Nessmuk, AKA George Washington Sears, promoted a simple and lightweight mode of camping. In his book he detailed the following in his Woodcraft book: “One afternoon I carefully packed the knapsack and organized for a long woods tramp. I took little stock in that trail, or the three days’ notion as to time. I made calculations on losing the trail the first day, and being out a full week. The outfit consisted of rifle, hatchet, compass, blanket-bag, knapsack and knife. For rations, one loaf of bread, two quarts of meal, two pounds of pork, one pound of sugar, with tea, salt, etc., and a supply of jerked venison. One tin dish, twelve rounds of ammunition, and the bullet-molds, filled the list, and did not make a heavy load.”

Bread is a historical staple ever since humans have discovered how to take grain and eventually adapt it for our use. The calories it provides and stability makes it an easy choice when travelling and trekking. Sailors used ship’s biscuits over long journeys which were essentially crackers and soldiers had a similar staple called hard tack. During the American Civil War it was prescribed that soldiers should get fresh soft bread whenever there was an opportunity and luckily soldiers were often given rations of flour or corn meal that they could adapt and make a soft biscuit or “dough gods” when they had the opportunity. Mobile bakeries and earthen ovens were a regular sight for soldiers during the American Civil War and this thankfully changed the direction from a stricter reliance on hard tack to benefit our future soldiers.

Below is a great recipe for field use, is hearty and tastes great!

The U.S. Army’s Manual for Army Cooks of 1896 page 277

FIELD BREAD.

Take five quarts of flour and one and two-thirds
tablespoonfuls of yeast powder; mix thoroughly
while dry, adding a little salt to suit the taste; then
mix in well one tablespoonful of dripping or lard ;
then add water, and in small quantities at a time,
until a biscuit dough is made; knead slightly.
Take a Government mess pan and cut off about one
inch and a half of the rim, leaving a rough edge.
Into this mess pan ‘put dough enough to fill it two-
thirds full ; cover with another mess pan. A hole
should previously have been dug in the ground
eighteen or twenty inches in diameter and depth,
and a fire burned in it five or six hours. Then take
out all the cinders except a bed two or three inches
deep ; upon this i)lace the mess pans and surround
and cover them with hot cinders ; over all spread a
covering of earth, and leave for five or six hours.

The bread will not burn, as in rising it will not
reach the bottom of the upper mess pan. The
rough-cut edges of the lower mess pan afford egress
to any gases that may be disengaged.

FIELD BREAD, BAKED IN FRYING PAN*

Prepare the dough as above described ; grease the
frying pan and set it over hot embers until the
grease begins to melt ; put the dough, rolled to a
thickness of half an inch, in the pan and set it on
the fire ; shake the pan every few moments to pre-
vent the dough from adhering ; after the crust has
formed on the bottom take the bread out of the
pan and set it up on edge, close to the fire, turning
it occasionally to insure its being baked through.

Smaller Batch

4 cups flour

1 tsp dry yeast

½ tsp salt or to taste

1 tsp drippings or lard

about 2 cups warm water