Pennsylvania German Rusks Rolls Recipes

GRANDMA'S ZWIEBACK ROLLS

Steps:

• In a small bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in water; set aside. In a large bowl, combine 3 cups flour, salt, shortening, milk and yeast mixture. Beat well. Add enough of the remaining flour to form a soft dough. , Turn out onto a lightly floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic about 6-8 minutes. Dough will be soft. Place dough in a lightly greased bowl; cover and allow to rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. , Punch dough down and divide into four pieces. Divide three of the pieces into eight pieces each; shape into smooth balls and place on greased baking sheets. Divide remaining dough into 24 balls. Press 1 small ball atop each larger ball. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes. , Preheat oven to 375°. Bake until golden, 28-32 minutes. Remove from pans to wire racks. Serve warm.

BUTTERMILK RUSKS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Grease cake pans. You can use 9x13-inch pans, round cake pans, or loaf pans.
• Melt butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Remove from heat and mix in sugar, buttermilk, and eggs.
• Combine self-rising flour, granola, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Add to the butter mixture and mix until well combined. Batter will be sloppy. Divide into thirds, and then divide each third into small balls. Place into the prepared cake pans side by side.
• Bake in the preheated oven until cooked fully through, 45 to 60 minutes. Remove from oven and gently place on baking sheets.
• Reduce oven temperature to 200 degrees F (95 degrees C). Bake rusks on low temperature until dry and crunchy, 2 to 3 hours. Depending on the size of your rusks this can take several hours.

GERMAN ZWIEBACK: RUSKS

Steps:

• Cream the yeast with 1/2 cup of the milk and 1 teaspoon of the sugar.
• Leave it in a warm place until foaming, about 15 minutes.
• Then add it to 2 cups of the flour.
• Mix thoroughly, gradually adding 2/3 cup of the remaining milk, to make a yeast sponge.
• Let it rise in a warm place until it has doubled in bulk, about one and one half hours.
• Stir into the sponge the egg yolks, remaining sugar, butter and the rest of the flour and milk.
• Blend the mixture into a dough.
• Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead it thoroughly for about 15 minutes, or until it is smooth and elastic.
• Cover the dough with a damp cloth and let it rise for 30 minutes in a warm place.
• Shape the dough into three 12-inch cylindrical loaves.
• Sprinkle the tops with a few drops of tepid water.
• Place the loaves on buttered baking sheets, let them rise for about 45 minutes, then bake them in a preheated 400 F.
• oven for 50 minutes, or until light brown.
• The next day, cut the loaves into thin slices with a very sharp knife.
• Place the slices on buttered baking sheets and bake them in a preheated 325 F.
• oven for 30 minutes, turning them after 15 minutes.
• When finished, they should be dry and evenly browned.
• Elek Magyar.
• Kochbuch Fur Feinschmecker.

DUTCH RUSKS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400°F degrees.
• Proof the yeast in 1/2 cup of the lukewarm milk with 1 teaspoon of the sugar.
• When you have a yeast sponge, add the rest of the milk, sugar, and soft butter. Stir in the flour, cup by cup, until you have a dough that you can knead. Work until smooth and shiny, then place in a large buttered bowl, cover with a towel and put in a warm place for about 1 hour or until doubled in bulk.
• Take the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface, knead for a few minutes and roll into ropes, about 2 inches thick. Bread off pieces, about the size of an egg, and shape into little round buns.
• Place these on buttered baking sheets, cover with a towel and let rise until doubled in bulk, about 45 minutes.
• Bake in the oven until they are pale gold, about 15 to 20 minutes.
• Cool on a rack.
• After they have cooled, use a big fork to slice the top half off each bun. Place both tops and bottoms on a baking sheet; they can be rather close together.
• Bake in a 400 degrees oven until light brown, about 10 to 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and let them get crisp.
• Let cool completely before eating.
• These will keep crisp and fresh for a long time. If they do get soggy, put them back in a low oven and let them crisp again. 60 rusks. Do not freeze.
• Breads Of The World.

PENNSYLVANIA GERMAN RUSKS (ROLLS)

Steps:

• 1. Scald milk, add butter, sugar, and salt. Let set until lukewarm. Add eggs and the yeast. Mix in just enough flour to make a relatively soft dough. I used my stand-up mixer with the hook attachment. Knead well and place in a greased bowl, cover with a clean towel, and allow to rise double in size. (Place the bowl in a warm spot where there is no draft). I placed mine by the fire but have been known to stick it in my car when the sun is hitting it!
• 2. Punch down and shape into rolls. How many depends on the size you roll them in. I used a round cake pan that was greased with cooking spray and rolled them into pretty nice size rolls. Cover with a clean towel and let rise until doubled in size. Note: you can also make these rolls on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. See the picture posted by JAP Member Wendy Whipple Rusch! I put mine in a round cake pan because of doing them in my dutch oven in my openhearth fireplace.
• 3. Bake at 375° for about 20 minutes or until nice and brown. Enjoy!