Hearty Hardtack (With Variations on the Theme!)

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Gail E. Johnson passes along her time-tested recipes for...

A childhood ration of seafaring tales many of which described long voyages endured on a diet of hardtack-left me with ambivalent feelings about the long-time staple food. It was a pleasant surprise, then, to discover an old Swedish recipe that's both fast and easy . . . and produces delicious hardtack as well. What's more, one batch will make eight 12-inch-diameter discs which are great served "hot from the pan" with butter and make very convenient snacks to enjoy while camping or backpacking, too.

PLAIN OL' HARDTACK

To make a basic hardtack, mix 2-1/2 cups of old-fashioned oatmeal, 3 cups of unbleached flour, 1-112 teaspoons of salt, and 1 teaspoon of baking soda in a large bowl. Then, in a separate container, add 11/2 cups of buttermilk (or soured powdered milk mix) and 3 tablespoons of honey to 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons of melted bacon or sausage drippings . . . and combine this mixture with the dry ingredients. When the dough is thoroughly mixed, form it Into eight balls of equal size and roll each one out on a floured board (the thickness will depend on the size of your pans). Use a pegged rolling pin if such a (tool is available . . . if not, a standard rolling pin, jar, or large drinking glass will do. '

Transfer each circle to a lightly greased pizza pan, and pat and smooth the dough to fit. A meat tenderizing tool can be used to stipple-or dent-a pattern in the surface at this point if a pegged rolling pin wasn't used ... and you can mark the "pie" into squares, diamonds, or triangles with a regular pizza cutter, if desired.

Put the pans in the oven for 5-1/2 minutes at 450°F. Timing is crucial: The resulting "way bread" should be dry, but browned only around the edges.

When you remove your finished hardtack from the oven, let it stand for a moment .. . then use a pancake turner to place the discs on wire racks to cool, and put your next batch on the pans. (The pizza sheets will not need to be regreased to bake subsequent discs of dough.)