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Seeded Buttermilk Rusks

Sweet buttermilk rusks with a mix of flax, sesame, sunflower and pumpkin seeds
Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time1 hour
Drying Out6 hours
Course: Baking
Cuisine: South African
Servings: 50 rusks
Author: Melby

Ingredients

  • 1 kg self-raising flour
  • 5 ml baking powder
  • 5 ml salt
  • 375 g butter or margarine
  • 250 ml sugar
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 500 ml buttermilk
  • 3 cups bran cereal, I use All Bran Flakes
  • 1 cup seed mixture See note *
  • 10 ml vanilla essence

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 180°C.
  • Grease 3 to 4 loaf tins or one large rectangular oven pan.
  • Melt the butter and let it cool down for a few minutes.
  • Sift the dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl.
  • Add the sugar, bran cereal and seed mixture and stir through the dry ingredients.
  • Add the beaten eggs and vanilla essence to the buttermilk and mix.
  • Add the buttermilk mixture and the melted butter to the dry ingredients and mix very well or use a stand mixer with the K-paddle attachment. * See note
  • Spoon the dough into your prepared tins or pans and flatten it by hand.
  • Bake for 30 - 40 minutes until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.
  • Let the rusks cool down before you cut them into fingers or squares.
  • Place the rusks on baking sheets with some space around each rusk and dry them in a cool oven (65 - 90°C) for 5 to 6 hours or overnight. Leave the oven door slightly open to aid the drying process.

Notes

  • For the seed mixture: I buy a breakfast seed mix which contains sunflower, flax, pumpkin and sesame seeds. You can also create your own mix of seeds, nuts or even raisins, or simply add a cup of your favourite muesli.
  • When baking muffins or cake, one shouldn't mix the batter too much or it will start to develop gluten and have a chewy texture. When baking rusks we do want there to be some gluten developed as that holds the rusk together during the drying process. Mixing the dough with a stand mixer achieves that. You could even swap the K-paddle for a dough hook once the dough is mixed well and give the dough a bit of a knead for 5 minutes or so.
  • I am not very good at cutting rusks, biscuits or brownies into uniform units. I have therefore invested in a rusk pan and cutter (available online at kitchen shops or at baking wholesalers). Once you have spooned the dough into the rusk pan, you spray the cutter with non-stick spray and push down into the dough. Remove the cutter and bake the rusks as indicated. Once the rusks have cooled down, you can break them apart from each other. 
  • The smaller you cut the rusks, the more you will have and the quicker they will dry out. However, don't cut them too small - you need a good-sized rusk to hold on to while dunking!