Wednesday, September 28, 2016

Hardtack - A tasty treat on an explorer's ship

          My 5th graders were learning about early exploration of the 1440 and 1500s.  We read about the food that was eaten on these long voyages.  I found a very easy recipe online for hardtack.



Today I am linking up with Doodlebugs Teaching for a Five for Friday Linky Party.
www.doodlebugsteaching.blogspot.com 



 Hardtack
The recipe for Hardtack is very simple!
       4- 5 cups of flour
       2 cups of water
       3 tsp. salt
Mix the three ingredients into a dough. The dough will be on the  side.  Roll out dough to a thickness of 1/2 inch.  Shape into a rectangle.  Cut into 3X3 inch squares.  I cut mine a little smaller.  Poke holes into both sides.  Place on an ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes. Turn each piece over and bake for another 30 minutes.   You are done!  Let the hardtack sit out all day until it is dry.  It will be hard as a rock.  Store in an airtight container.

       Parents and students made the hardtack at home and sent it in to school.  I soaked the hardtack in milk for a few hours in class.  Everyone  had a taste test or two with butter. Yum! It tasted a bit like Saltine Crackers only much harder.  Some of the kids enjoyed the treat.  Some were not as excited and put it in the trash after a bite or two. 

     I couldn't help myself when I saw some gummy worms in the candy isle one day.  I told the kids that sometimes bugs and worms got into the food supply on the sailing ships. The sailors would soak the hardtack in water so the bugs and worms would float to the top.  The these unwelcome friends could be removed.  So I handed out the gummy worms to get the point across.   It was a big hit.


         I received an email from a parent.  She said her son had been watching a post- Civil War series on AMC.  Hardback was mentioned.  Her son was so excited that he knew about the hardback and how it tasted.  It brought history to life.
    I guess that is why we are teachers.

Thanks for reading my blog. I hope this article can help you in some little way. Please leave a comment and come back again soon.

Enjoy the rest of this glorious day.

Beti