How to Make Hardtack (Forever Lasting Bread)

Hardtack is an easy-to-make survival food that can last for nearly 100 years and can keep you alive for a few months. In this video, we'll show you the exact steps and ingredients to make this. Sign up at bit.ly/34futCW to get member-specific content in our weekly newsletter.
Here are all the ingredients and cooking instructions if you'd like to read them here: bit.ly/2SocC9j
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[@CityPrepping]

Sign up at bit.ly/34futCW to get member-specific content in our weekly newsletter. Here are the ingredients and cooking instructions: bit.ly/2SocC9j

[@ginamacdougall9012]

Are there other things you can add without affecting their longevity

[@ginamacdougall9012]

How do you make pemmican I think I spelled it right

[@karingleissle7025]

I have a question, can I add savory spices like chile, garlic, onion, majoram or will this impact the longevity.

[@mirandahunt5896]

You won the internet today as far as I'm concerned.

[@alleyoop6757]

Looks like Crackers

[@willful_oats]

Was just researching hardtack elsewhere and saw a siggestion to soften by soaking in pine needle tea... which would add vitamin C...thought it worth sharing.

[@mackenziedrake]

That's a good one.

[@chainsawplayin]

The best pine trees have 2 needles growing out from the same spot. Remember that.

[@justpatty7328]

Great comment! If fruit is available, mash and soak the hardtack.

[@fustercluck2460]

Add some instant coffee (sealed) and a few bottles of bailey's (sealed) You can dip it in coffee, very good !"

[@mandykathryn9005]

Betcha lemon or lime juice, and dill and chili power would a tastier alternative for vitamin C.. but I live in Florida and grow some citrus..lol

[@WorldwideBushcraftSurvival]

I use to make hardtack for backpacking. I would boil water with a bullion cube and dip the hardtack in that. It wasn't great, but edible and very lightweight to carry. I would also dip in instant coffee. Just throwing that out there for anyone who may want to try it.

[@castlealcazar3013]

Brilliant ideas! Thank you! 👏

[@Ez-kt5vr]

🤠👍

[@dangeary2134]

Perfect! Love the idea. Inedible hardtack and undrinkable coffee! Just kidding, I love hardtack, but instant coffee STILL leaves something to be desired, even in this day and age!

[@Rspenesmit]

Try taking a little bacon fat/grease with you next time & fry the hardtack, and when you make, since your eating it soon and not storing it long-term, add some oregano or really any spices you wish, a little nutritional yeast for flavor & protein, maybe some honey, then fry it in the bacon grease & it tastes pretty good by itself, and I prefer the flavor of whole wheat flour over white flour.

[@boots73ca]

@@dangeary2134have you added chicory or chocolate powder/syrup? Nice way around it.

[@Mark-bh8mb]

My mother-in-law can make Hardtack out of literally any food.

[@homemclaughlin7830]

🤣🤣

[@Romans1.24-27]

lol

[@J8n3eyr3]

My mother was good at burnt offerings.

[@Romans1.24-27]

@@J8n3eyr3 lol

[@flupsdarups3897]

lmaooo

[@OehlJim]

Grew up eating hardtack. My dad as a prisoner of the German army in WWII learned to like hardtack as it was served with one serving of rutabaga soup a week.

[@theshape7214]

How many meals did he get a week?

[@OehlJim]

@@theshape7214 One!

[@Romans1.24-27]

@@OehlJim 😵😢😢😢😢😢

[@JesusSaves86AB]

Yup, one a week meanwhile there's "preppers" saying you need 3000+ calories per day (like a military grunt) to avoid muscle loss or you'll starve. Perhaps if you're marching for great distances loaded with heavy gear and doing steady manual labor. All one has to do to know the truth is check history. Look at ancestral skills and techniques. It's a shame so many folks don't listen to their elders valuable wisdom and experience.

