There are few things that remind me of mornings in South Africa as much as a good, coffee-soaked buttermilk rusk. It’s an absolute staple in our house and my family loves it so much I can hardly keep stock! I’ve also found it’s the perfect addition to Tea Time – a daily institution with my children that was carried on from my own childhood. (Sidenote: Mammas, this has been the perfect way for me to get my kiddos to decompress and share about their day right after they get home. Rooibos tea and rusks are like Pavlov’s bell when it comes to relieving the day’s tension and excitement before homework and playtime. Try it, I bet y’all will love it too!)
The challenge I faced when making these in the U.S. was the different measurement systems. South Africa uses the Metric System, whereas the States is on the Imperial System. Now, although both use “cups” and “teaspoons” or “tablespoons” not all those measurements are the same within these respective systems. It took a few tries and calculations to convert this recipe to work in the U.S., but definitely worth the trouble.
A couple of tips and tricks when you’re making this recipe:
- When measuring the flour, make sure you’re not just scooping it by the cup-full as this will compact the flour and your mixture will be too stiff. The right way to measure flour is to scoop spoonfuls into your measuring cup so as to avoid compacting the flour too much. When in doubt, however, measure by weight with a kitchen scale.
- When combining the butter and the flour, use the rubbing-in method to create a crumbly-looking mixture like this:
- When you’ve added the buttermilk to create a dough, be careful not to handle it too much – and definitely don’t knead it – as you want it to be super light and airy to allow for maximum coffee-absorption!
- The dough will be very sticky, so flour on your hands will be key to getting those golfball-sized balls rolled:
- When packing the dough balls into the pans, make sure they’re nice and tight. The idea is for them to rise into a rectangular shape that will greatly increase their dunkability!
- After letting it cool, you’ll need to carefully break the rusks apart at their “perforated” lines. I usually guide it and go outside the lines a bit as some of them might rise a little lopsided. If this scares you, you also have the option to pack the dough into the breadpans whole (like a loaf of bread) and once it’s baked and cooled, to cut it into rectangular rusks before drying. OR if you’re an avid rusk fan like me and brought a specialized rusk pan from South Africa, use that!
- The last step is to dry these. It’s a scary thought for someone who hasn’t done it (keep the oven on OVERNIGHT, you say?), but it’s very low at 170 degrees F and shouldn’t burn the rusks (or anything else for that matter). I just place them on their side on a cookie sheet and enjoy the heavenly aroma that permeates the entirety of my house.
I hope y’all enjoy!
Buttermilk Rusks (Karringmelk Beskuit)
Ingredients
- 8 cups (1 kg) All-purpose Flour
- 3 tbsp baking powder
- 2 tsp salt
- 3 cups (600g) sugar
- 1 lb (4 sticks) Butter
- 2 cups (1 pint) Buttermilk
- 2 eggs
Instructions
- In a large bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar together.
- Cut the butter into cubes and rub it into the flour mixture with fingertips.
- In a separate bowl, mix the buttermilk and eggs.
- Add to flour mixture and mix carefully with a wooden spoon until combined and a sticky dough forms. (Make sure not to knead or handle the dough too much as you want it to be as light and fluffy as possible)
- Roughly roll into golfball-sized balls (still being careful not to compact the dough too much) and pack tightly into a bread pan.
- Bake at 350 degrees F for 50 minutes to an hour or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool.
- Carefully break apart at separation lines and dry overnight on a sheet pan at 170-200 degrees F.
I used your recipe to make risks today and they were absolutely delicious!! Thank you so much for sharing.
That’s wonderful to hear! I’m so glad you enjoyed them – thanks for trying the recipe.
Hello julle ,ek het die rusk gemaak maar hulle is baie krummelrig en breek Maklik ! What did I do wrong ?
Hi there, Lilly! Sorry to hear that. I’m not sure as I don’t know how you prepared them, but let’s see if I can help. Here are some questions that might help me understand your process better:
1. Did you use a rusk pan with a press or did you use the balling method in a loaf pan?
2. Did you use South African (metric system) measuring cups? Or American (imperial system) ones?
3. How “sticky” was your dough when you put it in the pans? Did it stick to your fingers? Or was it pretty dry and easy to handle without sticking to your fingers?
4. Did you knead the dough at all?
5. What was your drying process like? How long and at what temperature? Or was it crumbly before drying?
Hoping we can get this solved for you!
Nanette
Hey
I used the ball method.
American measuring cups
Doug was very sticky
I did not knead it , I kinda just mixed it well!
And it broke before I dried them !
Hmm…I’m not sure why they would crumble so much. Normally, it would mean there was an issue with the dough being too dry before baking. If it helps, my dough is usually so sticky that I literally cannot roll balls without putting lots flour on my hands.
In that vein, my suggestion would be to try and add just a little bit of buttermilk (maybe 2 or 3 tablespoons to begin with) to see if you can get some additional moisture in there. Also, make sure you pack them tightly to the point where the balls almost become elongated a bit before baking – they’ll form into elongated rusks even more as they rise during bake time. Lastly, it might help to diminish the baking time as well – maybe try 50 minutes instead of an hour and see where that gets you. I’ve had to adjust baking times plenty as I move between places and use new ovens.
I really hope this helps! I’d love to hear how your next batch turns out and will keep fingers crossed that it turns out perfect!
Warmly,
Nanette