Rusks is the anglicized term for ‘beskuit ‘and is a traditional Afrikaner breakfast meal or snack.

They have been dried in South Africa since the late 1690s as a way of preserving bread, especially when traveling long distances without refrigeration. Their use continued through the Great Trek and the Boer Wars through to the modern-day. Rusks are typically dunked in coffee or tea before being eaten. Rusks are essentially double-baked bread dough.

Ingredients

  • 1 x 397g Tin Condensed milk
  • 500ml Milk
  • 375ml Choice Butter or Brick Margarine
  • 25ml Sugar
  • 1,5kg Self Raising Flour
  • 10ml Cream of Tarta
  • 3ml Salt

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
  2. Grease 3 small loaf tins (18 x 8cm).
  3. Heat the condensed milk, milk and butter/margarine and sugar together.  Stir until butter is melted. Remove from heat.
  4. Sift the flour, cream of tartar and salt together. Add this to the lukewarm milk mixture and mix to form a dough.  Knead for 10 minutes.
  5. Roll into little oblong balls and pack into the rusk tins.
  6. Bake for about 1 hour. Turn onto a wire rack to cool.  Break apart and place on wire racks.  Dry out in a very low oven.

Hints & Tips Avoid mistakes always pre-measure all ingredients when baking.