Rusks in South Africa are part of the cultural identity – a person of the matters that exiles in a overseas land long for. Small children are introduced up on Rooibos tea (a herbal bush tea) and rusks. These usually are not the pallid soggy affairs that move for rusks in the Uk – Farleys rusks specified to teething infants and confirmed to coat your complete property with a paste of gooey gloop. South African rusks are of a texture somewhere involving bread and cake, with added bits of raisin or nuts, baked challenging so that they have to be dunked in tea or else gnawed gradually. They final a long time in an airtight tin, so are baked in huge batches but even so they never final long in our home.
As an Englishwoman married to a South African living in London, I came throughout rusks on our visits to his family and was quickly transformed. ‘Ouma’s Rusks’ are the popular types that occur in several varieties and we always came residence with a couple of packs in our suitcase. On a more time visit in a cottage in Philadelphia, close to Cape Town, I located a recipe to bake my have rusks, tried it and have been baking them each two months quite considerably at any time considering the fact that.
When our son was a toddler waking at 5.30 each morning, the only matter that designed the morning bearable was the imagined of tea and rusks. Our son begun off on them early and our couch turned a nest of cushions and crumbs. The to start with matter he at any time aided bake was rusks and I normally had my tolerance tried, as the mix turned the scene of excavations with diggers or a castle with a moat. The ladies also joined in when they were being old sufficient, so for a time I experienced a few little ones all wrestling to get their hands in the dough. Now the youngest is adept at building balls the suitable dimensions and I have a band of beneficial helpers. So rusks have come to be part of our family society far too, my youngsters may have skipped out on the rooibos tea tradition – (I enjoy it, they detest it) but at minimum they had been brought up correctly as regards rusks!
Various pals in London had been smitten, requested for the recipe and begun baking and it has since been dispersed as significantly afield as Pakistan and the United states.
The recipe:
South African Buttermilk Rusks
1.240kg / 2lb12oz flour (I use 1kg wholemeal and the rest white)
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda
2 teaspoons product of tartar
2 teaspoons of salt
250g / 9oz butter
½ cup raisins (optional)
2 eggs
1 ½ cups brown sugar
2 cups buttermilk
1 cup oil
(1 cup=250ml)
Preheat the oven to 190C/380F
Grease three loaf tins of base measurement 20cmx10cm / 8″x 4″ approx or any blend of deep baking dish that provides up to about the very same.
In a big mixing bowl sift together the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, product of tartar and salt. Slice the butter into small cubes and rub into the flour. Add the raisins if you are working with them. You can experiment with various nuts and seeds as very well, while the rusks are equally great simple.
In one more bowl blend alongside one another the buttermilk, sugar, eggs and oil and defeat until effectively merged. Stir liquid into dry components and blend then knead to a firm dough.
Kind the dough into balls about the sizing of a ping-pong ball and pack them tightly in one particular layer into the loaf tins. I commonly get 6 rows of a few into each individual of my tins. Bake for 45 minutes.
Flip out onto a rack and leave to awesome for 30 minutes prior to breaking up into specific rusks along the joins of the balls. Dry in a small oven 100C/200F for 4-5 several hours till the centre is wholly dry. These can be retained for ages in an airtight container.
Warning: crumbs guaranteed on the sofa, in the mattress, more than the carpet and the car seats!
Copyright 2006 Kit Heathcock
