Picture this: A global crop pandemic has wiped your grocery stores clean, you've just finished your last can of soup, and your only hope for survival until staple foods are restocked is your supply of emergency meals. Which... You have, right? Right?!
Or — okay fine fine — imagine this more realistic scenario: You're on a strenuous weeks-long hike and you need a caloric snack that won't go bad or fall apart while being schlepped around in your bag. What do you pack?
Enter: Survival bread, also known as hard tack, pilot bread, and sea biscuits. It's been popping up all over the Internet as of late, and according to Food and Wine, it's the most-searched recipe on Pinterest in Alaska.
But what's so special about it? 1) It only needs three ingredients: flour, salt, and water. And 2) It can last for a year or more (!) when stored in an airtight container.
I tried it, and TBQH? It’s bland, hard, and the least tasty bread I’ve had in my life. That’s not its point, though.
If you're planning on packing an emergency kit, going camping, or are simply an apocalyptic aficionado, here're five ways you can prepare the nonperishable stuff:
1. The original way:
2. In a grapefruit or orange, over a campfire:
3. With sugar and oats:
4. With bread flour (instead of all-purpose flour):
5. With olive oil:
6. In an Altoids tin:
This week, we're talking about, preparing for, and surviving the worst things imaginable. See more Disaster Week content here.
