Bread vs Rusk

[Parson Snows]

I personally do not have a preference to either, they both have their uses. For commercial sausage making they are both used. Musk�s Newmarket Sausages use bread as do Dickinson & Morris, and Stroff�s Specialty Sausages. O�Hagan�s use rolled oats. Franco is right in as much that bread uses yeast and rusk is made with raising agents, however, their are other differences. The main one being the amount of water/liquid that they absorb.

Sausage and Small Goods Production � Frank Gerrard (1955 edition)
�The absorption figure will depend to some extent on the staleness of the bread, but 1 lb of stale bread should be permitted to absorb 1-1 � lbs of water, and bread so treated will have a moisture content approaching that of lean meat�

Basically a pound of bread a pint (Imperial) of water, as a rule of thumb.
My modified bread recipe follows

U.K. Traditional Bread
Based on Eliza Acton�s �Excellent Suffolk Bread� from �The English Bread Book� Published in 1857

Ingredients
100 ml +150 ml Warm water (blood heat)
100 ml warm Milk (blood heat)
1 heaped tspn dried yeast
1 heaped tspn brown sugar
500 g Bread Flour/strong flour
1 tspn salt
15 ml (1 Tblspn) Salad Oil

Method
� Sprinkle yeast over 100 ml of warm water whisk in sugar and allow to stand for 15 minutes or until frothy.
� Put flour and salt into food processor and mix.
� Stir in warm milk and salad oil into yeast mixture.
� With food processor running slowly pour yeast mixture into flour/salt mixture.
� With the Food processor on �Setting 2� for 15 seconds add remaining water as necessary. (all flour is slightly different).
� Shape dough into ball and allow to prove in a covered bowl for 45 minutes to 1 hour.
� Punch dough down and shape into loaf (swiss roll style, placing seam on the bottom).
� Place into lightly greased 4 �� x 8 �� loaf pan.
� Let rise until almost doubled in bulk (30 to 45 minutes) or longer if colder.
� Preheat oven to 450 �F and bake for 10 minutes then reduce heat to 400 �F and bake for a further 10 minutes.
� Remove from loaf tin then place in oven upside down for 5 minutes more to dry out and brown off bottom.
� Allow to stand for 15 minutes on a wire rack.

Test Case 17th June 2004
When freshly baked : 785 g
Dried Weight : 760 g

As I have mentioned before if bread is being used I would recommended lightly toasting it or lightly baking it to make sure that all of the yeast has been destroyed. Otherwise you could end up with your sausages souring.

For rusk if price is not too important an absorption figure of 1 � lbs of water per lb of rusk should be aimed at however, a ratio of 2:1 is frequently employed.

Recipe for an economy rusk follows

Rusk (Economy)

Ingredients
� 1 lb (450 g) plain/all purpose flour or bread flour/strong flour
� ⅛ tspn (pinch) of salt
� 5 tspns (25 ml) DOUBLE ACTING baking powder (see note below)
� 6 � - 8 � fl oz (185 -250 ml) potable water

Note: 1 tspn (5 ml) baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) and
2 � tspns (11� ml) cream of tartar may be substituted for the baking powder.

Method
� Preheat oven to 450 �F (230 �C)
� Sieve the flour, salt and DOUBLE ACTION baking powder together.
� DO NOT ADD ALL OF THE WATER but just enough to make a smooth, pliable dough (all flours vary)
� Roll out lightly to approximately �� (12 mm) thick then place on a lightly greased tray
� Place in oven on the middle shelf and bake for 10 minutes at 450 �F (230 �C)
� Remove from the oven and using the tines of a fork split in half along its thickness
� Place back on tray with the opened faces upwards
� Return to oven
� Reduce the heat to 375 �F (190 �C) and bake for a further 10 minutes.
� Remove from oven and allow to cool on a wire rack.
� When cool using the large holes of a grater reduce to ⅛� (3 mm) particles.
� Store in airtight container and use as required.


Hope that this is of some use to you
Kind Regards

Parson Snows

[Oddley]

You know something I never thought of making my own rusk (wouldn't have known what recipe to use anyway). As I make my own bread it doesn't seem to difficult to make some rusk as well and give it a try in some sausage mix.

Thanks for the recipe.

[Parson Snows]

As you already make your own bread, I'd appreciate it if you tried my modified bread recipe above and let me have you views/comments/improvements etc.

Kind Regards

Parson Snows

[Oddley]

Hiya Parson Snows I made your bread recipe it came out good. I couldn't bring myself to follow your instructions to the letter because being an experienced bread maker I know if I had the bread would have been of an inferior quality.

Explanation:

The recipe is a bog standard white bread recipe with the exception of brown sugar instead of white castor sugar and half milk instead of all water.

1. You have not explained to the reader the importance of keeping the yeast mixture from contact with the salt or sugar as high concentrations of either substance will kill yeast cells.

2 The art of bread making is conditional on how good the dough is. For good dough you need 3 things a good recipe good ingredients and the right amount of fluid.
You have not told the reader that the dough cannot be dry in fact probably wetter than they think.

