Making Hardtack the Correct Way

Hardtack (AKA: worm castles, sheet iron crackers, army bread, hard crackers) was the staple food of the Union army during the American Civil War (The Confederates were quite familiar with it as well, but they were more frequently issued corn pone than any other bread). It is a hard, 2" by 3" unleavened cracker with several rows of holes punched in it. A person unfamiliar with hardtack might liken its appearance to an oversized saltine, but when they bit in to it, they would find that the texture and taste of the cracker is rather undesirable. Nonetheless, this non-nutritional hunk of flour and water was what many of the boys in blue and gray subsisted on throughout the war.

Keep in mind that hardtack was not made in the field by the soldiers themselves. It was made by contractors such as G.H. Bent in factories on the homefront and then shipped to the front in fifty pound crates. For this reason, this recipe is intended for use in a modern kitchen at home. If you are very ambitious and you desire a more primitive baking experience, construct a brick or mud oven in your back yard with the help of an adult. I recommend using a kitchen simply because it is a more predictable environment for an inexperienced baker. Here is a good recipe for hardtack from a favorite book of mine:

(Recipe taken from "Rebel Cornbread and Yankee Coffee", by Garry Fisher)

You Will Need:

"4 Cups of presifted flour (William- sometimes I like to use 2 cups of presifted and 2 cups of whole wheat flour in order to simulate flour from a more primitive mill)
2 Teaspoons of Shortening
1 Cup of Water

In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour with the shortening. Mix them together with your hands until thouroghly blended. Add the water, knead the mixture into dough which should be stiff and elastic, not at all sticky to the touch.

Place the dough on a counter or breadboard that has been dusted with flour. Using a heavy mallet, pound the dough out until it is about 1/2 inch thick. Next, fold the dough into 5 or 6 layers, and pound it out again. Repeat the pounding and folding process a total of 5 or 6 times.

Using a flour dusted rolling pin, roll out the dough until it is smooth and about 1/2 inch thick. Cut into three inch squares and place them on an ungreased cookie sheet. For added realism and better baking results, use a shish kebab skewer to poke 4 rows of 4 holes in each square (William- Many sutlers also sell hardtack cutters. These are like cookie cutters that are really handy for making hardtack. You can also follow my instructions below on making a template.)

Place the cookie sheet in a preheated oven and bake for about 35 minutes at 325 degrees. After baking, turn off the heat and leave the hardtack in the oven until the oven is cool, in order to further dry it. The hardtack is now ready to eat. Makes 10-12 squares." -by Garry Fisher

The Hardtack Template-

In order to make a hardtack template for cutting out exact shapes every time, you will need a piece of cardboard (shoebox cardboard works best), an exacto knife, and an icepick. Hardtack is slightly rectangular, so you will need to draw a shape on your cardboard that is 2 7/8 inches on the short sides by 3 1/8 on the long sides. These are the regulation dimensions. Punch four rows of four holes in the middle of the shape with the icepick and then use the exacto to cut out the rectangle with adult supervision. You should now have a template that you can use to cut around when you are cutting out the dough for your hardtack. Stick the skewer through the holes to get them in the right place every time.

Sources-

Rebel Cornbread and Yankee Coffee, by Garry Fisher. pp. 37-39. Copyright, 2001

Comments

[Sandy]

Nice job on the recipe! I love cornbread, myself... with soup beans. Yum! (of course, I don't think they ate much soup beans in the field)

[william]

Thanks. Both armies actually did issue beans in limited quantities. Especially in the Confederate army, black eyed peas and field peas were common, so they may very well have eaten something along the lines of your favorite dish. One could whip up a fairly satisfying meal when rations weren't short.
I think you would have survived pretty well if you like beans and cornbread!

[Pvt. Ben Miller]

Could you bake the hard crackers in the brick oven?

[Pvt. Ben Miller]

Sorry:( Just skimed again.