Rusk vs Bread Crumbs: Difference and Comparison

For the last 14,500 years, bread is serving humans with nutrients and energy. It has been used as a staple food for centuries every community has developed its kind of bread.

Bread has traveled around the world and the most famous types are White Bread, Rusk, and Bread Crumbs.

Key Takeaways

1. Rusk is a twice-baked, dry, hard bread consumed with tea or coffee, while bread crumbs are small pieces of bread that have been ground or crumbled.
2. Rusk is sweetened and flavored, whereas bread crumbs are unflavored and can be made from various types of bread.
3. Bread crumbs are commonly used as a coating or filler in cooking, while rusk is primarily eaten as a snack.

Rusk vs Bread Crumbs

Rusk is made with twice-baking bread made with some baking products resulting in a crispy texture ideal for making meatloaf or stuffing. Breadcrumbs are dried and crushed crumbs of any type of bread, and they are commonly used for coating or breading foods such as chicken or fish.

Rusk is a biscuit made by baking the same bread twice. This process makes a Rusk hard and dry and the shape of Rusks depends upon the creativity of the chef.

Due to the reason that Rusks are hard and safe to eat, they are used as teethers for babies.

Bread Crumbs are simply made by crumbling pieces of bread until they are powdered. Bread Crumbs come in different dryness levels as well as seasonings.

They are used as toppings, coating for fried food, to thicken soups or gravies, or to prepare breaded cutlets. Bread Crumbs are inexpensive and thus used widely.

Comparison Table

Parameters of Comparison	Rusk	Bread Crumbs
Made by	Baking bread twice	Crumbling a bread
Invented by	Paxamos of Greece (apparently)	Joseph Lee
Shape	Hard	Powder-like
Taste	Roasted because of double-baking	Depends upon the type of bread used and also on added seasonings
Used for	Eating with beverages like tea and coffee, teething, food base	Thickening gravies and soups, coating for fried foods, toppings
Types	Sponge Rusk, Biscotte, Zwieback, etc.	Panko, fresh, dry, seasoned crumbs

What is Rusk?

Rusk refers to double-baked bread or a hard, dry biscuit. In the UK and some other parts, Rusks are made up of cakes instead of bread, hence they are called Cake Rusk.

Rusks are used as a snack with drinks like tea or coffee and also used as teethers for babies due to their hardness.

Though the recipes of making Rusks vary, the common procedures taken are these: First, choose the type of bread. This step is crucial because the resulting Rusk depends highly on the taste and quality of bread chosen to make it.

Then, slice the bread into adequate thickness. Afterward, slow bake the slices at 50C / 120F until they are crisp and dry. This process takes at least 3 hours, but it also depends on the slice thickness.

After the Rusk is prepared, it can be stored in an airtight container for about three months.

It is said that Rusks were invented in Greece by a baker called Paxamos. This is the reason why these biscuits came to be known as ‘Paximadi’.

Since centuries have passed, different kinds of Rusks have originated like German Zwieback, French Biscotte, Finnish korppu, Cuban Sponge Rusk, etc.

What is Bread Crumbs?

Bread Crumbs are powdered bread made by crumbling or fragmenting bread slices. Naturally, the taste of Bread Crumbs depends upon the taste of bread used to make it, but sometimes seasonings are added to insert special flavors.

Bread Crumbs are used as toppings, coatings, stuffing and stew, soup, or gravy thickeners.

Though the concept of breaking bread into small pieces and using it isn’t a surprising thought, it wasn’t until 1895 when Bread Crumbs became well-known.

An African-American self-taught entrepreneur named Joseph Lee invented the machine that could crumble and grind bread. Lee popularized the use of Bread Crumbs by replacing them with cracker crumbs for coatings.

The three common types of Bread Crumbs used are Dry, Fresh, and Panko. Dry Bread Crumbs are prepared from dry bread which doesn’t have moisture.

Fresh Bread Crumbs are made from fresh bread which has a little moisture in them. This is why Fresh Bread Crumbs gives a soft coating or crust. Panko is produced by passing an electrical current through bread.

This evenly bakes the bread but it doesn’t leave a crust. Panko is a traditional Japanese dish but it’s becoming popular worldwide because it is crispier than most western Bread Crumbs.

Main Differences Between Rusk And Bread Crumbs

1. Rusks are prepared by baking bread twice whereas Bread Crumbs are prepared by powdering bread.
2. Rusks are said to be invented by Paxamos of Greece. On the other hand, the credit for developing and popularizing the use of Bread Crumbs goes to Joseph Lee.
3. Rusks have a hard shape whereas Bread Crumbs have a powder-like shape.
4. Rusks have a roasted taste due to the reason that they are double-baked. On the other hand, Bread Crumbs taste just like the bread used to prepare them but seasonings can be added to change the taste.
5. Rusks are used as a snack with beverages like tea and coffee, food base, or as teethers for babies whereas Bread Crumbs are used for coating, topping, stuffing, or thickening purposes.
6. Common types of Rusks are Sponge Rusk, French Biscotte, and German Zwieback whereas common Bread Crumbs are Panko, Fresh and Dry.

References

1. https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/optimization-of-technological-parameters-of-preparation-of-dough-for-rusks-of-high-nutrition-value
2. http://210.212.228.207/handle/123456789/1739

Last Updated : 16 July, 2023