where they could be skimmed off the liquid.
Mix well with a fork:
4 cups of flour (preferably not white flour)
2 tablespoons of fat (lard most commonly--Crisco can be substituted)
2 tablespoons of cream of tartar (a powder which, mixed with baking soda, makes baking powder)
Dissolve in 1 cup water:
1 teaspoon of saleratus (baking soda)
1½ teaspoons of salt
Combine liquid and dry ingredients; mix well. Roll out dough 3/8" thick (up to a half-inch is okay too) with a rolling pin. Cut into 3" x 3" squares. Use a 1/8" dowel to put 16
holes in each cracker in a 4 x 4 pattern.
Bake 20-25 minutes at 450F. When done, let air-dry for minimum of 24 hours (preferably more) before you put in a bag or sealed container. Yield: 11 or so crackers. Recipe
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