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Grocery stores across Newfoundland and Labrador have been struggling to keep hard bread in stock since a fire at the Purity factory in March put a crimp in the company’s baking operations.
Purity is the province’s primary provider of hard bread, also called hard tack, ship’s biscuit, and sea biscuit — a dry, unleavened bread made of flour, water and salt.
But why is the jaw-breaking baked good so popular here?
Dehydrated bread has been a mainstay of the traveller’s diet since ancient times. Because it’s long lasting and easy to carry, military leaders issued it to soldiers on campaign when they couldn’t count on being able to access enough local provisions to feed an army.
Roman legionaries received bucellatum , a twice-baked bread, among their field rations. King Richard the Lionheart loaded his ships with “ biskit ” when he left for the Crusades in 1190.
The non-perishable fare was also a useful provision for sailors, who could spend weeks or months at sea and often needed enough supplies to see them not only to their destination but home again afterward.
Basque seasonal fishermen brought hard bread to the coasts of Newfoundland and Labrador in the 1500s.
Between the sail out, the fishing season, and the journey home, they could be away for six months at a stretch, and they packed enough for nine months in case their ships became locked in ice and they were stranded for the winter.
When the British visited the region, they stocked up on hard bread, too.
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