Survival: How to make Hardtack.

[colorinthemoon]

Hey thanks for the video man. I tried a different recipe, very similar but not exact to yours, and it did not work. Yours did thanks!

[TheMinecraftiaFTW]

what would happen if ya add honey?Because i know money preety much last forever.

[sonofajohny]

Lets just hope i have a oven in a survival situation...

[EricWolfborn]

@sonofajohny You're supposed to make the tack before you need it. That's why it's so good that it keeps for damn near ever.

Even still, a solar oven is easy to make. Cardboard box lined inside with tin foil in direct sunlight with some clear plastic-wrap over one side facing the sun for a few hours will get the job done . You're basically just making a bread greenhouse.

[oneyhay8312]

yo armyranger you dont have to wait for the middle to be dry just put it under a heater or a fan

[YiuTeub]

can you add cayenne powder or something.

[abc114able]

My social studies teacher had a fun day yesterday called life of a Civil War soldier where he pulled out a replica navy pistol, hardtack that his students made last year and an actual cavalry sabre that was really carried in the Civil War. Best day of school in my life.

[CheeseyPie12]

In the civil war, both sides ate a lot of hard tack because it kept so well. But what they would also do is take a hardtack and swirl it around in the grease from when they would fry pork. Once the hardtack was nice and soft, they mashed it until it was like a paste, which made it MUCH easier to eat. They called this "sloosh". I've made it before and it's actually quite good!

[ArmyRanger10]

@Sammmx4 mostly used in the civil war. Some of it has survived and is still edible today.

[pinz2022]

@ArmyRanger10

I believe the Civil War guys made a point of never, ever trying to eat the teeth-dullers straight up. On R. Lee Ermey's "Mail Call", the re-enactor makes a point of getting the sheet-iron crackers good and wet, then mashing em up and frying em up in the melted salt-pork fat in a cooking pot.

[kabukikitsune]

@ArmyRanger10 If you're making it for survival, one trick to soften it is to place it in your skillet after you've made bacon. Let it soak up the drippings and soften.

[ArrowOfFortune]

how hot should you cook it at?

[chuckbyf1]

Yeah, let the mealworms hatch out first then process.

[maxinpains]

you mean.... cracker?

[GrandArchitect3D]

in the civil war the hardtack was better cause it was full of protein packed meal worms

[KevinLounsberry]

@GrandArchitect3D lol, really?

[DarthCelcius]

So basically a cream cracker.

[TheSambion]

i think its supposed to he half a inch and 400F.

[CSyoshoro]

Mine is always stickin to the pan.

[Jdog5785]

A great video. There has been changes to rations every so many years but, hard tack most likely had the longest era of all.

[j0ehellm0n]

made a batch tastes like us risen bread lol

[derpasaurusrex]

lol i used the same bowl!

[cgkeddington]

WHAT SHOULD I do everytime i make this its not hard and it is burnt up

[ArmyRanger10]

The dough should be really dry before you put it in the oven. Dont add other ingredients except water and flour. Try flipping it if its burning.

[bleieshia]

@ArmyRanger10

Do you use all purpose flour?

[mryellow123]

@cgkeddington Depending on oven, it will be soft after baking. It goes hard over time as the remaining moisture escapes. Industrial production involves kiln drying to remove moisture and extend shelf-life.

[cgkeddington]

when i make my it always is burnt up its black on the ends what should i do

[PsilocybinDream]

i like hardtack, that used to be my favorite food when i was like 9

[ewkeane]

If you have a cup and a cup heater and fuel, boil up some water with a bullion cube or two, and add crunched up hard tack. Let it steep till the hard tack is edible. Beats starving. Thanks for caring enough to post this vid, AR10.

[HostTwilightfan1010]

In my history class we can make hard tacked for extra credit and my friend made some it was so hard that it chipped a guys tooth!!!

[sweettee5868]

Just wondering,,,,,,have you ever cleaned that oven? lol  kewl video thanks

[ArmyRanger10]

It gets cleaned every couple months. Recently the oven broke and no longer works.....

[REBELSOUTH1]

this is hard tack CLAMG CLANG. lol

[medievalman86]

gonna start looking further into this, but while im searching, are there any sites, recipes and such? (like ways to sweeten it (could you put cinamon in it instead of salt?) things of that nature.

[ArmyRanger10]

Google has some good recipes. You can sweeten it but it would attract bugs and the hardtack wouldn't last as long.

[AWV34]

Sailor Boy Pilot Bread (Crackers) are very good and last for years. They are much easier to eat than hartack. They are found up in Alaska but can be ordered on line. I know Winco Grocery stores on the West Coast sells them in their bulk bins. I have a couple dozen boxes of them in my food storage. Kids love 'em with peanut butter or cheese and lunch meat on top.

[survivalistguy]

Hey nice video, good survival food. I'll be sure to check your other videos out.

