Hardtack

My daughter's school does a reenactment of the Civil War. My oldest daughter fought for the North. Since my younger daughter wanted to fight for the same side as her sister, she was undecided. She wanted to talk to her sister first. She took to long deciding what side to pick so by default she became a Southern. Most of my daughter's friends had picked the North. (We do live in Maine.) Since my husband and I were both born in New England, I reminded her that her Grandfather is a Southern and one of her Aunts were born in the South so she should fight for them. We did get a photo of her with President Lincoln so I think her fellow Southerns believed she was a spy anyways. Also, she was seen often speaking with a lot of the Northern soldiers. Part of the experience is all the soldiers had to eat what the soldiers were served back during the Civil War. If for some reason you need a recipe for hardtack, this is the place to find it. I will admit I felt bad for all the soldiers if they had to live off of hardtack. Hardtack is hard and salty. Now, these crackers were fresh so I could only imagine how hard they were when the soldiers did receive them.

Hardtack
4 1/4 cups of all purpose flour
2 Tbsp vegetable shortening
2 tsp salt
1 to 1 1/4 cup water

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2. In a food processor, combine the flour, shortening, and salt.
3. Slowly, pour in the water while pulsing.
4. Continue adding the water to form a stiff but not sticky batter.
5. Knead several times.
6. Roll the dough onto an ungreased baking sheet to 1/2 inch thickness.
7. Bake the dough for 20 minutes or until the top is golden brown.
8. Remove from the oven.
9. Cut the dough into 3 inch sections. 
10. Using a fork, punch several rows of holes into the dough.
11. Flip the dough over so the punched side is down on the baking sheet.
12. Bake the dough for another 20 minutes or until golden brown and crisp.
13. Turn off the oven and allow the oven to cool.

Recipe adapted from American Civil War Recipes.

One year ago........................I made Creamy Chicken Enchiladas.
Two years ago......................I made Feta Topped Chicken.

Did you already know...........
-The hardtack was issued to Union soldiers as part of their rations.
-Due to lack of proper storage, the hardtack often arrived infested with bugs called weevils. 
-To make it easier to eat, many soldiers would dunk it into a liquid to soften it or cook it into a mesh with grease.