[@sparkyjones560]

@@JesusSaves86AB you lost your damn mind. Aperson thats slightly active needs at least 1500 calories to not lose weight. Working, it is 3000 calories. Maybe you missed it but most WWII prisoners of Germany were skin and bones and on deaths door if not dead by the time of liberation. Anyways. You need the calories or you are going to lose weight. 30 days isn't very dangerous but beyond that it absolutely is. 30 days won't have you suffering from a vitamin or nutritional deficiency but long than that absolutely will. You need 3000 calories a day because the idea is that you aren't mearly staying alive, you are thriving actually maybe even gaining weight and not losing it through exertion. Don't believe me? Give it a shot. Go on your minimal calorie, minimal nutrient and vitamin regimine for 30 days and see the results, you won't even make it 2 weeks before giving up because you'll be exhausted and starving and losing weight.

[@Not_An_Alien]

When it comes to prepping, one must always choose the lesser of 2 weevils.

[@chaplainhyena1523]

This needs more likes.......

[@Snowmanatee]

lol....Priceless

[@OldNavajoTricks]

Choose the greater weevil, more calories :-D

[@TheBenny1683]

Master and commander

[@stupidhandles]

@@OldNavajoTricks and protein

[@Soto713]

I made these plenty of times while trying to make homemade bread. Not knowing what I was doing really.

[@pattiannepascual]

😂🤣😅

[@pspcraft]

Sounds like me...

[@thebandplayedon..6145]

Yep, I've made some bad bread... especially when experimenting with various unfamiliar flours like Spelt and others.

[@thebandplayedon..6145]

@Dredded Judge I didn't care for it, to be fair, I didn't use a recipe but found it dense and didn't care for the taste- rather 'earthy' I guess to call it.

[@flash_flood_area]

@@thebandplayedon..6145 And this is why early agrarians went all in for wheat once it was developed 😄

[@katanatac]

I like to smash hard tack into pieces and add to stew, it gives it a nice flavour and the pieces once soften up are somewhat like dumplings.

[@Hooptyc]

Probably one of the most practical things one can do to prepare.

[@Prepare2Survive]

Hardtack, beef jerky, pemmican and smoked fish are probably the oldest forms of preserved foods.

[@Livetoeat171]

Apparently from what I learned, pemmican is not a preserved food for any long-term storage. Hard tack, beef jerky, and smoked fish are the only ones that can be kept long-term. Pemmican is kept in the freezer so it is not something you should be eating too long out of the freezer because it has meat in it and fat and meat juices.

[@lordfairfaxpreparedness]

@@Livetoeat171 Pemmican does have fat (suet) in it that can go bad BUT it was used by the Native Americans as a long term food source long before refrigeration and deep freezers. Once made, pemmican can be used or stored for several months without refrigeration. With present day technologies, it can be stored for several years (about 2-4) by vacuum sealing and using oxygen absorbers.

[@hoppinggnomethe4154]

You forgot pickled food and salted fish

[@wasdfayiz]

Wine, honey, raisins, liquor

[@michaelpettersson4919]

@@lordfairfaxpreparedness I guess that as long as it lasted through the worst part of the winter or during a hunting or trading trip that was enough. Even if it was just good for a few weeks it would still be useful.

[@latinaartista36]

This made me think of your video on what you could give people if they showed up to your home. It wouldn’t cost you very much and it would last them awhile. Plus, if they think that’s the best you got they might look for something tastier somewhere else.

[@SuperWhatapain]

Good Idea

[@Sparkysings2]

Great suggestion. I’m filing that one away! And sharing to my homestead education group. Thanks

[@flash_flood_area]

Unless they've heard the stories, "Nail Broth", or "Stone Soup", in which case they'll smartly assume you have a few goodies stashed away in secret.

[@kazimierzspaczynski7401]

If You give food they will come back and look for more. You might be killed.

[@Sparkysings2]

@@kazimierzspaczynski7401 it’s hard to decide on

[@nagaviper1169]

Hardtack and pemmican, some of the earliest survival foods that can last decades with no refrigeration. You can make a type of soup with the pemmican and then add hardtack to it to thicken it up. You got your carbs and protein.

[@maggiern4474]

What’s your recipe for pemmican... it makes me nervous about being rancid. Appreciate !

[@yeswing10]

Antarctic explorers called that soup" Hoosh".

[@Arnuld15Governator]

@@maggiern4474 I've made my first batch a few months ago. I think the key is experimenting with the liquid fat. Dry out the meat thoroughly, use an adequate amount of liquid fat and use whatever dried berries you want. Next batch is definitely going to get spices.

