Fortress of Louisbourg Soldier Bread

One of the foods recreated onsite at the Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Site is soldier bread. This was the primary food ration provided to soldiers stationed at Louisbourg – each soldier received one six-pound loaf every four days, making this food the bulk of their diet.

And this bread. Yikes. It could substitute for cannon balls in a pinch, I think. I remember the first time I visited and tried it. I could feel that first bite throughout its whole path down my esophagus.

The following recipe is from Parks Canada.

Ingredients

1/2 tbsp | 8 g of dry yeast 
1 1/2 cups | 350 ml of lukewarm water 
1/2 tbsp | 4 g salt 
3 cups | 750 ml stone-ground whole wheat flour 
1 cup | 250 ml stone-ground rye flour

Instructions

Follow the yeast package directions to get started. Mix in a large bowl: the yeast preparation, any remaining water and one third of the flour. Beat for at least 100 strokes. Cover and let rise for 30 minutes. 

Beat down and fold in the salt. Add the remaining flour 1 cup at a time until a workable dough forms that is not too stiff. Turn out onto a floured surface and lightly knead until smooth, about 5 or 6 minutes, adding flour as required to prevent sticking. 

Place in greased bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place until double in bulk. Depending on the weather, this could take between 4 and 12 hours. 

Punch down, let rise again until double in bulk. (A second rising improves the texture and taste. This step may be skipped). 

Punch down and turn dough out on floured surface and knead slightly. Divide dough into 2 equal portions and shape into rounds. Let these rise until the surface of the dough yields to the touch, about a half hour. 

Place on greased baking sheets and bake in an oven pre-heated to 400°F (200°C) for 25-30 minutes.

The bread didn’t rise as much as I expected. My boules ended up being too flat (over-proofed? not enough flour?). I’ll have to try again and see if I can get them looking more like the ones produced at the Fortress.

The Verdict

Is this my favourite bread recipe? That’s a resounding “no”. It’s dense and heavy, mainly because there is no white flour involved. But it’s worth trying to get a sense of what the lives of the soldiers were like.

(If you want an excellent book to learn more about what it was like to live and work in the Fortress, pick up Louisbourg Portraits by Christopher Moore. It won a Governor General’s Literary Award, and is actually a pretty gripping read.)