I made a mistake.

[NanceXToo]

We made "hard tack"- you know, a sticky mixture of flour, some water, and salt, baked for 3 or 4 hours in a low temp oven, to experience something of what the pilgrims and sailors ate on the Mayflower?

 

I really REALLY should have used some sort of cooking spray on the bottom of the pan first.

 

Ugh.

 

I was able to scrape off enough of the top layer for us to be able to taste it, but the rest is hopelessly welded to the bottom of my baking pan. I tried a spatula, a hard rubber pot scraper thingie, no luck.

 

Is there any hope of this "soaking" away in hot water and dish detergent?

[Gwenhwyfar]

 

Is there any hope of this "soaking" away in hot water and dish detergent?

 

that's what i'd try ~ leave it sit in the sink, submerged, in REALLY hot soapy water for a few hours (overnight?)

 

i've burned lots of things to pans and most of it comes off again with a lengthy soak and a scrub with those green pads or the.. whatsits... the round things. yes i'm just that good with names. :tongue_smilie:

 

eta: SOS pads. i knew it would come to me when i quit trying to think of it.

Edited October 2, 2010 by Gwenhwyfar

[radiobrain]

sounds like a teachable moment to me.

 

First, don't do this, kiddies.

 

Second, what happens when we do ...THIS.. or THIS.. or even THIS?

[Jean in Newcastle]

Yes, soak it. And baking soda paste cleans baking pans fairly well.

[NanceXToo]

Thanks for the replies! It's soaking now. Keep your fingers crossed.

 

P.S. Hard tack tastes better with butter than without. LOL.

[Sandy in Indy]

I'd put it in a warm oven after it's soaked for a while--just long enough for the pan and water to get really warm--and then try to scrape it off.

 

Guess there's a reason it's called "hard" tack??? :-)

[Cinder]

Events like yours are why I decided it was worth the money to buy baking parchment. Love, love, love the stuff. Nothing sticks to it. Not even bacon. Yes, I bake bacon. You'd think with all that grease it wouldn't stick to a pan, but it sure does. And I hate scrubbing baking pans. Or any dishes really. :tongue_smilie:

 

Cinder

[Sputterduck]

I made a lot of hard tack a couple years ago and then took off to Montana to camp for a month.

 

It was, um, interesting. Even if you boil that stuff, it is barely edible. My son, 4 at the time, LOVED it. He'd walk around camp gnawing for hours and not get anywhere.

 

I don't know if it's possible to soak away hard tack. I'd boil it in a pot over the fire and it still was not something you could bite through even with severe effort.

 

I'm glad I'm not the only person weird enough to attempt hard tack! lol