Click on the image, above to submit to Pinterest.

Ship's Biscuit

Ship's Biscuit is a traditional British recipe for a the classic hard ship-board biscuit (cookie) of the 18th and 19th centuries, also known as 'hard tack'. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British version of: Ship's Biscuit.

prep time

15 minutes

cook time

30 minutes

Total Time:

45 minutes

Makes:

12

Rating:

Tags : Baking RecipesBritish Recipes

This biscuit, also known as 'hard tack' was the classic ship-board staple during the 18th and 19th centuries and it was only finally displaced from ship's stores by the advent of preserved and then canned foods during the mid 19th century. Essentially the biscuit lasts forever. On board ship, however, these would often be made from pea flour or a mix of pea flour and wholemeal flour. This resulted in a very hard biscuit that would get even harder as it aged, making it impossible to bite through. The only way these would become edible was when they became old and soggy, but often, by that point they were riddled with maggots and weevils.

Ingredients:

450g wholemeal flour (a medium-ground flour is more authentic)
5g salt
water

Method:

Combine the salt and flour in a bowl then slowly add the flour and mix until you have a very stiff dough. Bring together as a ball, cover and set aside to rest for 30 minutes. After this time turn the dough onto a lightly-floured work surface and roll out quite thickly (about 12mm deep). Use a round pastry cutter to cut out the individual biscuits. Place these on a greased baking tray and prick all over the surface of the biscuit with a fork.

Place in an oven pre-heated to 210°C and bake for about 30 minutes, or until the biscuits are lightly golden and cooked through. Allow to cool on the baking tray for 10 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.