| Ingredients: 150 ml milk
15 g fresh yeast
50 g butter
25 g honey
1 egg yolk
1/4 tsp coarsely crushed cardamom seeds
500 ml (about 275 g) flour
1 egg for glazing
Directions:1. Dissolve yeast in small amount of cold milk. Warm up rest of milk and add to yeast mixture along with egg yolk. Add flour enough to get soft and kneadable dough and continue kneading until dough is shiny and elastic. Cover and let rise until doubled in size.
2. Mix together soft butter, honey and cardamom and add mixture to dough. Add more flour, knead and shape dough into small batons, about 10 cm long and 3 cm wide. Place batons on baking sheet covered with parchment paper, cover with towel and let rise.
3. Brush batons with egg wash and bake at 225 C (437 F) for 8-9 minutes, or until slightly browned on surface. Let batons cool down a bit, then cut them in half lengthwise with a serrated knife. Place baton halves back on baking sheet, cut side up, and brown at 200 C (392 F) for 5-10 minutes.
4. Remove rusks from oven and reduce heat to 50 C (122 F). Return rusks to oven, leave oven door ajar and let rusks dry until very crisp, for about 1-2 hours. You can dry two baking sheets of rusks simultaneously - one on top of another - only switch their places in the halfway through baking.
5. Serve rusks warm or cold at breakfast, lunch or as a snack with tea, coffee, hot chocolate etc, spread with butter, jam, honey, cream cheese or whatever you like. Store in an airtight container. |
