Dairy Free Rusks

Cheron's Note:

I cannot seem to find commercial rusks without dairy. Traditionally in South Africa rusks are made with buttermilk. I found and adapted this recipe and my whole family (including the dairy eaters) loves dunking them into coffee especially on Sunday mornings. They're filling & nutritious enough to replace breakfast. Choose a good quality commercial muesli as it affects the taste of the rusks. Rusks make a nice gift. This recipe may seem to be time consuming but it is well worth the effort, and they last for weeks. Adapted from Theresa Verslanking

• Total Time: 5 hrs 15 mins
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 5 hrs

Ingredients:

Yield: 20 rusks

• 800 ml boiling water
• 350 g dairy-free margarine , cut into blocks
• 375 ml brown sugar
• 3 eggs , beaten well
• 1 kg nutty wheat flour
• 15 ml baking powder
• 10 ml salt
• 5 ml cream of tartar
• 300 ml natural bran (optional)
• 1 cup sunflower seed
• 1 kg muesli

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 180ºC.
2. Grease 1 large rectangle baking pan.
3. Mix boiling water, margarine and sugar.
4. Allow to cool - should be lukewarm.
5. Add beaten eggs and mix well.
6. Mix flour, baking powder, salt and creme of tartar and add to egg mixture.
7. Add bran, sunflower seeds and muesli and mix to form a soft dough.
8. Pour into baking pan and bake for 1 hour.
9. Cool and then cut into rectangles.
10. Set oven temperature to 100ºC.
11. Space the rusks evenly in the baking pan in the same direction.
12. Place the pan in the oven and allow the rusks to dry out with the oven door ajar for 1 hour.
13. Turn the rusks onto a new side in the same direction and leave to dry out with the oven door ajar for 1 hour.
14. Repeat the last step twice until the rusks have been dried out from all sides.
15. Rusks can last for weeks if stored in biscuit jars or tins.