[@patkonelectric]

@@maggiern4474 there are many videos on how to make it.

[@OldNavajoTricks]

Tack n Pac. Just like gravy and dumplings...

[@DW-vi6kg]

I made a batch about 20-25 years ago. A year or so ago, I ran across some, only stored in a zip-lock bag. They tasted exactly the way they did when I made them. And they were just as hard. My friends say this is no recommendation, but whatever. My research back then revealed that the original Civil War and earlier caches, did not have any salt, save possibly for the sweat of the privates charged with kneading it. I used a fork with smaller, more widely - spaced tines than a dinner fork, and made many more, smaller holes than the chopstick. No comparison data, but I would think this would aid drying even more. This time I plan to get one of those cutters that do the whole thing in one operation.

[@stormisuedonym4599]

I suspect that more, smaller holes not only helps with drying, but also with rehydration and chewing.

[@Currywurst4444]

One of their main uses was on ships where everything is already salty by the ocean.

[@BusinessWolf1]

​@@Currywurst4444 exactly. If you wanted salt you just licked your lips.

[@liljuggala]

My oldest kid is allergic to so many different foods. Wheat, corn, soy, nuts, milk, eggs, and sesame. So it have become an obsession of mine to find foods that he can have that he enjoys. I will be trying this with various different flours that he can eat, to see which ones he prefers. Side note; my oldest kid is technically my step son. I have been in his life since just before his 3rd birthday. The first times he called me dad and told me he loved me was after trying cinnamon waffles I got him that were allergic safe. I am a Navy veteran, former structural welder, and have lived a life always having to be the "tough guy". I cried.

[@flash_flood_area]

You sound like a great dad. Unfortunately, there are biological fathers who give their kids a cold shoulder.

[@monicab.5241]

Acupuncture helps with allergies, it did with me, I was allergic to gluten. it's not the most comfortable thing in the world but it works

[@monicab.5241]

When my grandma made these she added dry jalapeno and chives

[@stormisuedonym4599]

@@monicab.5241 No, it doesn't. Your anecdote does not outweigh the evidence.

[@monicab.5241]

@@stormisuedonym4599 acupuncture does not work on 10% of the population but it did work on me so save your b******* for someone else

[@Hekatehex]

Frodo: What food have we got? Sam: Let me see. Ah, yes. Lembas bread. And look! More lembas bread!

[@paulapjclark8928]

😂😂😂

[@pizzaishappiness7994]

This was the my first thought watching this. That's funny. 😂

[@TheHyena-ru8bz]

I told my wife I wanted to make Hard Tack and explained what it is and she said "Lembas bread?" Lol

[@MiddleOutdoorsman]

Now it's videos like this, is why I subscribe to prepping channels.

[@soilprepper2602]

Not me, I prefer to watch videos about how this one doddering old man will SAVE US ALL while the other doddering old man will DESTROY US ALL.

[@circa134]

@@soilprepper2602 so it’s Harry Potter?

[@johnbrowniv]

I made these once and almost broke my tooth. Good tip on thickness.

[@SuperWhatapain]

They live up to their name hahaha

[@raptorgames9]

It's probably rat and bug proof because it will break their teeth too!!!😂🤣

[@manictiger]

@@raptorgames9 Rats can chew through concrete...

[@JesusSaves86AB]

@@manictiger Nevermind concrete, they can chew through hardened metals.

[@LarkinJackson]

I'll be back in 100 years to let y'all know if Sean is telling the truth... :\

[@SaintClutch]

There’s a channel where he eats old MREs and he had hardtac from the civil war

[@buttheyreinvestmentsdear3132]

Is that you Jesus?

[@bingo45s]

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@craigbuchan316]

@@SaintClutch yep seen that channel. That guy has faith in his gut.

[@eddiespaghetti54321]

Don’t need to wait. Steve1989 ate Civil War era hard tack.

[@browncoatranch2173]

This is perfect! My son actually needs to make this for school tomorrow! Talk about great timing. We’re in NorCal and their schools Civil War day is tomorrow and he needs to bring it for the “troops”. Lol. Thanks so much! I’ll show him this video after school and we will make it together 😁.