3 Using a food processor is ok to bring the dough into a ball but cannot be used efficiently for kneading. You have not explained that if the dough is not kneaded vigorously for 5-10 minutes or until it becomes elastic the bread will be heavy and doughy. Also that it needs to be kneaded for 2-3 minutes after being knocked back.

4 The cooking time was to short if I would have left it in the oven the time you suggested the bread would have been undercooked and very doughy. I suggest a cooking time of 30 minutes in the centre of an oven at a temperature of 400F 200C gas mark 6 knock it out of the tin and return it to the oven upside-down for 5 minutes to brown the underside

5 All these things I did. I also put a 1/4 inch deep slit down the centre of the dough and sprinkled flour on the dough just before I put it in the oven it makes the bread more attractive also gives it a professional look

6 When out of the oven I normally recommend leaving the bread on a rack for about an hour the reason being if eaten hot it normally causes indigestion and when cut hot causes the bread to go stale quicker.

Conclusion:
by these simple steps the bread produced was soft in texture good in flavour a professional looking loaf.

[Parson Snows]

Thanks for your detailed notes and the time and effort taken in replying. I will certainly look over them and incorporate as much as possible. I live in Thailand where the bread available leaves much to be desired. Hence the reason that I was messing around making bread. It's main purpose is for inclusion in sausages as rusk is not available here (hence the rusk recipe).
Appreciate the input, certainly from a experienced baker though I probably wouldn't bother with the slit on the top as it's for sausages only

Kind Regards

Parson Snows

[Oddley]

Thats ok M8. If thats the case use white sugar and all water increase the baking time too 35 min at 400F gives a slightly drier loaf. Thats what I use for sausages.

[Parson Snows]

If possible, with this additional information in mind, it would probably be easier/quicker for you to post an accurate bread recipe that is suitable for inclusion in sausage making than for me to revise my recipe. I have always been a firm believer of learn something new everyday.

Kind regards


Parson Snows

[Oddley]

Incorporating 25 years of experience into a recipe, as you might understand is quite difficult but here goes.

Bog Standard White Loaf

Ingredients:

1lb Strong white bread flour
1 tsp castor sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2-pint water
1/2 oz fat (about) butter olive oil margarine etc
* Yeast

*Yeast comes in different flavours if using fresh bakers yeast use 1/2 oz dissolved in the 1/2 pint of Luke warm water with sugar already Whisked in. Leave 15-20 minutes in a warm place until frothy.

*With dried yeast Use the 1/2 pint Luke warm water whisk in the sugar then whisk in 1 tsp yeast. Leave 15-20 minutes in a warm place until frothy.

Method:

As it is important to keep the yeast mixture away from Salt and Sugar because high concentrations of these substances will kill the yeast cells and prevent an effective rise of the dough or increase rising times considerably. Please add the ingredients in the correct order.

Note: this quantity of water usually works fine with UK flour. The dough should feel very slightly wet. This is where the art comes in.


By hand:

1. Sieve the flour and salt onto a large board or kitchen counter.

2. Form into a well put the yeast mixture into the centre of the well and add fat. Bring in the sides of the well slowly with a fork and mix until all the water has been well mixed with the flour. Now bring together the dough with your hands.

3. Knead for 5-10 minutes vigorously or until the dough is elastic. You will feel the dough change texture from firm to soft and pliable.

4. Leave to rest covered with a cloth or Clingfilm for 45 minutes in a warm place 70-75F to rise double in size at a temperature of no more than 80F as above these temperatures the yeast begins to die.

5. Knock the dough back and knead for a couple of minutes. To get rid of all residual carbon dioxide from the dough. Otherwise you will have large holes in the bread.

6. Knead loaf into the shape you desire and put into a buttered bread tin or onto a buttered baking tray. Leave for 45 minutes in a warm place 70-75F to rise double in size.

7. Slit the risen dough lengthwise about 1/4 inch deep and sprinkle thinly with flour (if using bread tin).

8. Put into the centre of an oven at 200C 400F gas mark 6 for 35 minutes. Remove from oven if using a bread tin knock out and return to the oven for 5 minutes upside-down to brown the sides and bottom. When finished put on a cooling rack for about an hour to cool and dry.

Processor:

Put ingredients into the processor in the order of Salt, Flour, Fat, yeast mixture. Process until mixture forms a ball. Then follow steps 3-8.

Food Mixer (Kenwood Chef etc.)

With dough hook attached put ingredients into the Food Mixer in the order of Salt, Flour, Fat, and yeast mixture. Mix for 15 minutes then follow steps 4-8

I always eat this bread but any leftovers are always sliced and left in the open until rock hard. Then processed into fine breadcrumbs and frozen for use in sausages and coating for fish chicken etc.

Has God angered you ( handle and sig).

[Parson Snows]

Appreciate the quick response, and the recipe. It's certainly one that I will print out for keeping. I chuckled at the instruction to place the dough "in a warm place 70-75F to rise double in size" . That's a winter's day here.

Kind regrards


Parson Snows