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

Buttermilk, bran, oat, seed, nut & dried fruit rusks are a surprisingly easy to make, plus so easily customized to family favourite add-ins.
- 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
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Mix dry ingredients together.
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Rub in margarine until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
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Combine water, eggs and buttermilk. Stir wet into dry ingredients until well blended.
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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.
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Cool, remove from baking dish, slice into rusks and arrange on a rack-lined baking sheets.
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Dry at 100°C for 6-8 hours or overnight.
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.
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