Things I changed:2 cups oats
1 1/2 cups powdered milk
1 cup sugar
6 Tbl honey
Since I had such success with oat groats in my cordials, I used the remaining groats here. Most I through in our flour mill to get a coarse "whole wheat" type flour, and withheld a half cup or so I ground more coarsely to give a bit of texture. Trying to stick with period materials, I cut the sugar out entirely. In retrospect I perhaps should have added more honey for the sake of energy, but the oat groats are sweet enough to my taste as they are.
I did the usual "try a couple different things and see how they work" - I tried with and without a touch of lard cut in, and with and without some currants, for a total of four trials:
They're drying now, but fresh out of the oven..
1. All sit fairly heavy in the stomach - I don't know if one is enough for a day, but it could easily make the better part of a meal.
2. The lard I find makes it paradoxically a little crunchier, with a bit more of a doughy aftertaste. It's a subtle difference, though I find I slightly prefer the version without the lard. That said I want to keep the energy if I can, so if it stores as well that's the way I'll go.
3. The currents totally are worth it - they make a fairly plain ration yummy!
Once they're out of the dehydrator tomorrow they start the "sealed vs pouch" shelf life test. I've not got enough waxed bags to store them separately, so I'm afraid I'll be resorting to plastic. But I am curious to see if either the lard or the dried currants affect shelf life.
Next attempt will probably be back to wheat flour - and perhaps try some powdered jerky or the like for a bit more protein.
I may even eventually get to a hardtack/pemmican crossover - we'll see.