[2012solarboom]

Cool Survival food info. Thanks

[nearadyn]

I'm a civil war reenactor. A friend of mine and I tried putting Louisiana Hot Sauce in our hardtack mix. It turned it a little pink and made it just a little spicy but not too spicy. We made a LOT of it and 2 years later found some of it sitting in the cupboard unwrapped. No bugs were in it at all. We took it to our next event and ate it and it still tasted good. I think a little hot sauce will keep the weevils away.

[bobo53charternet]

i hear if you put honey in it, it becomes tasty but harder than steel.

[ArmyRanger10]

Wouldnt that attract bugs or mold? Sounds like a good idea though.

[bobo53charternet]

the sweetness might attract bugs, but honey is one of the longest lasting foods in existence. people found honey from ancient egypt still preserved.

[Enjoi4659]

the good thing about hard tack that i just cant figure out is that it dosnt mold

[BlightedJosh]

No moisture. It is completely dry, hence why it lasts so long.

[tommyballe]

Yeah, it's true.

You can sharpen it and cut skin with it too.

[soodime]

how would they get a hold of an oven in the civil war?

[ArmyRanger10]

They didnt have ovens like us. But when they made them they had wood stove ovens.

[defiantloser]

you can also make an oven by burying a pot on its side and propping the lid on with a rock then you move some coals from your fire over to your oven and trap heat by putting dirt and rocks over your coals or a dutch oven  would work or you could just use a oven made from piling rocks or just cook it on a rock

[davideli7879]

Will It might be good to use in soups, and stews, I don't think I would want to eat it ever day. But it is easy to make, you don't need baking soda, or powder. Thanks for posting this, I am going to give it a try, will post you on how it goes.

[OKBushcraft]

great vid, I make unleavened bread but it isn't this hard. 5/5

[DecimusAquila]

how long does this stuff last?

[ArmyRanger10]

There is still some from the civil war thats edible.

[DecimusAquila]

thank you

[RangerArmy1000]

thanks now i know how to make a cake for wilderness survival. All you do is show us how to use a cookie sheet and an oven to eat flower! How do u use hardtack to kill yourself? please demonstrate.

[ArmyRanger10]

I could hit you in the head with it.

[ladiesman940]

i eat steroids

[flamedrag18]

I was always wondering?

could you add dry vitamins and minerals to hardtack to make it more nutritious?

I think it would be a great idea, don't you?

[ArmyRanger10]

You could add them but most burn off when your cooking. It is a good idea though.

[vonhismean]

Dang must have missed this video. I am going to try this and make a video with some other spices or something. Thanks for the idea.

[ilikenirvana2]

im going to make a sword from hardtack and kill bears

any opinions?

GOOD

[ArmyRanger10]

Make one end sharp.

[ilikenirvana2]

lol! Good come back ;p

[ArmyRanger10]

lol, thanks,

[Garuda1337]

rofl

[Wonkydude]

Well back then they didn't have the best dental hygiene so that probably contributed.

[NolanWhite]

hardtack is what this stuff is called? my mom just calls this food "bake" although she tends to add stuff to it since its not for survival.

still great vid.

[Oujiboyyy]

thanks man i think they taste good but my old 5th grade teacher made them in balls.

[m6dm90]

put some hemp powder for protein

[johnboyrebel27]

i have made "bannock" which is made similar to this but is cooked in rope form and comes out more like bread. i reccomend adding a little sugar or maybe even some chicken bullion cube ground down......

[NaturalBushcraft]

Checkout my website to see how I cook Bannock :)

[SoldierK4]

ok thanks ill make some and try it

[SoldierK4]

like that guy said can you moisten then eat? or is it bad for you?

[ArmyRanger10]

Only moisten it if you plan on eating it soon. Dont moisten it and then store it because it will get moldy and go bad.

[TheMrHarryShow]

can you eat it like a cookie in its hard form or do you have to soak it and eat it

[ArmyRanger10]

Its very hard and stale. I have eaten it stale and your teeth hurt after... I wouldnt recommend it.

[achain88]

i had it with 6 pinches of salt and it still tasted like shat, listen-flour and water WTF how much more basic can it get its SHAT!

[ArmyRanger10]

Gotta spice it up a bit add some flavor. I just use it to have flower when im in the woods.

[achain88]

its tastes like shit

[chrisvscrispychicken]

Not if you add lots of salt!

[gowwe12]

i just make it and put it in a pan and ovened it, but my hardtack was kinnda watery

[AtomFury]

Good video, the Roman military also used a variation of this but added olive oil as well and it was shaped into circles. Known as bucellatum (pronounced booh-kell-ah-tum)

[Burhan243]

hey thanks alot, i didnt know that you could use it again for flour.

you can also use it in stew, boil mushrooms(make sure edible), jerky, roots, plant, veggies, etc. and add hardtack. its very nice, great for a group of people with not enough food. if by yourself and theres some left, put it in canteen, etc. and heat it for later. fills you up real nice.

really great vid, thanks!

