In addition to my biltong experiment, I want to make hardtack/sea biscuits. It's my understanding that hardtack can last up to 50 years if kept dry, and can be reconstituted into usable flour for baking if needed. Anyone ever make it? It's basically flour and water. Any tips? I think I'll try making some tomorrow and post my results.

I've read about it but never tried it.
I dehydrate just about everything. I don't know about 50 years, but I have fruit (tomato,apple,peach,pear) and berries (strawberry, blackberry, raspberry) that I dried last year and they are still quite tasty. I've tried some root veggies (potato, beet, carrot), cukes and zucchini this year and have read that, when properly dried and stored, will last many years.
Let us know how it tastes when you're finished.

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And To The Republic For Which It Used To Stand

Heading out to get a couple of baking things in a few. I just realized that I won't be able to post the 50-year-longevity results for until 2060, so I'll just report on the basic process and flavor of the biscuits.

Made my first batch of hardtack today. With 4 cups of flour, 4 tsp of salt and just under 2 cups of water, I was able to make 10 3"x3" squares of hardtack. I just ate one after it cooled enough. Very hard on the outside, but still a bit soft on the inside. As the hardtack cools and dries, it should harden up to the consistency of a fired brick. I used whole wheat flour, and the recipe yields a pretty good flavor.

The tricky part was getting the flour/water ratio just right. Too wet and the flour sticks to everything. Too dry, and it won't hold together. I ended up putting a little too much water in at the beginning, even though I was gradually adding it. I simply sprinkled a bit more flour in while mixing until I had the consistency I wanted.

Then I baked each biscuit for 30 minutes per side at 375 degrees. I experimented with thickness of each biscuit, and discovered that you really need to keep the dough at about 1/2" thick for proper results. I will also add slightly less salt next time, and I may use sea salt instead of iodized table salt.

Also, I'll be vacuum packing them for long term storage once I perfect the recipe/process.

Thanks for the info/tips. Not sure if I'll be trying to make my own anytime soon, but good to know the information is here should I give it a go.