Bran Rusks

Buttermilk, bran, oat, seed, nut & dried fruit rusks are a surprisingly easy to make, plus so easily customized to family favourite add-ins.

One of the key lockdown take outs I’ll for sure want to keep going is homemade rusks! I had never made my own before and now make every 2 months or so to top up our rusk jar.

Homemade rusks are a more cost effective way to keep the family in these tasty treats. Since making my own bran rusks I have been so conscious of the prices of store-bought varieties! You can also customise them based on your preferences – bran for fibre, raisins or sultanas or cranberries, pecans or almonds, your favourite seeds…

You can also easily substitute buttermilk if you don’t have on hand:
– whisk together 1 cup of milk and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or white vinegar and let it sit for  5 – 10 minutes. It’s not quite as thick as buttermilk, but it works just the same or
– replace with plain yoghurt or
– replace with maas

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Bran Rusks

Buttermilk, bran, oat, seed, nut & dried fruit rusks are a surprisingly easy to make, plus so easily customized to family favourite add-ins.

Author: Cheryl Meyer, Registered Dietitian

Ingredients

• ½ cup wheat bran
• 3 cups flour
• 1 cup oats
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• ⅓ cup sugar
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 125 g baking margarine
• ½ cup water
• 1 egg
• 1 cup buttermilk
• ¼ cup seeds e.g. sunflower, sesame or a mixture
• ¼ cup raisins or sultanas or cranberries
• ¼ cup toasted, chopped nuts

Method

1. Mix dry ingredients together.

2. Rub in margarine until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.

3. Combine water, eggs and buttermilk. Stir wet into dry ingredients until well blended.

4. Transfer to a greased high-sided baking dish (24cmx19cmx7cm) and bake 180°C for 1 hour. If they're browning too quickly, cover with tin foil to continue cooking without further browning.

5. Cool, remove from baking dish, slice into rusks and arrange on a rack-lined baking sheets.

6. Dry at 100°C for 6-8 hours or overnight.

Notes

Substitution options for buttermilk:

• whisk together 1 cup of milk and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or white vinegar and let it sit for  5 – 10 minutes. It’s not quite as thick as buttermilk, but it works just the same OR
• replace with plain yoghurt OR
• replace with maas

For more budget busters, check out my series of budget bites recipes.