Healthy Rusks

 

1 Kilo self saising flour
10ml salt
10ml baking powder
500ml muesli
250ml sunflower seeds
100g coconut
2 tsp sesame seeds
500ml bran flakes
350g brown sugar
2 eggs
250ml olive oil
250ml milk
500ml fruity yougurt

Mix all the dry ingeredients together adding the liqiuds last.
Spread into tray. Bake at 180 degrees for 45-60 minutes.
Remove from pan, cut into fingers while hot. Separate and leave in oven at 100 degrees until rusks have dried out.

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 travelling 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. Round balls of dough are closely packed in pans and baked like bread, after which long chunks are cut or broken off and slowly rebaked to a dry consistency. Several modern-day, mass-produced versions are available, the most famous brand being Ouma Rusks. Many bakeries, delis and home industries sell commercial rusks, sometimes made from non-traditional ingredients, such as baking powder rather than sourdough. In addition to plain and buttermilk flavours, aniseed, wholewheat, condensed milk, muesli, and lemon poppyseed variations are also available.