Dutch Rusks

Total Time: 1 hr 15 mins Preparation Time: 20 mins Cook Time: 55 mins

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon yeast
• 2 cups milk, scaled and cooled to lukewarm
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup soft butter, and
• 2 tablespoons soft butter
• 6 -8 cups all-purpose flour, about
• 1 teaspoon crushed cardamom seed (optional)

Recipe

• 1 preheat the oven to 400°f degrees.
• 2 proof the yeast in 1/2 cup of the lukewarm milk with 1 teaspoon of the sugar.
• 3 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.
• 4 take the dough out 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.
• 5 place these on buttered baking sheets, cover with a towel and let rise until doubled in bulk, about 45 minutes.
• 6 bake in the oven until they are pale gold, about 15 to 20 minutes.
• 7 cool on a rack.
• 8 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.
• 9 bake in a 400 degrees oven until light brown, about 10 to 15 minutes. turn off the heat and let them get crisp.
• 10 let cool completely before eating.
• 11 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.
• 12 breads of the world.