GermanZwieback | |
| Type | Biscuit |
|---|---|
Arusk is a hard, drybiscuit or a twice-bakedbread.[1] It is sometimes used as ateether for babies.[2] In some cultures, rusk is made ofcake rather than bread: this is sometimes referred to ascake rusk. In the UK, the name also refers to a wheat-basedfood additive.
In Argentina, rusk is calledtostadas de mesa (literally 'table toasts'), slices of twice-baked bread generally available in supermarkets in plain and sweetened variants. Cake rusk is calledbay biscuit; its ingredients are egg, sugar, oil, self-rising flour, and vanilla.
Rusk is calledsukhary (Azerbaijani:suxarı – a loanword fromRussian viaPersian) in Azerbaijani. It is usually made from stale bread and buns. InBaku, some bakeries use their stale buns and bread for making rusks. The price of rusk in those bakeries is usually low, as the bakeries do this to avoid wasting the leftover bread and buns.[citation needed]
Rusk is commonly called toast biscuit. Toast biscuits come in a variety of flavours, such asghee toast, garlic toast, and sugar toast, and are usually served with tea. Cake rusk is commonly known as dry cake.
Butcher rusk is a dry biscuit broken into particles, sorted by particle size and sold to butchers and others for use as afood additive insausage manufacture.[3][4] Though originally made fromstale bread, now called bread-rusk, ayeast-free variety called simply rusk is now more commonly used.
Various rusk particle sizes are used in the food industry, where uses include:[5][6]
In the UK,Farley's Rusks are a dryteething biscuit dating from the 1880s, but manufactured byHeinz since 1994. They are usually given to infants, either soaked in milk and mashed up or in their original hard form as a teething aid.
Sponge rusk (Cuban Spanish: esponru) is similar tobiscotti but it is made out of twice-baked yellow cake batter. The yellow cake batter is baked into a flat, rectangular cake pan. After it is baked and cooled, it is sliced into strips and baked again or toasted to make cake toast. It is usually eaten withcafé cubano (Cuban espresso) or as an accompaniment toice cream,custard, or other dessert dishes.
Tvebak is derived from Dutchtweebak (literally 'two bake'), an archaic synonym ofbeschuit.
Abiscotte is a French type of rusk. They are sold packaged in supermarkets. They are typically consumed for breakfast with butter, jam, or both.

A Finnish type of rusk is calledkorppu, usually a dried piece of bun, flavoured withcinnamon orsugar.Korppu is a common coffee bread, normally eaten after having been dipped incoffee. A sour version, calledhapankorppu, is a flat rusk made fromrye flour and salt, and can be eaten likecrispbread.
Zwieback (literally 'twice baked') is a form of rusk in Germany. Like the Danish and French words, the name refers to being baked or cooked twice.
The termpaximadi (Greek:παξιμάδι) covers various forms of Greek rusk, commonly made frombarley orchickpea flour, and softened with wine, water, or oil before eating.Paximadi form the basis of the Cretan snackdakos (Greek:ντάκος).

InIndia rusk (sometimes also called toast biscuit) is a traditional dried bread or cake. It is also known as papay, rattan,khasta (Hindi:ख़स्ता),russ or cake rusk inHindi-Urdu, andPunjabi orporaiபொறை in Tamil orkathi biskut inBengali. It is usually eaten dipped in milk tea which softens the rusk. The sweet "cake rusk" version[7] is made of cake whose ingredients include wheat flour, sugar, fat,leavening agent, and, optionally, eggs.[8][9][10] A popular variant is flavoured withcardamom.
Double baked bread inIndonesia is calledbagelen, believed to originate fromBagelen, a village inCentral Java. Before the second bake, the bread is smeared with sugar and buttercream. It is usually eaten as a snack.
InIran, rusk is callednān-e sokhāri (Persian:نان سوخاری). It is made from wheat flour, sugar, skimmed milk powder, vegetable oil, gluten, malt extract, soy flour, salt, yeast, and water. It is eaten as a dunking biscuit, particularly with Persian chai (tea). The most common brand ofnaan sukhaari is Vitana.
In Italy, rusk is calledfette biscottate (twice-baked slices). It should not be confused withbiscotti (sweet cookies or biscuits).
Rusk is very popular in Japan, found in many bakeries throughout the country as well as shops specializing in rusks. Though it is commonly made fromshokupan crusts, often sugared or buttered, it may also be made from baguette, croissant, or cake.[11]
In theLevant this form is calledboksum (Arabic:بقصم) inIraq andSyria orqurshalla (Arabic:قرشلة) inJordan. It is made from flour, eggs, oil or butter, sugar, yeast or baking powder, and sometimes a small amount ofcardamon. It is topped with roastedsesame seeds, blackcaraway seeds, or anise, and eaten as a dunking biscuit, especially with herbal tea.[12][13][14]