[@silverhawkscape2677]

Civil war day? Isn't American history bigoted and racist now?

[@browncoatranch2173]

@@silverhawkscape2677 lol. Not where we live. Look up The Great Republic of Rough and Ready. 🤣

[@michaelpettersson4919]

We eat a lot of crispbread here in Sweden. They are not exactly hardtack but they are dry, crispy and intended for long storage. We can still get them as large disks with a hole in the middle. Historically that hole was to store them by putting a stick into a lot if them then hang the stick under roof in a storage room.

[@alexketteman5202]

Hardtack eh? Love it. Add some pemmican, some salt-cured meat, and a smooth bore musket and you're set for the trail! (Really though, great stuff. Making unleavened breads and storable grain is a valuable skill to know).

[@OldNavajoTricks]

You have died of Dysentery, Play again? Y/N...

[@abdulazis400]

@@OldNavajoTricks *PRESS Y*

[@dartagnantaft5918]

I made my first batch about a year ago I added garlic and onion powder. They taste great and still good today.

[@Rspenesmit]

Any spice like oregano adds nice flavor & then frying them in bacon grease makes the inside softer and fried on the outside, nice taste to it.

[@themaverickprepper8690]

Making hardtack will be a very valuable SHTF skill. I'm working on making skillet bread since I'm much more likely to have a skillet on an SHTF evac than an oven.

[@azpugmom5138]

Oooh I'll have to look up skillet bread, that sounds like something to learn how to make.

[@johnandevefoster3816]

MAKE it now...store it now... WTSHTF, your all ready and won't need a skillet or an oven ... but seriously ovens can be made with bricks and clay mud...or just clay,

[@carolinevs943]

The detailed explanation you give is 100% way more than a lot of recipe channels I've watched. Just want to say thank you. Subbed and liked.

[@jeffreyharville1918]

I have read that some would grind them up back into flour, then use that for baking with. The reasons given were that flour would end up with weavils much faster than hard tack, and was much harder to transport.

[@heyeverybody5616]

We’re really enjoying your videos with Sean. Please keep it up! We’ve been longtime watchers of your channel. Blessings to you and yours!

[@FJ80Coop]

When I was a kid in the Scouts some elder showed me how to make hardtack and I showed the entire troop how to make it for an upcoming weekend long camping trip.. I got some badge or award for it but I forget what after 50 years and haven't eaten or tried to make any since then..

[@acetek2]

In my family's culture we dehydrated and stored rice flattened plates and either cooked over a fire or just moistened and ate straight. This would also be served with dehydrated fish that's also prepare d the same way. After 6 years of keeping the fish plates, still tastes good..... But definitely needs cooking over any flame.

[@heathersmith3958]

I've heard of this but it's nice to have a step by step demonstration!...thankyou!!!

[@djdoubleu1]

Great video, more survival foods please

[@lindellsuegay6766]

Never have made this, but surely will try it. Thanks for sharing

[@willful_oats]

Great video!! I do a lot of hiking and backwoods camping with dehydrated foods. This will be a great addition! Will also be a part of my prep stores...esp. bug out bag!

[@barkingsheep5224]

Yes!! This is a classic! Thanks for this video!

[@JerseyJay1]

I just used this video to make my first try at hard tak. Thank you guys for the video. I found it very easy to follow, and great information. I'm adding the hard tak to my bushcraft bag. Thanks again!

[@MrWings1972]

Brilliant! This will be my weekend project...

[@mackenziedrake]

I really like the idea of adding bean flour to that hardtack. The protein in the biscuits would be higher and better balanced.

[@anightingailslife8871]

Would you just mill the beans to flour to achieve that?

[@justpatty7328]

It may lower the longevity of the hardtack. The 3 ingredient hardtack using white flour is what allows it to last 50-100 years. Even using wheat flour is not recommended. Just thought I'd share the research I've done.

[@mackenziedrake]

@@anightingailslife8871 I would think so. When you use bean flour in a regular bread recipe, it's raw going in. The baking will cook it.

[@sarahconnor64]

What would the shelf life of the hard tack be if you add a protein powder, bean flour, almond flour, etc?

