Pilot Bread: The Lifeblood of Alaska

In Alaska, experiencing hunger between meals prompts the timeless question: What will I top my Sailor Boy Pilot Bread with? Growing up in a small fishing village in the southeastern archipelago, these thick, palm-sized crackers were a staple, serving as my first teething aid as an infant. For years, they became my preferred canvas for flavors, whether adorned with smoked salmon, egg salad, or butter and jam, transporting a world of tastes to my corner of Alaska.

Pilot bread traces its roots to hardtack, an extremely dense cracker linked to sailors since the era of the pharaoh Ramesses II. During the 16th century, British naval rations included a pound of hardtack daily, turning these tough, unsalted slabs into a currency for maritime gambling and trade. Known as ship’s biscuit or sea biscuit, hardtack was also utilized as army rations, sustaining soldiers in both sides of the American Civil War. Its prevalence in the U.S. Army led Lakota leader Sitting Bull to regard it as a symbol of forced assimilation.

In contrast to hardtack, which could break teeth without moisture, pilot bread is light enough to enjoy directly from the package. John Pearson of Newburyport, Massachusetts, is credited with its creation in 1792 when he founded America’s first commercial bakery. This bakery eventually merged with the National Biscuit Company, known today as Nabisco. After acquiring Pearson in 1890, Nabisco became a major supplier of pilot bread under the Crown Pilot brand, which remained essential in various traditional recipes until its discontinuation in 2008.

The fishermen in my family embraced the mild sweetness of Sailor Boy brand pilot bread, which arrived in Alaska as a durable ration and became a lasting element of local cuisine. These long crackers, packaged in sleeves that stretch as long as a child's arm, are produced by Interbake Foods (formerly the Southern Biscuit Company) in Richmond, Virginia. They ship 300,000 boxes to Alaska each year, representing about 98 percent of pilot bread sales. Their dominance in the market long outlasted the Crown brand, and the nostalgic navy-blue box evokes fond memories for many.

Various cultures have their unique versions of this maritime cracker. Long after leaving Alaska, I spent years in Japan, where I enjoyed kanpan, or 'dry bread,' available in most grocery stores in small, bite-sized packages. Later, in South Korea, I savored barley hardtack called geum pung. Yet, as an Alaskan, my palate is still connected to Sailor Boy, often the first item I grab when returning home. It’s the one staple that’s consistently available in grocery stores throughout Alaska, no matter how remote. During my 2020 visit to my grandmother's small island village, even with inclement weather and pandemic supply issues affecting bottled water and lunch meat, Sailor Boy Pilot Bread was plentiful.

It's undeniable that hardtack arrived in Alaska in the late 19th century with those seeking to exploit and claim land that wasn’t theirs. While enjoying them with seal grease or 'stink eggs'—fermented salmon eggs—might create a sense of ownership, it doesn’t change the colonial history tied to these oddly hard, strangely addictive crackers that connect us to our white neighbors. They serve as a reminder of our shared struggles in this wild land we call home, showing that survival doesn’t have to be tasteless.

Joshua Hunt is a Brooklyn-based writer.Rejoy Armamento is an illustrator and muralist from Anchorage, Alaska.Fact checked by Victoria PetersenCopy edited by Nadia Q. Ahmad