Multimedia Journalist
The Suffolk Rusk
A cracker-scone hybrid
…you’ll know these if you’re from round here…
How To Make A Suffolk Rusk
A cracker-scone hybrid, Suffolk rusks were a popular Edwardian appetiser traditionally topped with mackerel pate, also given to farm workers with cheese. Their high fat content and unique double-fork method creates the perfect vessel for generous toppings of jams, spreads and cheeses. You still see them for sale across the county today, though I have not found any as good as these homemade ones.
With four versions of the recipe across three traditional Suffolk recipe books, I settled on simplicity and convenience, adapting the recipe from Suffolk Country Recipes. I made them twice; once with butter and once with pork lard, both perfectly delicious.
Difficulty: Easy – Medium
Time taken: Half an hour
Serves: Enough to fill a classic metal Quality Street tin
Ingredients
175g self-raising flour
A pinch of salt
75g fat*, cubed – butter, lard or margarine (not the spreadable type)
1 large egg*, beaten
50ml milk*
*you want these fridge-cold
Method
Heat oven to 200C, gas mark 6, no fan
Grease a baking tray
Or put baking parchment on a tray.
Sift the flour and salt into a mixing bowl
Don’t skip the sifting as you want to avoid clumps.
Rub in the fats so that the mixture resembles breadcrumbs
Rub in as quickly and lightly as possible.
Add the beaten egg and enough milk to make a soft dough
Stir with a fork in a figure of eight motion, once it has just come together, use your hand to gently form it into a ball.
Roll out the dough on a floured surface to 1cm thick and cut into small rounds
Use a pastry cutter with a 6cm diameter.
Bake for 10 minutes
Until the rusks have risen and there is a crack in the middle.
Take them out, turn down to 180C and split the rusks
Insert a long-pronged fork down the middle, insert another beside it so they are back-to-back, then prise the two halves apart. You must do this with forks and not a knife as you want a rough textured surface to your rusks.
8. Continue baking until they are crisp and brown
Put them back in for 5 minutes.
9. Take them out, leave to cool on the tray
Eat the broken ones with butter and jam while still warm.
Storage
The next day they were less crispy after being stored in a tin, so make them to eat the same day.
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