[@mackenziedrake]

@@sarahconnor64 That I don't know, but I don't need them to last a hundred years.

[@iskrastankova7809]

This is the best video I have seen on KZbin on how to make Hardtack.

[@jerryg2073]

Thanks form the reminder. Have been meaning to make some.

[@sethburkhart1021]

Really appreciate your inclusion of some theology in the last video. That takes guts these days. This video was excellent too!

[@JesusSaves86AB]

Many dried (including store bought freeze dried) herbs and plants can be added such as Lambs Quarters to increase nutrition.

[@bobbymalcich63]

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE VIDEO CITY PREPPING!!! keep up the great work you do!!

[@bootmender]

Now you have made me hungry! When my adult children come home for the holidays I like to make homemade bread and fresh ground coffee to get them up in the morning. Works every time, that aroma penetrates the whole house. 👍👍👍 ❤️🇺🇸❤️🇺🇸❤️🇺🇸

[@cinnamongurl8102]

Well I know what I'll be practicing this weekend. Thanks for the presentation.

[@teresalindsay5604]

Anyone with a gluten intolerance will want to try the Millet flour in place of white or wheat flour. I’m going to try this, this weekend.

[@patkonelectric]

I made millet, coconut flour, etc versions. They may only last 25 years. With that said, I don't need them to last longer then me.

[@stormisuedonym4599]

@@patkonelectric Really, if you're counting on food to last longer than a few years, you're probably in for it as it is. Either that, or you're sticking stuff in long-term storage, which is its own can of worms.

[@markp6062]

Was interested to learn about additives like honey, maple syrup and the like and how that would impact long term storage. Glad I learned about it here. Thanks!

[@MirrorXofXMadness]

I remember making this in history class back in elementary school. Still my favorite subject.

[@johnbouwens2024]

Wow this takes me back to a time as a little boy my grandma would be baking pie she would always have left over crust dough ...well. She would make my sis and i These treets ...that was a real long time ago i just turned 60... I bet grannys still do it today bless you for that ...

[@tokencivilian8507]

I have a batch from Feb 2020 stored in zip lock bags. So far, so good.

[@marywyrick4520]

Advice taken. Will be making this soon.

[@robertshinazy3055]

Very interesting Thanks. I definitely have to give this a try to bring on my next camping trip to share with my friends

[@lynnramsey2663]

They would be really good soaked in some hot healthy bone broth. And if you powder your bone broth like I do, you'll pretty much have both of them for years to come

[@My_Alchemical_Romance]

I remember making hard tack in elementary! I LOVE it!!!

[@DoctorCreepy]

I'm making this right now cant wait to try them out!

[@oneperson5760]

Thanks for the recipe and instructions!

[@maximosseas4377]

Wow that’s amazing 💪🏻💯💪🏻

[@silverhawkscape2677]

Hardtack. Used centuries ago as it stored for a long time on Ship Journeys. Now it's a survival food.

[@Bumpathena]

My late Swedish grandma used to make them all the time. Best memories of her.

[@bahadrbaserkok3335]

Yep, prepping some for the collage

[@amberk2124]

Yes! I've made Tack before. Good to have on hand

[@wolfman011000]

After baking and cooling I stick mine in a food dehydrator for an additional 12 hours, before vacuum sealing them in mylar bags with an O2 absorber. Maybe abit of overkill but take little effort. Good video sound advice. Take care, God bless one and all.

[@babysisdolls3336]

we called this cowboy biscuits. they go well with cowboy coffee, i really appreciate this cooking series. hard times cooking is necessary to know for sure.

[@DMF716]

Good video Kris! Simple enuf to make when needed. I froze my flour outside 2 years ago now for several days below zero degrees. A must do to keep bugs n eggs out of flour. 02 absorbers added

[@lindas9806]

Can't wait to make this!

[@Boltius]

Awesome video! Keep it up!

[@phyrewillow6463]

Thanks!

[@TheAntHill184]

Thank you for sharing. You’re making a difference.

[@ahmedrasoul6674]

Great hack! Simplicity has high value.

