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Homemade Hard Bread

Hard Bread also called Hard Tack, this is a hard biscuit we use to make fish and brewis  or moose and brewis. It is also use when cooking wild game, you will soak it in cold water overnight to soften…

By Bonita Hussey

5.02 ratings
Prep
10 min
Cook
40 min
Makes
12
Serves
Family
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This recipe is in my cookbook Bonita's Kitchen: A Little Taste of Home
Hard bread also called Hard Tack.

About this recipe

Hard Bread also called Hard Tack.
Hard Bread also called Hard Tack.

Hi and welcome to our website!

Hard bread is a small hard biscuits used by sailors when out to sea, because of its long shelf life this would replace homemade bread.

Then it continued on through generations for people to use in fish and brewis and with any wild game meat.

I will share a couple of links to recipes you would use hard bread in.

Traditional Newfoundland Fish & Brewis

Fishermens Brewis
Fishermens Brewis
Traditional Newfoundland Fish and Brewis
Traditional Newfoundland Fish and Brewis

Traditional Newfoundland Moose & Brewis

Moose and Brewis
Traditional Newfoundland Moose and Brewis

I will also share a link to our cookbook’s.

 https://www.bonitaskitchen.com/cookbook

Please continue on to the recipe Traditional Newfoundland Homemade Hard Bread also called Hard Tack.

Cookbooks
New cookbook, A Little Taste of Home and Old cookbook, Traditional Newfoundland recipes and cooking
Hard bread also called Hard Tack.
Homemade Hard Bread also called Hard Tack, this is a hard biscuit we use to make fish and brewis  or moose and brewis. It is also use when cooking wild game, you will soak it in cold water overnight to soften it up to use in the meal.

This is a quick and easy recipe for hard bread and I’m glad to have a video to show you how to make it, sometimes the simplest recipes we are afraid to try but rest assure you will love this one.

Dough for making hard bread
Dough for making hard bread
Dough shaped into a block to cut out 12 pieces of dough to make hard bread.
Dough shaped into a block to cut out 12 pieces of dough to make hard bread.
Small pieces of dough ready to go in the oven to make hard bread.
Small pieces of dough ready to go in the oven to make hard bread.
Homemade Hard Bread made from three simple ingredients.
Homemade Hard Bread made from three simple ingredients.

These small biscuits are available in stores sold by purity and have been enjoyed by many people, they are not only used for cooking with fish, moose and wild game. They are good by itself warmed with butter and sugar over them and a nice cup of tea or even pudding’s.

They are not a lot of work to make. But for the 10% of people that don’t have access to these small biscuits you will be so glad to have this recipe.

After they are baked let them cool down and then store them in a plastic bag or a paper bag in your cupboard for two week’s or freeze then until they are all gone. Remember to visit the link on Bonita’s kitchen for Traditional Newfoundland Fish and Brewis and Fish Cakes you will glad to have this recipe to complete your delicious meal…..

Thank you reading my blog and taking the time to comment, like and share any of my videos, we so appreciate all your support. We are trying to reach out to as many people we can so they can enjoy our cultural foods. So from our kitchen to yours have a wonderful day.

Enjoy Bonita, RMHussey Productions and Team!

Welcome to Bonita's kitchen
Enjoy Bonita

The recipeHomemade Hard Bread

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  1. In a large bowl mix all ingredients together, add more water if needed.

  2. Then knead everything together and flatten to about a 1.5 inch thickness.

  3. Cut into squares, then poke six little holes in the top.

  4. Place on a greased cookie pan or line with parchment paper.

  1. Bake in a 425°f oven for 40 to 60 minutes, depending on your oven or until golden brown and the dough becomes hard.

  2. When it is prepared properly it will look, feel and taste exactly like regular hard bread. Store hard bread in a bag and in a dry cupboard for two weeks, you can also store it in the fridge for a month or freezer until all is gone.

  3. When ready to use hard bread soak overnight in cold water, then follow the recipe for Fish and Brewis. It makes around 12 blocks of hard bread.

  4. I apologize in advance if anything in this video is not clear or misread, please follow my recipe when making this dish.

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Allergens
  • Wheat

From my ingredient list. If you have an allergy, always check the labels on what you buy.

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Homemade Hard Bread

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    19 messages

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    1. ROB STURROCK

      hello from North Ontario Bonita I have a question When the hard bread is finished baking, do I still need to
      soak it in water if I’m cooking fish and brewis right away. Cant find any stores within 100km that sell it Thanks Rob

      Reply
      1. Bonita

        Hi Rob, So sorry I just seen your message, when you bake the hard bread if you are ready to use it that day. Yes you will have to soak it for a less a couple of hour to soften the bread. The best to bake it the day before so you can soak it over night or at less until it softens. This is a lovely recipe and hard bread is not something a store outside of NL sells.
        I hope I wasn’t to late for your message. You can also email me a question at [email protected]
        Thank you
        Bonita

        Reply
    2. Cindy Shelley

      I was so excited to know that I can now make my own hard bread. I made my first batch 9:30 at night. I left it in for about 40 minutes but it wasn’t quite done enough. It turned out more like sourdough bread.

      My husband tried a piece, and he loved it so much he ate four pieces before we went to bed lol.
      So this morning at 5:30 I got up and made the full recipe. Today I will leave it in longer, to make sure that it is as hard as store bought hard bread.

