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Post by Sicilianhunter on May 26, 2019 21:27:28 GMT -7
This is a recipe that I gleaned from Snow Walker 13 on You Tube. I've learned quite a bit from his channel. I had the time to try this recipe out today and I must say that they are a pretty decent cookie/cracker and would be a good thing to have in a pocket or belt pouch on the trail. A DEFINITE improvement over Ship's Biscuits but would not last nearly as long, so keep that in mind when storing them. I would make them before a trek or trip and probably not plan on saving any. I did work with a learning curve from batch to batch when it came to making them a bit more "trail worthy", meaning drier and more durable. The first batch I baked for about 45 minutes and they came out soft, more like a cookie than a cracker and that last batch was in for about an hour give or take and they were more like a cracker. My baking times are a result of me rolling the dough out thicker (more like 1/4" then 1/8") The video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYGEi8zpBrM&list=PL440846DAAA061F61&index=5 My take on the recipe: 4 cups white flour 1/2 cup cane sugar 1 egg (whisked) 1 stick of butter (4 oz) melted 1 1/2 cup milk - blend dry ingredients - add the melted butter to the dry ingredients and mix together - add egg - add milk slowly while mixing - mix ingredients until your have formed a dough with an even consistency. - Pre-heat over to 300* - on a floured surface roll out dough to 1/8" thickness ( another aspect I experimented with, dough thicker than 1/8" takes longer to cook and makes more of a cookie than a cracker if you prefer that) - cut out your rounds (I used a water glass that cut 3" rounds) - on a greased cookie sheet place your rounds, poke holes in them with a fork and bake for 45-70 minutes - yields 40 3" biscuits Unrelated to this recipe but in regards to Ship's Biscuits : they were not made at home or in the field but purchased as they were produced commercially. (On the Trail magazine 1998 , Vol. 5 #1, pg. 20) These were easy and fun to make in my kitchen but have yet to tested in the field. |
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Keith
City-dweller
Bushfire close but safe now. Getting some good rain.
Posts: 990 
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Post by Keith on May 26, 2019 22:52:11 GMT -7
I used to carry some form of biscuit at one time, but I decided that I preferred to carry flour in a bag instead & make my own on a hot rock in the camp fire. I have more of a liking for plain foods, & food cooked in the wild always seems to taste better somehow, even when very plain. I do occasionally carry bread, but not much. Bread & a chunk of cheese is good when it is not safe to make fire.
Thank you for the recipe, good post.
Keith.
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Post by Sicilianhunter on May 27, 2019 7:33:24 GMT -7
Thank you Sir!
One thing I forgot to mention is that the recipe is from a cookbook dated 1759.
I totally agree with you that fire side cuisine somehow has a flavor like no other !
You are right as well, in that a sack of flour can be a staple for the trail.
I see these biscuits as one of those comfort items from the settlements that tends to get eaten first as you travel into the wild and the flour sack becomes the food that follows the transition as you get further away from them.
That is a great video series!
One of the first I saw that actually was a rendition of what I was looking to learn in the early days of my return to the craft.
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Post by spence on May 27, 2019 8:00:08 GMT -7
Good post, thanks. The recipe is familiar to me and very similar to one I collected from the Jon Townsend series 18th-Century Cooking. His version is from 1727. www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWYtmcEXgPwI've taken them on a few outings, they are very nice. I make a version with whole wheat flour and caraway seeds which I particularly like.  Spence |
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Post by spence on May 27, 2019 8:25:29 GMT -7
I used to carry some form of biscuit at one time, but I decided that I preferred to carry flour in a bag instead & make my own on a hot rock in the camp fire. Good video, Keith. My grandmother made her biscuits at home by putting the other ingredients in a well in her flour, in the container, and mixing them with her fingers. Best I ever ate. I've cooked cornmeal johnny cakes on a hot rock, but not a flour cake. That I have done by simply winding the dough on a stick and roasting it like a hotdog. Works very well, is great in camp.  Spence |
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Keith
City-dweller
Bushfire close but safe now. Getting some good rain.
