Hard Tac

Hi 5th Grade Families!

Today in class students got to experience hard tac.  Hard tac is made of flour, salt and water and was eaten often by Civil War soldiers as well as Seaward Explorers. 
It was quite funny to watch students attempting to eat their hard tac as Dr. Flowers taught us in depth history of the Battle of Antietam and the Battle of Gettysburg.  Many of them made no progress!  Perhaps they needed coffee to soften it up like the Civil War soldiers did.  I would have loved to provide this simulation, but luckily, children have enough great energy and don't need coffee!

A few students requested the recipe that we used it class.  Please see below for the details:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Allow for at least 1 1/2 hours to prepare and bake. 
Use 3 cups of flour, 1 cup of water and 2 tbs of salt.

As you mix the dough, it should feel very dry.
Lay the dough out on a flat surface and flatten it with your hands or use a rolling pin.  The dough should be about 1/4 inch think.
Cut the dough into crackers sized pieces.  You can use a pizza cutter for ease.
Create indentations into the dough using the handle side of a spoon.
 Put dough into the oven for 30 minutes, then turn it over and bake it on the other side for 30 minutes.  Let it cool for 30 minutes.
Enjoy!