Rusks I from Erken 1914: a sweet bun dough of 1.25 kg wheat flour, 9 dl milk, 250 g butter, 200 g sugar and 100 g yeast. The dough is raised, shaped into small buns, baked in a hot oven, split with a warm knife after cooling and dried at low heat until crisp rusks.
Source: Henriette Schønberg Erken, Stor kokebok, 1914-utg. s. 539 (falt i det fri)
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About the dish
Rusks were the household's keeping bread – sweet buns that are baked, split and slowly dried until crisp. Erken gives several variants; this first one is the richest, with butter and sugar in the dough.
How to make it
1
Start the yeast
Stir the yeast with 1 tablespoon of sugar, add 1 dl of lukewarm milk and enough flour to make a thick batter. Let this starter rise about 20 minutes.
2
Make the dough
Sift the flour and stir in the sugar, the lukewarm milk and the risen yeast. Knead the butter into the dough with your hands and work the dough well, until it comes away from the bowl.
3
Rise
Let the dough rise about 1 hour.
4
Shape the buns
Knead the dough and shape small, round buns. Place them on a greased baking sheet and let them proof about 15 minutes.
5
Bake
Bake the buns in a hot oven (about 220 °C (430 °F)) until baked through, about 12–15 minutes.
6
Split and dry
Take the buns out, let them cool and split them with a thin, sharp, warm knife. Dry the rusks at low heat with the oven door ajar or in a lukewarm oven (about 100 °C (210 °F)) until they are completely crisp.
Changes from the original
"del." is converted to deciliters. "Hot oven" is estimated at 220 °C (430 °F) for the buns and about 100 °C (210 °F) for the drying. The method is divided into steps, otherwise unchanged.
📖1914
Original 1914 recipe
Verbatim from the first edition of the Big Cookbook.
Foto: Faksimile: Nasjonalbiblioteket
ProofreadPage 539
1¼ kg. hvetemel
9 del. melk
250 gr. smør
200 gr. sukker
100 gr. gjær.
Gjæren utrøres i 1 spiseske sukker, tilsættes 1 del. lunken melk og mel til en tyk grøt, sættes til hævning ca. 20 minutter. Melet sigtes, irøres sukkeret, den lunkne melk, den hævede gjær, smørret bankes ind med hænderne, og deigen arbeides godt, til den slipper fatet. Hæves ca. 1 time. Deigen eltes og arbeides til smaa, runde boller, som sættes paa smurt plate; bollerne hæves igjen ¼ time, sættes i varm ovn. Tages ut, naar de er stekt, avkjøles, kløves med en tynd, skarp, varm kniv, tørres ved svak varme for aapen ovnsdør eller i lunken ovn.
📖1949
Revised 1949 recipe
From the revised edition of the Big Cookbook.
Foto: Faksimile: Nasjonalbiblioteket
ProofreadPage 624
1½ kg. hvetemel
¾ dl. melk
250 gr. smør
200 gr. sukker
100 gr. gjær.
Melet siktes, irøres sukkeret, den lunkne melk med gjæren; smøret bankes inn med hendene, og deigen arbeides ¾ time eller til den slipper fatet. Heves ca. 1 time. Deigen eltes og arbeides til små, runde boller, som settes på smurt plate; bollene heves igjen ¾ time, settes i varm ovn. Tas ut når de er stekt, avkjøles, kløves med en tynn, skarp, varm kniv, tørkes ved svak varme for åpen ovnsdør eller i lunken ovn.
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1914 (proofread, p. 539) → 1949 (proofread, p. 624)~55% of the text changedremovedadded
1¼ 1½ kg. hvetemel 9 del. ¾ dl. melk 250 gr. smør 200 gr. sukker 100 gr. gjær. Gjæren utrøres i 1 spiseske sukker, tilsættes 1 del. lunken melk og mel til en tyk grøt, sættes til hævning ca. 20 minutter. Melet sigtes, siktes, irøres sukkeret, den lunkne melk, den hævede gjær, smørret melk med gjæren; smøret bankes ind inn med hænderne, hendene, og deigen arbeides godt, ¾ time eller til den slipper fatet. Hæves Heves ca. 1 time. Deigen eltes og arbeides til smaa, små, runde boller, som sættes paa settes på smurt plate; bollerne hæves bollene heves igjen ¼ ¾ time, sættes settes i varm ovn. Tages ut, naar Tas ut når de er stekt, avkjøles, kløves med en tynd, tynn, skarp, varm kniv, tørres tørkes ved svak varme for aapen åpen ovnsdør eller i lunken ovn.
After baking, the buns are cooled and split with a thin, sharp, warm knife. A warm knife gives a cleaner cut, and the halves then dry more evenly.
How are the rusks dried?
At low heat – with the oven door ajar or in a lukewarm oven – until they are dry through and crisp.
How long does the rising take?
The yeast is set to rise about 20 minutes in the starter, the dough rises about 1 hour, and the shaped buns proof about 15 minutes before going into a hot oven.
What is in the dough?
1¼ kg wheat flour, 9 dl milk, 250 g butter, 200 g sugar and 100 g yeast. The butter is kneaded into the dough by hand, and the dough is worked until it comes away from the bowl. The recipe is from Henriette Schønberg Erken's "Stor kokebok" (1914), p. 539.