      Thank you
      A thankful Customer
      Cindy

      Reply
      1. Bonita

        Hi Cindy! Thank you for your message and for stopping by…I’m so glad you made and enjoyed our recipe for hard bread. Of course the recipe is depending on your oven,,,so it was good for you to bake it longer to make it more hard.
        I’m so glad you enjoyed it…fish and brewis is a big deal for east coast families and having a recipe to make some when you don’t have access to it…its pretty special.
        Have a Merry Christmas
        Bonita

        Reply
        1. Charmaine

          When forming the cakes how thick should they be?
          And do they thicken as they bake or are they around the same thickness as Purity HB?
          Also….I always thought HB lasted ages in the cupboard. Is there a way to change the recipes so it last longer? Or should I just cook longer to dry it out more?

          Reply
          1. Bonita

            Hi Charmaine, Thank you for stopping by and for your questions? This is a lovely quick recipe and they taste the same as the Purity HB. But the only difference is the Purity HB got preserves to keep it longer on the shelve. Ours is homemade and made for a couple of uses not to store for months. You can freeze them and it will last longer that way and still taste good.
            I hope this helps and enjoy to the fullest…
            Bonita

            Reply
    3. Pamela

      Hello Bonita,
      Just wondering if this recipe can be modified to make the sweet bread? I absolutely love your site and your videos.

      Reply
      1. Bonita

        Hi Pamela, I’m sure you can and adding maybe a 1/3 cup of white sugar will sweeten the dough and maybe add the sugar to the water to resolve first before adding to the flour. Enjoy to the fullest…:) Bonita

        Reply
    4. Catherine Giles

      Hi Bonita,
      In your response above, you said that the hard bread only has a week or two shelf life. We know that salt is a preservative. I wonder if I added extra salt, would it expand on the shelf life? Thoughts? I don’t think I would want to double the salt, because it would make the hard bread too salty.

      Reply
    5. Tf Willi

      I always bought purty hard but the price of it has gone up and with about
      half the size , so I’m going to make some , I saw three cakes of it into a store
      and cost $229 and I guess many people will not buy it .

      Reply
      1. Bonita

        Hi and thank you for stopping by, its to costly to pay that for hard bread, this recipe will work great for you and its so easy. Enjoy and thank you for stopping by 🙂 Bonita

        Reply
    6. Catherine Allarie

      Hello Bonita, Thought it was about time that I left you a message in regards to your homemade hard bread-I have made it twice now and I want to thank you so much for posting this wonderful recipe and video. I live in British Columbia where it is very difficult to get hard bread.I am able to pick up salt pork and salt cod at my local store .Today I am making my two sons and myself a good feed of brewis to celebrate Canada Day! My mother was from Newfoundland so I grew up eating her Newfoundland dishes. My husband and I took a trip to Newfoundland 3 years ago and stayed in St. John’s- it is truly a fabulous and unique province. I really enjoy watching your videos and trying your delicious recipes. Thanks again and take care…….

      Reply
      1. Bonita

        Hi Catherine: Thank you so much for your message and for enjoying our channel, I’m so glad you made our hard bread recipe. This is why we thought it was a lovely recipe to have available for anyone that don’t have access to hard bread in the local stores. Whats so lovely about it you only get a few hard bread at a time and its easy to make, i’m so glad you have access to salt cod and salt pork. We enjoyed visiting BC years ago when our boys went to University there, and I was very pleased with the delicious seafood, remind us of home. I took part of yesterday off the relax in the only sunny day we had in a week, haha but I’m back working today, I hope you enjoyed your feed of fish and brewis and once again thank you for all your support on our channel and have a beautiful summer. 🙂 Stay safe…..Bonita

        Reply
    7. Annemarie Groblet

      Good Morning

      I want to make hard bread to sell…..please I need your advise in what bags can I put it in, and for how long is the shelves life.

      I saw your shop on TV it’s beautiful on the show Delicious foods from Andrew Zimmer. I will also subscribe to your newsletter.

      Have a blessed day all the way from South Africa
      All my love
      Annemarie

      Reply
      1. Bonita

        Hi Annemarie: Thank you so much for your message and for enjoying our recipe and video, you can put them in a plastic or paper bag after they are completely cool. The have about a week or two shelve life but you can keep them in the fridge or freeze until you are ready to use them. If you are going to sell them only sell 4 in a bag and have a note outside letting them know. Enjoy and thank you for your message from South Africa. Bonita

        Reply
    8. Katherine Woods Sayles

      Thanks for the “memories” of Newfoundland Hard Bread. For some unexplained reason, the memory of my mother-in-law requesting us to get her some of it in Boston, Massachusetts
      came to my mind just today. She grew up in Newfoundland, and then made a life for herself in Boston, MA area LONG AGO.

      She was delighted we found her some of this hard bread in a bag at a Boston store. I remember her soaking it, seems like she fried it, and we enjoyed it with fish.

      That was over 50 years ago. And I can still “taste” the delicious “memory”.

      From a “differently” spelled “Katherine” (I like the way your name is spelled!)

      Reply
      1. Bonita

        Hi Katherine: Thank you so much for your message and for visiting my website, its a small world I always say. We live a life time apart but you still have connections in Newfoundland, how wonderful that is. This is a lovely recipe for hard bread and quick and easy to make. Have a lovely weekend and thank you once again for your lovely recipe. 🙂 Bonita

        Reply
    9. Katharyn Cade

      I have been looking for a hard tack recipe for a long time. You said that there is a video, but I can’t find it.

      Reply
      1. Bonita

        Hi Kathryn: Thank you for your message and for visiting my website, the recipe link that you are commenting on is the video. Just click the link and it should open, the recipe is on this same link. please let me know how it goes. Thanks Bonita

        Reply

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