Black pepper cheese Rusk

I sometime have bread not fresh anymore. Because I bake bread again and again.
Today I made Rusk.

I have never seen Rusk in NZ. Rusk is twice-baked bread, crispy, sometime hard. It is similar with Biscotti. 

• In Japan, Rusk is ideal for present. It is sold in package one by one. There is lots of flavor. Sugar butter is one of typical flavor. Maple, cinnamon, green tea, vanilla, garlic, pepper...and so on. 

I made Rusk with my Spinach bread. 
There are important tips,

• Slice bread evenly
• it is baked in low temperature like drying out

If you bake too long, it would be burn and hard texture.

This is savory rusk, it could match with wine and beer. 

Black pepper rusk

Your choice of bread

Butter 100 g (Soften)

Black pepper 4 g 

Edam cheese 45 g (grated)

Salt pinch

1. Slice bread 1.5 cm thick each evenly. If you got big loaf, you can cut slices in to 4.

2. Soften and cream butter in the bowl, add grated Edam cheese, pepper and salt, then combine well.

3. Spread the butter mixture on the slice.

 4. Place them on the baking tray. Preheat oven at 140℃.
Bake them 140℃ for 60 - 80 minutes.

Spinach Bread

It is just simple spinach bread, added spinach in the bread dough.
It becomes nice green color. I used my small loaf tin. This recipe makes small loaf.
I am thinking to make Rusk with it. I will update recipe next time : )

I try anything to make nowadays. I tried to make Miso paste, soaps, hand-cream, skin toner, skin emulsion, lip balm, knitting socks and hand-warmer....
I enjoy making those stuff, I like to use them in daily.

Spinach Bread

High grade flour 250g

Sugar 14g

Salt 3g

Yeast 3g

Spinach (boiled and chopped finely) 50g

Water 120 - 150g

1. Boil spinach and squeeze well. Chop it finely.

2. Put all ingredients except water into mixing bowl. Put 120g water at first. Combine it well. You might need extra water. Or if it become too wet, add flour.
Knead it for 10 minutes it becomes smooth and elastic.

3. Put it the dough into container with cover, place it at warm place. Proof it for 1 hour until it becomes double size.

4. Pour it onto the floured counter, deflate it briefly. Divide it into 4 (130g each). Make them rough ball, rest it for 15 minutes.

5. Reshape it balls. Put them into loaf tin.

6. Proof it for 40 - 50 minutes until it becomes bigger size.
Preheat oven at 180℃.

7. Bake it at 180℃ for 20 minutes.

8. Cool it down.

Ginger beer bread

I have passion for baking bread, and my darling has passion brewing beer.

He brews beer at home. He makes 25L at once. It takes 2-3 weeks to ferment depends on temperature or what kind of beer brewing.

Last week, he brewed Ginger Beer. It is much easier to brew, he said. 

That is how we keep beer and ginger beer in the fridge. 

It is shame to show you inside of our fridge... anyway, we have beer tap on the fridge, and keep the keg and Co2 tank in the fridge. 

I got ginger beer yeast from his brewing, then why not make ginger beer bread. 

This ginger beer is 2% alcohol, and made from ginger, sugar, water, lemon, orange, chili and yeast. It taste spicy and citrus flavor.

Yeast is sinking to the bottom. 

I made polish from ginger beer and yeast, flour. And I add 10% of rye flour and mixed peel to make it citrus flavor. 

Ginger beer bread

Polish 

100g white flour

100g ginger beer

1 tea spoon of ginger beer yeast

Combine all ingredients in a container, leave it at room temperature, set it 6 - 8 hours till it becomes double size. 

Final dough

350g white flour

50g rye flour

10g salt

all polish

200g ginger beer

100g mixed peel

1. In the mixing bowl with the dough hook, combine all final dough ingredients except mixed peel.
Knead it for 15 minutes until it get smooth and elastic.
On the floured counter, transfer the dough, and add mixed peel. Knead it until it is completely combined.

2. Put it in the container with cover, place it warm place, proof it 8 - 10 hours until it gets double size.

3. Pour the dough on the floured counter. Deflate it briefly.
Shape it oval ball. Sprinkle flour on the basket.  Put it into the basket.

4. Place it warm place, rise it for 1 hour until it becomes bigger size.

5. Preheat oven, 230℃ with the baking tray.
Take out the baking tray from the oven, sprinkle flour on it.
Put the dough on the tray as upside-down the basket.
Score it, spray water, and sprinkle flour on it.

6. Bake it  230℃ with steam for 10 minutes, without steam 180℃ for 10 minutes, 160℃ for 20
minutes.

7, Cool it down on the wire rack.

It is placed at Yeastspotting.