Nutty Wheat Buttermilk Beskuit Rusks Food

NUTTY WHEAT BUTTERMILK BESKUIT/ RUSKS

Steps:

• Pre-heat oven 180°C.
• Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time. Sieve dry ingredients. Add buttermilk to egg mixture and mix in with dry ingredients. This will make a very solid dough. Use two large greased baking pans. Bake for 55 min or till golden brown. Remove from heat, remove from pans. Let the breads cool slightly. Slice the bread into slices and then cut into fingers. Place on a drying rack and dry in oven on 90 degrees till the rusks are dry and hard. Let them cool off and place in an air tight container. Serve with coffee, Milo or tea. Dunk the rusks in the hot drink and eat. They are very moreish. Enjoy a little bit of South African cuisine on your own porch.
• Makes 40 rusks. Preparation time 1 hour.

SOUTH AFRICAN RUSKS / BISCUITS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 190c / 375f.
• Mix the 250g butter into the flour either with your hands or in a blender.
• Add the sugar, salt and baking powder and then mix in the milk and wine vinegar until you have a smooth dough.
• Grease a large baking tray with some of the remaining butter.
• Divide the dough into 3 equal portions.
• Wet your hands with a little cold water and quickly roll the dough into long dough sausages, about 30cm long.
• Arrange the dough sausages in parallel lines on the tray, dotting a few bits of extra butter in between.
• Bake for 45mins - 1hour until the tops are golden and crusty.
• Remove from the oven and turn the oven temperature down to 150c / 300f.
• The dough sausages will have joined together so cut down the lengths to separate them and then cut each sausage into 3cm pieces.
• Leave them to cool for a bit so that they are more manageable, then list them up and break them in half down the middle so they look nice and rustic.
• Return them to the baking tray, this time laying them on their sides and bake in the oven for a further hour (30 mins each side) to dry them out.
• Let them cool completely before storing in a closed container or paper bag, where they will keep well for up to around 5 days.

BUTTERMILK RUSKS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 240°C.
• Sift the dry ingredients and stir til well mixed.
• Cut in butter - the mixture should resemble corn meal when done.
• Beat buttermilk and egg together and add to dry ingredients.
• Mix to a firm dough.
• Pinch off golf ball sized pieces of dough and press lightly into rectangular shape approx 2cm thick.
• Place close together in two greased loaf pans (30cm x36cm x 7cm) and brush the sides of each row of balls with oil so that the rusks will break apart easily after being baked.
• Brush with diluted milk.
• Bake at 240C for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 190C and bake for further 50 minutes.
• Turn out on cooling rack and break in two or three places so that the rusks will cool more quickly.
• When cool, break neatly into individual rusks and allow to dry out in a very low oven (120C).

WHOLE WHEAT BUTTERMILK RUSKS

Steps:

• Mix flour, baking powder and sugar.
• Melt margarine and beat in buttermilk until creamy.
• Add to dry ingredients and mix well.
• Press into greased baking sheet, pressing until it reaches all the edges and corners.
• Bake at 180°C for 45 minutes.
• Cut into fingers and spread out onto 2 baking trays.
• Dry in a 100°C oven for 1 1/2-2 hours.
• YUM!

SOUTH AFRICAN RUSKS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• In a large mixing bowl, thoroughly mix the dry ingredients.
• Combine all the wet ingredients, pour them into the dry ingredients, and stir until you have a soft dough, similar to biscuit dough.
• Turn the dough onto a well-floured surface and roll or pat it to about a 1/2 inch thickness.
• Cut the dough into rectangles about 2 by 4 inches.
• Bake the rusks about 2 inches apart on buttered baking sheet for about 25 minutes until the tops are crisping and browning a little.
• Loosely pile the rusks on a baking sheet and keep them in a 200 degree oven all day or all night (about 12 hours) to dry.
• The finished rusks should be very dry and hard.
• Cool and store in an airtight container.
• Rusks will keep for weeks.
• Variations Oatmeal-Raisin Rusks: Reduce the white flour to 1 1/2 cups and add 2 cups rolled oats and 1/2 cup currants or chopped raisins.
• Almond Rusks: Add 1 cup chopped almonds and omit the cinnamon.
• Peanut Rusks: Add 1 cup coarsely chopped peanuts.