Making hard tack, cheap survival food

[David LaPell]

I have been trying to stock up on some long term food storage but being on a fixed income it is hard to try and keep some canned stuff in stock, so I had looked up the recipe for hard tack, which from all the sources I have checked keeps for longer than MRE's as long as it is properly made and stored. So, I made a batch today, and of course, it is hard as a rock. But I also found sources of how to reconstitute hard tack where you can use broth or cook it in some butter to soften it up. All of which can make it better to get down. So without further ado, here is a simple recipe.

3 cups flour
1 cup water
2 teaspoons of salt

Mix the ingredients together in a bowl and and make the dough and then roll it out to about 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch thick. Cut it into 3 inch by 3 inch squares with a pizza cutter. Take a fork and poke a few holes in each piece. Place the squares on a cookie sheet with no grease what so ever. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes, take them out flip them and bake for another 30 minutes. Let them cool and keep them in a container on a counter away from the cold for a couple of days to harden up some more and then you should be able to store them for about a year or more with no problems. If you want them to last longer wrap them in some aluminum foil and place in an airtight container. Just a reminder that these things are HARD, which is what you want because the moisture is all out of them, making them good for long term. They certainly might not be the easiest thing or the tastiest, but they are cheap to make and for a couple of pounds of flour, salt and water you can make a lot of them for very little in the way of money.

[Dorado]

But I also found sources of how to reconstitute hard tack where you can use broth or cook it in some butter to soften it up. All of which can make it better to get down. So without further ado, here is a simple recipe.

You found hard tack recipies? Where? I've made some but I don't know how to make it edible. I keep a few "bricks" in my bug out bag, but getting them where you don't need a hammer to eat them is escaping me. Have you tried any?

[John Allen]

You can always do like the civil war soldiers did and cook it with salt pork (aka bacon) I bet some bacon grease would make those biscuits taste great.

[Bored1]

THANKS a TON for the idea!!! Been trying to come up with inexpensive ideas for food solutions that don't break the bank, and you just gave me one I hadn't even thought of.

[xacex]

I wounder how long this would keep in vacuum sealed bags? Can I add some dried herbs like oregano, or vegetables that are dried and ground to get some nutritional value out of this stuff?

[imashooter2]

About a year? Screw that. Saltines will last a year and they're actually palatable.

[Blacksmith]

Almost any kind of pasta product will keep for a long time if vacuum sealed. To make it palatable just boil in water till soft, drain and add whatever you have for flavor.

Make a little bullion with a bullion cube or two (they also keep for long periods).

A little oil and garlic.

Or add pasta sauce, or a can of soup, or gather some wild greens and chop them up.

Put in a can of tuna, or a can of cat food.

Lots of possibilities not gourmet but it will keep you going. Pasta on sale $0.99 a pound or less, bullion cubes on sale $0.99 per jar of 25. I bought some of each last week.

[randyrat]

I was thinking about making 3 cups of flour and 1 cup of bullion, then bake. All you need to do is add water and maybe a little more bullion. Be careful, animals can smell this stuff a long ways away, if your camping or out in the wild. Seal it up real good. Bear love chicken and dumplings.

[MT Gianni]

If you just need something to last for a month or so JR had or has a biscuit recipe on his page that is great.

[Denny303]

vacuum seal bannock ingredients and make as needed?

[3006guns]

Tried steaming it? After all, you've removed all the water so placing it in a covered container with water and heating should soften it. Another possibility would be adding some sort of flavor such as beef or chickent bullion and ending up with a soup and dumplings...........sort of.

Whoops........just saw that someone else made the suggestion!

[psl sniper]

God i hope i never have to live on that stuff. Had it before. There are way to make it more palatable but still. .....

[Outpost75]

dupe post deleed

[Outpost75]

Not sure on long term storage life, but ok for a year using equal parts of all purpose flour, fine ground corn meal and bean flour, made with beef bouiilion, seasoned with 1 tsp each per pound of dry ingredients of salt, onion powder, sage, black and red pepper has a good flavor and is more nutritious than traditional hardtack.

[wch]

You can always do like the civil war soldiers did and cook it with salt pork (aka bacon) I bet some bacon grease would make those biscuits taste great.

The story goes that a Union soldier was quite enamored of hardtack, and one day an officer asked him why he was incessantly chewing on a piece.
He replied "The juice sir, I'm very fond of the juice"!

[Hickory]

Put in a can of tuna, or a can of cat food.

Another wise man who figured out that these two are the same thing.

[unclogum bill]

Bulk store here will sell you a 50 lb sack of rice, 50 pound sack of flour, 20 pounds of sugar, For 50 bucks I believe.(Cash and Carry, Warrenton Oregon) Sack of oatmeal, some lard and 20 pounds of potatoes, little salt, you should still be under 100.00 You can mix anything with rice. Asians club rats in the rice field and use them well. Guessing no different than squirrel. Not saying its going to be tasty, but you wont be empty either.

[OBIII]

Jerky is often overlooked, since it is cured, if kept dry will last for a long time. Cut into thin pieces, reconstitute in boiling water or broth, add to soups, stews, etc. Don't add a lot of salt until tasting. Whack some hard tack with a hammer and use for dumplings. Just a thought.
OB

[Ernest]

I have heard that is is good to dip/soak in coffee . That is supposed to soften it up. I suppose that you could make hot coacoa with dryed ingredients and soften it with that also for a very caloricly dense meal.

[giericd]

I'm always interested in new ideas to add to my prepping list : 3 cups flour/1 water/ 2ts salt should last for a long time if totally dehydrated and sealed. But my only question would be why? If dehydrated enough to prevent mould and sealed then you are back to a rock of flour and salt- the nutritional value of a rock. If you were ever in a situation where you had to eat it, it wouldn't have any nutrition it would just be a filler so you felt like you ate something. Wouldn't ya just be better off sealing some flour, salt, sugar, pepper, and other ingredients to make something? Just curious, I agree with the sealed pasta and rice.