What Is Hardtack Survival Biscuits
How to Make Hardtack Survival Biscuits
The Baking Process
How to Store and Keep
How to Use Hardtack Survival Biscuits

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Hardtack survival biscuits are a survival food that was created hundreds of years ago by cowboys, pioneers, settlers, soldiers, and sailors while they traveled on long journeys. They brought these along on long journeys because they can last for years if stored properly and help keep people fed and fight hunger. It can actually last forever!

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What Is Hardtack Survival Biscuits

Just for Fun Insights

The hobbits in the Lord of the Rings movies carried hardtack biscuits or bread on their long journey to save Middle Earth. If you notice, Gollum secretly threw their hardtack survival biscuits over a cliff to accuse Samwise Gamgee of eating all of it to make Frodo believe that Samwise Gamgee was not on their side to lure them apart in order to obtain his long-lost precious ring.

I visited a Pioneer Museum in my state and they had on display a hardtack biscuit with a bite in it from a lady hundreds of years ago from her long journey to her settlement. This intrigued me to make my own hardtack survival biscuits to stockpile in my own pantry should my family need these for any reason.

A cold hard winter power outage or bug-in or bug-out situation or even a camping journey can help provide my family with reliable biscuits to feed upon. Hardtack survival biscuits do not spoil and can last for years or indefinitely.

It is 2023 at the time of writing this post. There are wars and rumors of wars, diseases, pandemics, and devastating natural disasters and people are concerned about their food supply. It is no secret that people have been keeping these biscuits in their pantries for hundreds of years for their survival needs. I see no reason why we should not continue this recipe tradition and keep our own hardtack survival biscuits right in our own pantry. By the way, these survival biscuits are NOT tasty, but will help keep you from starving.

Cowboy/Sailor/Soldier Soup

Cowboys, sailors, and soldiers would soak their hardtack biscuits in soup, coffee, or hot water until it became a creamy soup to help keep them full.

How to Make Hardtack Survival Biscuits

Recipe Ingredients (Makes 16 biscuits)

4 cups all-purpose flour (no self-rise flour)
1 1/2 cups water
3 tbsp salt

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix well.

Be sure to use all-purpose flour and no flour that has self-rising features.

Place the shaggy dough on a well-floured surface and knead it for five to ten minutes until it does not stick to your hands.

Form the dough into a nice non-stick dough.

Roll out the dough on a floured surface to about 1/4 inch thickness. The dough should be very smooth and non-stick.

Use a wide-mouth canning ring as a biscuit cutter, and begin to cut out as many circular biscuits as you can. I ended up with 16 biscuits from this recipe, rolling out a large surface of the dough, and using a large wide-mouthed canning ring.

Take the end of a wooden spoon that you mixed the dough with and poke holes in each biscuit, ensuring not to poke all the way through the dough. This just makes the dough look more like a cracker and more appealing when it comes time to eat them.

Plus, it helps keep them from forming poofy air pockets during the baking process.

The Baking Process

Place the biscuits on a baking sheet. I use a cast iron baking pan and flour it well before placing it on my biscuits for baking. Otherwise, you can place them on any baking sheet with parchment paper.

Bake them at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Since they have no eggs, oil, or butter, they will not turn golden brown.

How to Store and Keep

This recipe will last indefinitely since it is made up of plain flour, water, and salt. Hardtack survival biscuits are easy to make and keep in your pantry in jars or plastic bags, mylar bags, or food-saver bags.

How to Use Hardtack Survival Biscuits

To use hardtack survival biscuits, you need to soften them up. To soften up the hardtack survival biscuits, place them inside a hot bowl of soup. They will soften and add fiber and filling to any soup recipe during an emergency.

P.S. You’re going to want to use your fluffy delicious buttery biscuits at your regular dinner table and NOT these!

Hardtack Survival Biscuits

Hardtack survival biscuits are a survival food that was created hundreds of years ago by pioneers, settlers, soldiers, and sailors while they traveled on long journeys. They brought along hardtack survival biscuits on these long journeys because hardtack survival biscuits can last for years if stored properly and help keep people fed and fight hunger. It can actually last forever!

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Servings 16 biscuits

Ingredients

4 cups all-purpose flour (no self-rise flour)
1 ½ cups water
3 tbsp salt

Instructions

How to Make Hardtack Survival Biscuits

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix well.
Place the shaggy dough on a well-floured surface and knead it for five to ten minutes until it does not stick to your hands.
Form the dough into a nice non-stick dough.
Roll out the dough on a floured surface to about 1/4 inch thickness. The dough should be very smooth and non-stick.
Use a wide-mouth canning ring as a biscuit cutter, and begin to cut out as many circular biscuits as you can. I ended up with 16 biscuits from this recipe, rolling out a large surface of the dough, and using a large wide-mouthed canning ring.
Take the end of a wooden spoon that you mixed the dough with and poke holes in each biscuit, ensuring not to poke all the way through the dough. This just makes the dough look more like a cracker and more appealing when it comes time to eat them. Plus, it helps keep them from forming poofy air pockets during the baking process. Plus, it helps keep them from forming poofy air pockets during the baking process.

Baking Hardtack Survival Biscuits

Place the biscuits on a baking sheet. I use a cast iron baking pan and flour it well before placing it on my biscuits for baking. Otherwise, you can place them on any baking sheet with parchment paper.
Bake them at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Since they have no eggs, oil, or butter, they will not turn golden brown.

How to Store and Keep Hardtack Survival Biscuits

This recipe will last indefinitely since it is made up of plain flour, water, and salt. Hardtack survival biscuits are easy to make and keep in your pantry in jars or plastic bags, mylar bags, or food-saver bags.

How to Use Hardtack Survival Biscuits

To use hardtack survival biscuits, you need to soften them up. To soften up the hardtack survival biscuits, place them inside a hot bowl of soup. They will soften and add fiber and filling to any soup recipe during an emergency.