Hard Tack!

Today we created a little booklet for the GD library - World War One in numbers. Each student chose one fact of the Great War to represent in some way on a square card, which was later hole punched and clipped together with book rings.

We researched some New Zealand figures from World War One, such as Sir Harold Gillies - plastic surgeon pioneer - Dave Gallaher - All Black Captain who died at the Somme - and Henare Te Wainohu - chaplain on Gallipoli.

Dave Gallaher

Sir Harold Gillies

Henare Te Wainohu

In the afternoon we attempted to make Hard Tack - the soldier staple which has as many stories told about it as Anzac Biscuits. One is that it saved a man's life when it caught a bullet in his breast pocket. Another is that it was so hard and disgusting that even the weevils didn't try to eat it. Apparently some hard tack from the Great War is still preserved in a museum somewhere (possibly more than one) and it's likely to taste just as it did 100 years ago.

Mrs Armstrong's recipe for Hard Tack

2 cups of flour
3 tsp salt
Mix these together then make a well in the centre and add one cup of water slowly, mixing as you go. When it's all added and looks a bit stringy, use your hands to make a dough. Roll out to a quarter of an inch. Sprinkle with salt. Mark into squares or rectangles (we forgot this step at school), prick with a fork and bake for 30 minutes at 180 degrees. Flip over and bake again for 30 minutes.

Soldiers used to dunk hard tack in their tea or coffee to soften it. They also used to fix it on the end of their bayonets and toast it over the fire - it's definitely more palatable warm.

My strange children have demanded it in their lunchboxes.