Still on the feel-good yellow theme, I baked a batch of Beskuit this morning. This is a traditional pantry favourite in South Africa: a hard, dry type of biscuit also known as Rusks which had been baked twice and gets dunked into a hot beverage such as coffee or tea before eating. If ever I compile a recipe book, it would go under the section: Comfort food.
The origin of this confectionery is uncertain, but it also strongly resembles what is known to Italians as Biscotti. The French word "biscuit" meaning "twice baked" casts some explanation as to where our Beskuit got its name.
There are as many recipes for Beskuit as there are families, it seems, and in some instances these recipes are guarded as family secrets, along with recipes for the best koeksisters and biltong and all such things proudly South African.
Some prefer it made from white, sifted cake flour, flavoured with anise or buttermilk, sometimes studded with raisins, some leavened and others with baking soda and powder as rising agents. Lately the health variety has gained field, made with wholemeal flour and enriched with oats, bran, dried seeds, nuts, dried berries and often buttermilk to give it its characteristic moreish flavour.
My own recipe has evolved over the years, taking my mother's mainstay recipe and tweaking it here and there to suit circumstances. At one stage I tried baking it using a combination of gluten-free flours when my daughter was found to be gluten intolerant. I gave up on trying to perfect it when she declared that she would rather give up having beskuit with her coffee than eat THAT! Nothing quite comes to good old wheat flour and I love to use the stone milled variety that can now be sourced easily.
I often share this recipe with people once they have tasted it, and lately I'm even baking and selling it on demand. It seems to be totally addictive!
Matilda's buttermilk health rusks (beskuit)
2. To a large mixing bowl, add and mix well
- 5 cups white cake flour
- 3 cups wholemeal (nutty wheat) flour
- 2 cups rolled oats
- 1 & a half cups golden sugar (or white, but the
golden gives a lovely caramel flavour)
- 1 cup of bran (oats or wheat)
- 1 cup made up out of a selection of chopped nuts, sunflower, sesame, linseed or poppy seeds, raisins, currants, cranberries, shredded coconut.
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda
- 3 tablespoons (45 ml) of baking powder
3. Melt 500g of butter or margarine in a saucepan,
remove from heat and beat in 500ml of buttermilk and
2 beaten extra large (or 3 large) eggs. Add this mixture to the dried ingredients. 4. Mix the liquid into the dried ingredients with a wooden spoon to start with, but hands work best to get the lot together in a big ball of dough. Do not over mix, it should be consistently wet all through and depending on what was added can be a rather sticky dough.
bread loaf tins by oiling the bottom and sides well.
Spread the dough evenly in the tins.
6. Bake for 45 to 60 minutes and test with a skewer to see if it is ready.
7. Loosen sides and turn out onto a wire rack to cool. I use my oven roasting tin for baking and divide it into rusks as follows:
8. When cooled, using a bread knife, cut the loaf into 4 squares and cut each
square into 6 even fingers.
Cut each finger into 3 and place the rusks onto large baking sheets.
9. Set oven temperature to between 70 and 100
degrees Celsius and evenly space baking sheets in the
oven to dry out overnight. Leave the oven door open
slightly to allow for moisture to escape.
Note. The rusks should be completely dry and shouldn't give when pressed between the fingers when testing. When cooled down, pack into airtight containers.
Remember to dunk it! It takes some exercise to determine the exact amount of time needed to get it slightly soaked but not soggy. Do let me know how you like it?!
Matilda
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