Rusk Recipes

Another food item we have discovered here and loved is the rusk. A rusk it like a biscuit or a scone that has been dried in the oven on low heat until it is crisp and dry all the way through. It is a little bit like zwieback or biscotti in this way and also in that you dunk them in your tea or coffee to make them soft. When we stayed with Marielize and Bruce in Middelburg she had a full two gallon or so jar full of fresh made rusks and we ate half the jar.

Middelburg- Marielize's Buttermilk Rusks:
Mix together:
1.5kg self-rising flour
3 t. (teaspoons) baking powder
2 t. salt
Rub in in 500g (~1lb) margarine into the above.

In a separate bowl, combine:
2 cups sugar
500mL buttermilk
3 eggs

Mix the contents of the two bowls (flour and buttermilk mixtures) together, spread flat in a greased baking pan, and bake ~1hr at 180C (~350F) (until batter is done all the way through). When done, slice into rectangles ~ 1.5{" x 3", then spread out and bake at a low heat for an hour or so, until hard.

Bultfontein- Elize's Rusks:
Mix:
2 cups of flour
2 cups of nutty wheat (wheat flour?)
2 cups of bran
1 cup of sugar

Add:
250mL baking powder
5mL cake soda
5mL salt

Rub in:
250g margarine

Mix:
250mL milk
5mL vinegar
1 egg

And combine this liquid with the dry ingredients. Then bake for 15 minutes at 200C.

Bloemhof: Jeanne's Rusk Recipe:
Mix well:
750g margarine
1L buttermilk
500g sugar
4 eggs

Mix in a separate bowl:
750g muesli (granola)
350g bran
1500 g self-rising flour
60 mL baking powder
8mL salt
Then add the above to the wet ingredients.
Press into a greased pan and bake 30 minutes. Cool, cut, dry in the oven, as described in rusk recipe #1.