350 grams Unbleached AP White Flour
100 grams Whole Wheat Flour
200 grams Water
2 tsp Sea Salt
Preheat your oven to 300F.
Add all of the ingredients to a bowl, and mix with a spoon until they come together as a dough.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured pastry board and knead it for about five minutes, until all the ingredients are thoroughly mixed and you’re starting to get some gluten development. Then form the dough into a ball, cover with plastic wrap, and allow it to rest for fifteen to twenty minutes to let the flour finish hydrating.
At the end of that time, give the dough a couple of light kneads, then divide it in half. In turn, with each half, use a lightly floured rolling pin to roll the dough out until it’s about a third of an inch thick. Use a biscuit cutter (or the lip of a glass) to cut the dough into three-inch rounds, and move the rounds to parchment-lined cookie sheets.
With a serving fork, perforate each uncooked biscuit all across its surface in straight rows. Then bake for an hour, turn the heat off in the oven, and allow the biscuits to sit inside for a second hour while the oven cools.
This should make about two dozen biscuits in all. Stored in airtight containers, they should last just about forever. And the recipe can easily be doubled, tripled, or even quadrupled if your plan is to provision a long sea voyage or a post-apocalyptic bunker.
Version 2
3 cups of white flour
2 teaspoons of salt
1 cup of water
Here’s how to make hardtack:
1. Preheat your oven to 375°.
2. Mix the flour and salt in a bowl.
3. Gradually mix in the water until you form a dough that doesn’t stick to your hands.
4. Use a rolling pin to flatten the dough into a square. Make sure it’s no more than half an inch thick.
5. Cut the dough into 9 squares.
6. Using a nail, make a 4×4 grid of holes in each piece.
7. Put the pieces on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 30 minutes.
8. Turn the squares over and bake for another 30 minutes.
9. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
Ideally, the hardtack should be just a little brown on each side. Adjust the baking time if necessary. Once it’s cool, it should almost be hard as rock.
Each piece is about 150 calories.
Version 3
Traditional Hardtack
6 cups flour
1 cup water
Preheat oven to 375°F. (190°C.)
Mix flour and water together in a bowl. Place the water in the bowl, and slowly add in flour while stirring constantly, until the mixture becomes too thick to stir, at which point enough flour has been added.
Knead dough and roll out until it is 1/2" (1cm.) thick.
Using a pizza cutter, cut the dough into 3"x3" (7cm. x 7cm.) squares.
Poke four rows of four holes in the cracker using a skewer stick.
Lay the crackers out on an ungreased cookie sheet.
Place in oven and bake for 30 minutes.
Remove from oven, flip crackers over, and bake for another 30 minutes.
Take crackers out when they are a light golden brown. Let the crackers cool for 30 minutes before eating.
Version 4
1 lb flour
1/2 pint water
1/2 tablespoon sea salt
Measure out the flour and place in a mixing bowl
Add the sea salt to the flour and mix
Add the water and mix until you have a dough, kneading the dough until all the flour is absorbed (it should be a thick, shiny, stiff mix)
Roll the dough out until fairly thin
Cut the biscuit shapes using a cup rim
Place on a baking tray and prick all over to let out any air when cooking
Bake slowly at only a moderate heat (A moderate heat is 350°C, 177°°F, Gas 4 )until golden
brown (30-40 minutes - the time will depend on thickness of the biscuits). The biscuits should be dry right through or they might go mouldy when you take them to sea.
Turn off the oven and leave to cool. Store in a dry place until needed.
Version 5
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups unbleached white flour
1⁄2-1 teaspoon salt
1 1⁄2 cups water
Stir together dry ingredients in bowl.
Add water gradually and stir until combined; knead in bowl for 5 minutes.
Let rest for 10 minutes.
Roll out to 1/2 inch thickness on greased baking sheet: score into sections at 3 inch intervals, and prick liberally with a fork.
Bake at 325 degrees for 50 minutes, break into pieces along scored lines, and let cool on rack.
Version 6
2 cups of flour
¾ cup water
¾ teaspoon of salt
Mix all the ingredients into a dough and press onto a cookie sheet to a thickness of ½ inch.
Bake in a preheated oven at 400°F (205°C) for half an hour. Don't cut now
Remove from oven, cut dough into 3-inch squares, and punch four rows of holes, four holes per row into the dough (a fork works nicely).
Flip the crackers and return to the oven for another half hour.
I've not tried any of these as yet so I can't comment on Ease, Storage or Edibility
jennyjj01 wrote:"I'm not in the least bit worried because I'm prepared: Are you?"
Londonpreppy wrote: At its core all prepping is, is making sure you're not down to your last sheet of loo roll when you really need a poo.
