Hard Tack -- recipe

Ever wonder where the Cartwrights were during the Civil War? 

Now's your chance to find out!

Lincoln's haunted by ghosts of dead soldiers and Hoss is in "love,” what Hop Sing calls an unhealthy obsession. Adam's missing, Joe thinks Ben is dead and Ben follows the trail of a slave's suspicion that Lincoln is a traitor. In a departure from FELLING OF THE SONS, MYSTIC FIRE separates the Cartwrights into four misadventures, involving Lincoln, Mark Twain, slavery, greed, and Victorian Spiritualism. A Civil War-impacted adventure that tears the Cartwrights apart even as they try to cling together, demonstrating that in the Civil War, there were more than two sides to every battle.

Hardtack:

5 cups unbleached, all purpose flour
1 tablespoon salt
1 to 1 1/2 cups water

Preheat oven to 450 degrees

Combine dry ingredients.

Add water until you can form a firm ball.

If the dough gets sticky, add more flour.

If it gets too dry, add more water.

Roll out on a well-floured surface, using liberal amounts of flour to keep dough from sticking to roller.

Roll to approx. 1/2" thickness. Cut dough into 3" x 3" squares and poke with holes.

Place on cookie sheet and put into preheated oven. Bake for 20 minutes (until lightly browned). Cool and enjoy.

Note: You can bake at a lower temperature, it just takes longer. Remember, your object is to dry up the water you used to from the dough.
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