Posts: 990
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Post by Keith on May 27, 2019 15:35:19 GMT -7
I used to carry some form of biscuit at one time, but I decided that I preferred to carry flour in a bag instead & make my own on a hot rock in the camp fire. Good video, Keith. My grandmother made her biscuits at home by putting the other ingredients in a well in her flour, in the container, and mixing them with her fingers. Best I ever ate. I've cooked cornmeal johnny cakes on a hot rock, but not a flour cake. That I have done by simply winding the dough on a stick and roasting it like a hotdog. Works very well, is great in camp. Spence  Keith. |
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Post by Sicilianhunter on May 27, 2019 20:34:41 GMT -7
Good post, thanks. The recipe is familiar to me and very similar to one I collected from the Jon Townsend series 18th-Century Cooking. His version is from 1727. www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWYtmcEXgPwI've taken them on a few outings, they are very nice. I make a version with whole wheat flour and caraway seeds which I particularly like. Spence Well, DANG!! It appears that Snow Walker got his recipe from Townsend or should I say that they got the recipe from the same source but Townsend demonstrated it 2 years earlier! The caraway seeds are a nice touch! I like them about as thick as you made them Spence. This sort of thing is something of what I have referred to before in that you may find information but that is not enough. You need to find the source of the info and the source of the source... |
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Post by Sicilianhunter on May 27, 2019 20:37:24 GMT -7
I used to carry some form of biscuit at one time, but I decided that I preferred to carry flour in a bag instead & make my own on a hot rock in the camp fire. Good video, Keith. My grandmother made her biscuits at home by putting the other ingredients in a well in her flour, in the container, and mixing them with her fingers. Best I ever ate. I've cooked cornmeal johnny cakes on a hot rock, but not a flour cake. That I have done by simply winding the dough on a stick and roasting it like a hotdog. Works very well, is great in camp. Spence That looks tasty!! When I was a Scout we were supposed to make those but it never happened. Is that also referred to as Bannok ? |
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Post by spence on May 27, 2019 20:44:59 GMT -7
I'm aways puzzled to define bannock. I know it started out as an oat cake in Scotland, also is seen in Alaska and the Canadian north as a wheat flour cake. I've baked scrumptious "bannock biscuits" by adding a ton of shortening to a regular bannock recipe. I don't know if what I did would be bannock...I just call it bread on a stick.  Spence |
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Post by Sicilianhunter on May 27, 2019 21:40:08 GMT -7
I'm aways puzzled to define bannock. I know it started out as an oat cake in Scotland, also is seen in Alaska and the Canadian north as a wheat flour cake. I've baked scrumptious "bannock biscuits" by adding a ton of shortening to a regular bannock recipe. I don't know if what I did would be bannock...I just call it bread on a stick. Spence Then that is my ignorance again in action because I didn't know that bannock had an actual recipe but was dough wound around a stick a cooked either by hand or stuck in the ground around a camp fire |
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Post by Black Hand on May 28, 2019 5:17:02 GMT -7
What you describe I know as "twist bread" - dough wound around a stick and cooked over the fire.
If you have grease, you could also fry the dough.
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Post by Sicilianhunter on May 28, 2019 7:33:18 GMT -7
I always like the idea of cooking that way.
You could have meat on one stick and twist bread on another...and then burn the dishes
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Post by hawkeyes on May 28, 2019 17:06:16 GMT -7
As Keith mentioned above in carrying flour I do as well along with corn meal. Whilst in camp I'll make my bread/ biscuits when needed or wanted. Little water and salt you then have an excellent addition to any camp dish.  image upload site |
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Keith
City-dweller
Bushfire close but safe now. Getting some good rain.
Posts: 990
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Post by Keith on May 28, 2019 17:23:13 GMT -7
Keith.
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Post by straekat on May 31, 2019 4:11:53 GMT -7
I had some of these last weekend. 
Spence, thanks for the idea of whole wheat and caraway seeds. I'm definitely going to make some. That idea now has me thinking about whether rye (and caraway) might be possible to make also? A rye biscuit, some bacon bits......adding add dry mustard powder, and we're close to the start on a Rueben biscuit/sandwich. (It's too early to be thinking about lunch, but I have an idea of what I want).
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