BM# 75: A-Z Bake Around the World: Day 25
Bake of the Day: Z for Zwieback Bread
Country: Germany
For the last and final day of this month’s mega marathon, I have a crispy and crunchy bread from Germany called Zwieback. It is known as rusk or toast in India. I never thought making rusk at home was this easy. Recipe is from my absolute favorite baking resource – King Arthur flour site.
Zwieback toasts were originally marketed for teething babies because they are dry, slightly hard and crunchy. They are so light, crispy and crunchy that even moms and dads started loving them. They are also popular as Korpu in Finland. One version of these toasts from Michigan’s Upper Peninsula are spread with cinnamon sugar and then baked — these are called Trenary toast.
I initially had Zopf or Züpfe bread from Europe (Swiss, Austrian version) for the letter Z. This is a braided enriched sweet bread that is traditionally eaten on Sunday mornings. But somehow this dry toast from Germany appealed to me more than the other one.
I found 2 types of Zwieback bread recipes online. One are these crispy, crunchy toasts and there’s a Mennonite zwieback from Netherlands. This version is a yeast bread which has a small roll on top of a big roll (it looks like a bread version of snow man). The challenge is to make sure that the rolls don’t tumble over — and a perfect roll indicates the art of a master baker.
Zwieback literally means twice baked and is very similar to Italian biscotti. So fresh bread is baked and left to cool and dry out a little bit overnight. In the morning, it is sliced and baked again until very dry and crispy. 
I buy Brittania brand rusks when my in-laws are visiting. They usually have their morning tea with a toast and I think I would never have to get the store bought ones any more. The homemade ones taste so fresh and yummy dunked in some hot tea.
Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 75.
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Zwieback Bread
Ingredients
- 1½ cups all purpose flour
- ½ cup Wholewheat Pastry Flour
- 1¼ tsp Instant Yeast
- 3 tbsp sugar
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp Ground Cinnamon
- ⅛ tsp Grount Nutmeg
- 2 tbsp Butter, softened
- 1½ tsp Egg replacer whisked in 1½tbsp water (or use ½ egg whisked)
- ½ cup Lukewarm Milk
Instructions
- Combine all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix and knead until a smooth, soft, somewhat sticky dough forms.
- Cover the dough and allow to rise until puffy, about 2 hours.
- Form the dough into a 12" log and place it on a parchment lined baking sheet. Cover and let rest for 90 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Bake the bread for 22~24 minutes or until nicely browned.
- Remove the bread from the oven and transfer to a wire rack. Let the bread cool on the wire overnight -- do not cover.
- In the morning, preheat the oven to 200°F. Slice the bread into ½" slices and place them on an ungreased or parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 1 hour.
- Turn all the slices over and bake for another 1 hour or until the toasts are very dry and crisp.
- Remove from the oven and cool completely. Store, well wrapped at room temperature.
Sowmya
That looks crisp and tempting Pavani. What an amazing month of recipes you have posted. Have bookmarked most of them….was good fun blogging with you. Kudos!
Priya Suresh
Wow, this Zwieback bread sounds prefect for me to bake some for our sunday evening snacks. Lovely pick for Z Pavani, and you simply rocked with your baked treats.
Srividhya
Very crispy biscottis and you have perfectly paired. Awesome clicks Pavani and loved all your baked goodies.
fouzen
crispy &tasty super, thanks for sharing.
Vaishali
I might not dunk that toast in tea but would definitely not mind enjoying it as it is . It looks super crisp and perfectly baked . Super choice .
Harini
Very true. This reminds me of the Indian rusk and I so love to dunk it in my tea !!Had fun running this marathon with you, Pavani.
SAPNA
Very addictive looking bread. My daughter loved s britania rusk. I should try making these for her.
Srivalli
Now this one is surely new for me. Its had turned out so good as well Pavani!
ruchi indu
hey looks like the rusk we get in bakeries. Very addictive..
Sharmila - The Happie Friends potpourri Corner
No words to share how the bread has come out!! So beautifully!! Sometimes i don’t cut it properly.. This is just as awesome as the bakers product!!
Mayuri Patel
A wonderful recipe Pavani, I usually find the Brittania ones too sweet. Home made ones sounds good. Loved all your baking recipes.
Reema
Hi.. Looks very attractive.. Egg replacer means??
cookshideout
Thank you Reema. Egg replacer is a commercially available product that can be used to replace egg in baked dishes. You can use ground flaxseeds as egg replacer.
Sandhya Ramakrishnan
Pavani, never thought making rusk at home could be this easy. I have always bought store bought ones and dunking them in the tea or coffee is my favorite way to eat them. I am definitely baking these soon.
sai
howz wheat flour different fm wheat pastry flour…..
Andrew Fetterly
Namaste
I would like to thank you for sharing your sweet and simple recipes.. Kids love your recipes..