[pct-l] Recipes - hardtack

[mardav at charter.net (Marion Davison)]

David Davis wrote:

>I was thinking of a snack food that I could use on a section hike this summer. I was looking for a type of cracker that I could use with peanut butter or cheese. It had to be something that would not crumble in a pack and also high caloric content. Being a history buff, hardtack came to mind. This was the primary food when the Union army was on the march. I figured that it could feed soldiers marching hundreds of miles, it should work for a 200 mile section hike.
> 
>A search on Goggle revealed several recipes for hardtack and a company, Bent's Cookie Factory, that sells hardtack over the web. Bent's claims the bad rap hardtack got in the Civil War (wormy or has hard as a rock) was because of 19th century packaging, The company was an original supplier to the Union Army and still makes them using the same recipe. I ordered two boxes and the arrived yesterday. I happy to report that they seem ideal for backpacking. The best way to describe hardtack is like a big, very (with emphasis on very) solid, saltine cracker. Has any one else carried these on a trip?
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Back in the seventies Backpacker magazine had recipes every month.   I 
used many of these for several years.  One of them was a thick moist 
cracker made primarily of whole wheat flour, rolled oats, wheat germ, 
oil and salt.  We thought it was quite tasty and called it "lembas"  
(a.k.a. elvish waybread).  Unfortunately I lost the recipe.  But it 
sounds similar to what you describe and it seemed to be quite 
nutritious.  Preparation was easy too-knead all the ingredients 
together, roll out on a greased cookie sheet, score and bake.  I sure 
wish I had that recipe again.
Marion Davison