Beschuit, also known as Dutch crispbakes, are light, round, rather crumbly, unsweetened rusks as eaten in theNetherlands andBelgium. When a baby is born in the Netherlands, it is customary to servebeschuit met muisjes (with 'little mice', which areaniseeds covered in a white and pink or blue sugar layer, depending on the newborn's sex).Beschuiten are also eaten as a breakfast food with a variety of toppings, most commonly butter and sprinkles in flavours such aschocolate (chocoladehagel orchocoladevlokken) or fruit (vruchtenhagel),jam or cheese. A longtime Dutch favourite is to servestrawberries onbeschuit, which is usually topped with sugar or whipped cream.
Beschuiten are made by first baking a flat round bread (beschuitbol), slicing it in half, and then baking each half again, usually at a lower heat. It is almost always sold in rolls; a roll typically has 13 rusks (abaker's dozen). They became popular in the 17th century, asscheepsbeschuit, a food that keeps well during long sea journeys. Etymologically,biscotto (16th-century Italian),biscuit (19th century, from 16th-centurybisket) andbeschuit come from the Latin phrase(panis) bis-coctus, '(bread), twice cooked'.
In Norway, rusk is referred to askavring, and is similar to the Swedishskorpor. Crushedkavring, calledstrøkavring, is used, amongst other things, for makingkjøttkaker and in the traditional desserttilslørte bondepiker.Kavring is also broken up and can be served with regular, soured or cultured milk.
In Pakistan, rusk is colloquially known asruss (Urdu:رس). It is either available as a spherical shape that is akin to a bun or as separate rectangular pieces. It is a popular breakfast food, and is usually eaten by dipping it into milk tea, locally known asdoodh chai, to soften it. It is calledpapay (پاپے) inPunjabi.
The Philippine version of rusk is calledbiscocho. Cake rusks are calledmamon tostado.
The Portuguese version of rusk is calledtosta.Tosta is a hard coarse-textured slice of bread – which can be sweet, but most often savory – and it can be of various shapes and thicknesses. It is often ground up and used asbread crumbs.
The Russian version is calledsukhar' (Cyrillic:сухарь), fromсухой 'dry'. They are either baked a second time from sweetchallah-like bread, sliced inbiscotti fashion or made of leftover stale bread, cut into small cubes and air-dried or baked at a very low temperature. The first one is like a cookie, which can be served with milk,kefir, tea, coffee or cacao. The second one is usually added to soup, clear or otherwise, softening up from absorbed liquids and accompanying it instead of bread. It became a tradition to avoid wasting leftover bread that always was a staple in Russian cuisine. There is much folklore about bread in the Russian language, paying respect to this grain food that is one of the cornerstones of Slavic nations' life and history. Rye bread rusks are the major ingredient in making of the Russiankvass, a traditionalfermented beverage.

Rusks is the anglicized term forbeskuit and is a traditionalAfrikaner breakfast meal or snack. They have beendried in South Africa since the late 1690s as a way of preserving bread, especially when traveling long distances without refrigeration. Their use continued through theGreat Trek and theBoer Wars[15] through to the modern day. Rusks are typicallydunked in coffee or tea before being eaten.[16]
Rusks are essentially double-baked bread dough. Round balls of dough are closely packed in pans and baked like bread, after which long chunks are cut or broken off and slowly re-baked to a dry consistency. Several modern-day, mass-produced versions are available, the most famous brand beingOuma Rusks. Many bakeries, delis, and home industries sell commercial rusks, sometimes made from non-traditional ingredients, such asbaking powder rather than sourdough. In addition to plain andbuttermilk flavours,aniseed,wholewheat,condensed milk,muesli, and lemonpoppyseed variations are also available.

Skorpor (plural; singularskorpa) are a Swedish form of rusk. They are usually unflavoured or flavoured withcardamom, but can also be flavoured with herbs, dried fruit, nuts, or spices such asanise. Swedish bakery companyPågen makes the world's most-sold rusk brand, Krisprolls.[17] The traditional Swedish way to eat them is dipping them into a beverage such ascoffee,milk orjuice.Butter and possiblycheese,marmalade orjam can be added on top; they may be eaten together with a beverage or a fruit soup.
Rusks are known in Sweden at least since the 16th century. Rusks were provisions in the military units and on ships. Back then they could also be crushed with a hammer and the crumbs ended up insvagdricka,beer andsoup.[18]
InTurkish, rusk is calledpeksimet.Pek means 'solid, tight, durable' in Turkish andsimet/simit is an Arabic word (سميد) meaning 'bread' or 'flour'. Another name isgaleta, aloanword fromCatalan.[19]
In the US, commonly available types of rusk includemelba toast andcroutons, which are sold packaged in grocery stores, andbiscotti, which are found both at grocery stores and coffee shops.