[BillyGoat4x4]

That's a great idea...thanks.

I've been making bannock at home as practice for when I go camping. I'm really interested in easily made breads...

So you can add a little water to the hardtack and that makes it softer but does it fluff up at all? Maybe when heated?

I'll try this soon...

[benjiboywise]

a little not much at all thought

[brandystoy]

good work.

[porn1978]

uugh would anyone eat and enjoy hard ass dough.

[magicster123]

if they were hungry they would, you would too

[RCTAddict]

you r supposed to make it moist again if u need it for flower for pancakes and stuff if u weren't listening

[porn1978]

shut up man,its still gross regardless

[itzkrisyall]

com'on man, when you're hungry I bet you will make this

[soodime]

i love hardtack! kinda weird but i do. i remember back in 5th grade for the oregon trail we could bring in food they would eat and someone brought in hardtack and i was the only one that really liked it. so i had like 20 more pieces of it that people gave me and i ate it in like 15 minutes. very good stuff.

[fudrukrs]

very nice video but i think that the salt might not be the best because it will make you thirsty but otherwise great video

[ArmyRanger10]

Thanks for the comment. Salt will make you thirsty but its also an electrolyte which helps store water.

[slsskrxoxo]

how long will that stuff last

[ArmyRanger10]

Depending on how you make it it can last just about forever. Theres still hardtack from the civil war thats edible.

[skemo90710]

hard tack was use on travilling ships as well and it was aorgianaly made in newfoundlnad (in canada) my home it is a small island mainly used for fishing and travilling boats hardtack was the main source of food for the sailours cuz it did not spoil eazily and was fast 2 make

[PaulyCracker]

Oh and can you use any type of flour, eg. corn, wheat, sorghum, rye, etc.?

[ArmyRanger10]

Im pretty sure you can use any type of flour but wheat is probably the best.

[PaulyCracker]

Everytime I make this it turns out too hard to eat. I must be doing something wrong but can't figure it out. And ideas AR?

[ArmyRanger10]

Thanks for the comment. No your not doing anything wrong hardtack is very stale. The best way to eat it is to soak it in water or break it up.

[PaulyCracker]

Excellent Army, thanks for the help!

[JustaMidwesternGuy]

Thank you. Have a Great Day

[deathbros100]

ty ty i need to learn how to make this for history class

[wildlifeed]

Great video!! Ed

[survivetheoutdoors]

what is a hardtack?

[ArmyRanger10]

Hardtack is basically flour in a stale bar. Its good for camping and long term storage of flour. It was used in the Civil war as long term food because it took a long time to get to the front lines.

[survivetheoutdoors]

ohh thanks for the info

[survivetheoutdoors]

how long? just generally, so i know how long to keep it

[ArmyRanger10]

Im not sure how long it lasts but there are still some pieces of hardtack from the civil war that is still edible today.

[wildlifeed]

In Newfoundland, where I am from, we use hard tack on a constant basis. We use it for making Fisherman's Brewis. In the past, Fisherman took it with them as survival rations. Great stuff. I can buy it here realitively cheap. Great with Peanut butter, lol

[xxkid123]

nice man

[pope1513]

nice!5/5

[Tommyschlock]

You should consider at least toning down the music. I would occasionally make out some audio commentary, but could it never overcome the louder music.

[ArmyRanger10]

Hey Tommy, I agree I didnt find out about the music until after I uploaded it on youtube.

[86thmountmerrion]

That+syrup=Mmmmmmhhhhhhhh.....­....!!!Lol

Well done 5/5!!!

[73mensailedoff]

Well done 5*

[CPLBSS88]

what temp on oven?

[ArmyRanger10]

375.

[deedpole]

very good vid a must try

[CATmover1]

MMMmmmm... looks very tasty!

5/5

[Josiah531]

1 full cup flour

1/2 cup water

pinch of salt

Does it matter what type of flour (self rising, all purpose, etc?)

Now this is something I got to try. I wonder if you could do it is a dutch oven.

[ArmyRanger10]

Thanks Josiah. I used Regular all purpose flour. It probably would work in a Dutch oven, the cooking times would probably change. Just remember no oil or grease on the pan. If you make it right this stuff can last a long time.

[blan101]

You didnt give a recipe or mixing instructions?

[ArmyRanger10]

Just added info in the description. You will need:

1 cup flour 1/2 cup water salt Mix everything all up in a bowl, The dough will be dry so dont add to much water. Next beet it and flatten it out about 1/2 inch thick. If you want you can make squares out of it. Poke some holes with a fork on both sides. Then put in the oven for 30 minutes, do NOT use any oil grease butter or anything on the pan. After 30 minutes flip the hardtack and cook for another 30 minutes.