Cooking & Baking
Cooking and Baking were tough activities to do on the trail, but of course pioneers managed! In addition to the problem of not having a permanent place in which to cook along the trail, they had to plan ahead and bring along all, or most of the supplies they would need for the 5 month journey! That meant carrying sacks of flour, barrels of sugar and bacon, dried meats, spices, leavening, plus cooking utensils and serving dishes, which meant heavy cast iron dutch ovens and pans, crockery, and wooden or silver utensils. At the end of a long day on the trail, they would stop the wagons, start fires, and get to making supper.
Here are a few recipes you might want to try with your family:
Hardtack:
Also known as Sailor's Bread, this dry and plain water and flour biscuit was a staple at the time! It was an ideal food because it didn't generally get moldy, and it lasted a long, long, time...
Combine 2 cups of flour and 1/2 tablespoon of salt in a bowl, add 1/2 to 3/4 of a cup of water and mix with your hands until the dough comes together. Roll the dough out using a rolling pin or a dowel to about 1/3 inch in thickness. Cut the dough into squares and poke holes in the crackers to ensure even baking. Bake at 250 for about 3 hours, turn the crackers over and bake until done. The hardtack is done when it is completely dry. To eat, you will need to soak it in broth or water, it is extremely hard!
Hearty Beef Stew:
In a generously oiled dutch oven, brown cubes of beef which have been coated in flour until nice and crispy, you may need to do this in batches to avoid overcrowding your cooking vessel. After the beef is browned, set it aside, add a bit more oil and fry some sliced onions and garlic, when these are caramelized, add warmed beef or chicken broth, potatoes, turnips, celery, carrots, and the cooked beef, a bay leaf, coriander, salt and pepper, and cook until the root vegetables are nearly done. You can add fresh peas in the last few minutes of cooking. Serve with....
Whole Wheat Bread:
To one cup of room temperature water, add one tablespoon of yeast, and one tablespoon of sugar. Wait for the yeast to proof (you will see bubbles beginning to form on the surface of the water). To this, add 2 cups of regular flour, one cup of whole wheat flour, and about a third cup of oil. Mix until you have a workable dough, then turn onto a table and knead the dough until it is soft and pliable - if by chance your dough feels tough, just let it rest for a few minutes and it will soften back up. Once you feel the dough is springy to the touch, place it in an oiled bowl, and turn it over so that the oily part is on top, cover your bowl with a cloth; then let it rest in a warm spot for about an hour. When you come back, the dough will have risen to double its size. You can now shape it into a boule (a round loaf) and let it rise once more until it has doubled in size again. Place your dough in a pre-heated oven (400 degrees), and bake. Check it around the twenty minute mark. Your bread will make a hollow sound when you rap it with your knuckles to let you know it’s done. Make sure to spread your freshly baked bread with...
Homemade Butter:
The simplest way to make butter without a butter churn, is by shaking heavy cream in a mason jar until, magically, the cream separates and becomes butter. The liquid that separates is buttermilk, the solids are butter. Once it separates, you will rinse your butter with water, knead it a little, and add salt. You can drink the buttermilk!
And no meal at Sutter's Fort is complete without Gingersnap Cookies:
Cream 3/4 cup margarine and 1 cup of sugar. Stir in 4 tablespoons of molasses and 1 egg. To this, add 2 cups of flour, 2 teaspoons baking soda, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon ground cloves, and 1 teaspoon ground ginger. Mix all ingredients together until they become a dough. Shape into 1 inch round balls, roll the balls in sugar and place on a cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes (a little less if you like chewy cookies!)
Here are a few recipes you might want to try with your family:
Hardtack:
Also known as Sailor's Bread, this dry and plain water and flour biscuit was a staple at the time! It was an ideal food because it didn't generally get moldy, and it lasted a long, long, time...
Combine 2 cups of flour and 1/2 tablespoon of salt in a bowl, add 1/2 to 3/4 of a cup of water and mix with your hands until the dough comes together. Roll the dough out using a rolling pin or a dowel to about 1/3 inch in thickness. Cut the dough into squares and poke holes in the crackers to ensure even baking. Bake at 250 for about 3 hours, turn the crackers over and bake until done. The hardtack is done when it is completely dry. To eat, you will need to soak it in broth or water, it is extremely hard!
Hearty Beef Stew:
In a generously oiled dutch oven, brown cubes of beef which have been coated in flour until nice and crispy, you may need to do this in batches to avoid overcrowding your cooking vessel. After the beef is browned, set it aside, add a bit more oil and fry some sliced onions and garlic, when these are caramelized, add warmed beef or chicken broth, potatoes, turnips, celery, carrots, and the cooked beef, a bay leaf, coriander, salt and pepper, and cook until the root vegetables are nearly done. You can add fresh peas in the last few minutes of cooking. Serve with....
Whole Wheat Bread:
To one cup of room temperature water, add one tablespoon of yeast, and one tablespoon of sugar. Wait for the yeast to proof (you will see bubbles beginning to form on the surface of the water). To this, add 2 cups of regular flour, one cup of whole wheat flour, and about a third cup of oil. Mix until you have a workable dough, then turn onto a table and knead the dough until it is soft and pliable - if by chance your dough feels tough, just let it rest for a few minutes and it will soften back up. Once you feel the dough is springy to the touch, place it in an oiled bowl, and turn it over so that the oily part is on top, cover your bowl with a cloth; then let it rest in a warm spot for about an hour. When you come back, the dough will have risen to double its size. You can now shape it into a boule (a round loaf) and let it rise once more until it has doubled in size again. Place your dough in a pre-heated oven (400 degrees), and bake. Check it around the twenty minute mark. Your bread will make a hollow sound when you rap it with your knuckles to let you know it’s done. Make sure to spread your freshly baked bread with...
Homemade Butter:
The simplest way to make butter without a butter churn, is by shaking heavy cream in a mason jar until, magically, the cream separates and becomes butter. The liquid that separates is buttermilk, the solids are butter. Once it separates, you will rinse your butter with water, knead it a little, and add salt. You can drink the buttermilk!
And no meal at Sutter's Fort is complete without Gingersnap Cookies:
Cream 3/4 cup margarine and 1 cup of sugar. Stir in 4 tablespoons of molasses and 1 egg. To this, add 2 cups of flour, 2 teaspoons baking soda, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon ground cloves, and 1 teaspoon ground ginger. Mix all ingredients together until they become a dough. Shape into 1 inch round balls, roll the balls in sugar and place on a cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes (a little less if you like chewy cookies!)