[@widowswatch6610]

Good instructions easy to follow thanks

[@richhajdu8150]

Turned out great. Will definitely be making more

[@Rspenesmit]

Try taking a little bacon fat/grease with you next time & fry the hardtack, and when you make, since your eating it soon and not storing it long-term, add some oregano or really any spices you wish, a little nutritional yeast for flavor & protein, maybe some honey, then fry it in the bacon grease & it tastes pretty good by itself, and I prefer the flavor of whole wheat flour over white flour.

[@octoberfirefly]

Awesome!! Thank you for this! 🙏🏼💕🕊🌿

[@davidmsanchez4566]

You can buy something similar in the stores in Alaska were there are 300 to 400 earthquake every day its called pilot bread it has a shelf life of 30 years. It's pretty cheap to. We have some we bought at Sam's club before they all closed here in Alaska

[@shashakeeleh5468]

Great video! Would love to see one on canning meats, or a simply way to dry them to use with hardtack.

[@earlshaner4441]

Thank you for sharing brother

[@hydroman911]

Well now I have to make a boat load, can't wait. Thanks for the video.

[@xavierbreath2227]

Thanks for the great content.

[@john7m7usa]

Very cool, feel free to make more videos like that!

[@jopiaspieder1184]

Never made it before but I will follow this video's instructions and see how mine turn out

[@allyrooh3628]

Very straight forward. Good video

[@lordfairfaxpreparedness]

Made some hard tack, 4 years ago, after finding a video about it on Townsends (then Townsend & Son). Still have it stored away in a couple survival kits.

[@pattiannepascual]

same here. I learned more preparedness/prepping from that channel than many channels combined, along with history that I usually have to force myself to study. Not saying they are the most skiing recipes, and feel so bad people in those times actually survived on and thought it was normal food. It only makes me so much more appreciative of what people hundreds of years went through for us to be free today. Next episode, tone for an actual "re-inactment" of the subs of Liberty- not only against the "British" but the leftists as well..

[@BoredAmerican]

I’d recommend pulling them out and seeing the condition, as you haven’t done it before

[@lordfairfaxpreparedness]

@@BoredAmerican Vacuum seal about half of them and others are in ziplock bags. Still good, no bugs, no mold!

[@BoredAmerican]

@@lordfairfaxpreparedness fantastic !

[@stevenchase8124]

Thank you for sharing. This was a very helpful video.

[@CityPrepping]

You are so welcome!

[@AxelSituation]

Another great video, thank you

[@austin-chows4]

I will try this soon.

[@darylzorn7037]

Really cool, thanks

[@sharistailey-floyd8034]

Awesome, thank you!

[@kalenhouse]

I don't knew why your channel showed up but I appreciate it. Just subscribed.

[@johnvillafranca6188]

Thanks for this great video.

[@hello2jello4mellow34]

Great video. Very informative.

[@jdeveau6718]

I can buy this in the stores here in NS (and NFLD) as hard bread. I ate a lot of it as a kid. Goes good with jam.

[@syncringe1885]

Hardtack was originally cut into circles for storage in barrels. The squares came later for military meals.

[@mikeunum]

@City Prepping - Thank You again for sharing this recipe. Rememberd it from my grand-grandma.

[@markcoraa]

Sheltered life. Never heard of it before. Looks so simple even I 'might' be able to do it.

[@tinamrowell8431]

Great information, thanks

[@mandybell7884]

Thank you ❤ great video and helpful . God bless .

[@constancejackson4815]

As usual. Thank you. 😌

[@hellodenise9612]

This looks like Christmas ornament dough! Maybe we can eat some of our Christmas ornaments? Thanks for the recipe!

[@carolineowen7846]

Must try these :) I'll store mine in an air tight tin, or cookie jar, or wax paper, don't think I'll foil wrap them for freshness though. Although a jar of honey or lemon curd might be good with it, or even stock cubes. Thanks for the tips on the other flours that ancient civilisations used :) always good to know alternatives. I heard the Romans in ancient Briton used to make bread from acorns.

[@patriciacrossley6914]

Great! Thank son!

[@user-qy5zg5mq2p]

Thank you!

[@only1fullmetal]

Great video!

[@bkipad]

I will make some this summer