Ingredients:
450 grams whole wheat pastry flour
250 grams water
5 grams salt (optional)
Biscuit was a popular food for soldiers and sailors in the 18th century. These hard cracker-like wafers were ubiquitous on sea voyages and took on the additional names ship’s biscuit or sea biscuit. It wasn’t until the mid-19th century that they became known as hardtack, a term applied to the ration by soldiers during the American Civil War.
Directions:
Mix water and flour and allow to rest 20 minutes. Continue to mix dough adding salt if desired and knead until firm and smooth approximately 5-10 minutes. Add more water if kneading is too difficult. Excess moisture will be removed during the twice-baked process (bi-scuit and bi-scotti are related in this way). Also note, this dough will require less gluten to be developed than a typical bread dough, so keep kneading until cohesive and uniform in texture. Anything further is unnecessary.
Shape into rounds or cut out squares 1/4 to 1/2 inch in thickness. Dock with multiple small holes to allow moisture to escape and bake for 30 minutes at 350F. Remove from oven and keep in a warm place to prevent cracking. Lower the temperature of your oven to its lowest settling, approximately 200F, and return the biscuit to dry thoroughly. Depending on the original moisture content this could take up to several hours. Once dried, they should be cooled and stored in a dry place. The results after baking should approximate one pound of biscuit, a daily ration (if it could be had) in the Continental Army.
Just a few notes: this is essentially a 55% hydration dough. You can add more if necessary but it will be baked or dried out either way. I also include 1% salt. Salt was not a common ingredient in biscuit during the 18th century as far as I can tell, but a small amount makes these more flavorful and versatile when used in other dishes.
