These muesli rusks are easy and delicious to make and the bonus is they are gluten-free and low in sugar. You could also replace the sugar with erythritol. They are also the most popular recipe on my blog. South Africans and people with links to South Africa are making them all over the world!!
I love rusks, with early morning coffee on camping trips, holidays, hiking trips, and coffee in bed. It has been very much ingrained in me. If there are rusks in my home I will eat them. So I don’t buy them often and to the disappointment of my family, I don’t bake them often. That is until I developed this recipe.
What are rusks?
Rusks or beskuit are very much a South African thing and are basically dried biscuits something similar to biscotti but less sweet. It can be dunk in coffee & tea. It is often eaten for breakfast. If you have never made your own rusks you won’t realise what high quantities of butter and sugar are in rusks. Our grandmothers really did know how to add sugar & butter to baked goods. Some recipes claim to be healthy but in reality, only the fibre has been increased by adding bran.
I have tested many rusks recipes, reducing sugar, and making them vegan. Adding various gluten-free flour blends has ended up rock hard or a crumbly mess.
So developing these ‘Healthier’ gluten-free rusks had me feeling like I won the rusk Lotto. My sister had a baby three weeks ago and I made a batch for them and got the thumbs up. Next time I will double up the recipe because it did not last long at all.
You can also try your hand at making your own gluten-free flour mix, try this recipe and store in jar.
Gluten-free flour mix
290 g white rice flour 290g brown rice flour 230g potato flour 175g tapioca flour 14g xantum gum
Sieve ingredients together a few times to make sure it is mixed through. Also, use a balloon whisk to stir Store in a 1L glass container. Use instead of wheat flour in baking.
This recipe is just a plain flour mix. When using this mix add 4tsp of baking powder to the rusk recipe to make your rusks rise.
You can get creative by adding different nuts and seeds. I added cranberries instead of raisins and often find that raisins swell up and burn when baked so I actually prefer currants. Other replacements could also be desiccated coconut, poppy, sesame, and even hemp seeds.
If you don’t have buttermilk on hand use plain yogurt or add 2tbs of vinegar to milk and leave for a few minutes to curdle.
All gluten-free flour blends differ, but if you want to make sure that the risks don’t crumble. Add 5ml xantham gum to the dry ingredients.
I love using my Panneman rusks pan, they work so well. The small pan will work for this recipe.
Working with Gluten-free flours are a tricky balance and to make life easier try to use a Gluten-free self-raising flour blend where the work has been done for you. This is a delicious rusk recipe with reduced sugar content and a good crumb texture.
1/2 cup sugar but could be increased to 3/4 cup if you like your rusks sweeter
1/2 cup raisins or cranberries
1/3 cup sunflower seeds
1/3 cup pumpkin seeds
1/3 cup chopped pecans (optional)
1/4 cup flaxseeds
250 ml buttermilk or yogurt
125g melted butter
2 large eggs
1/3 cup olive oil
5ml vanilla extract
Instructions
Preheat oven to 180˚C
Add flour and salt to a large mixing bowl and stir. Now add the sugar, oats and all the nuts, raisins and seeds.
Measure the buttermilk in a measuring jug and add eggs, vanilla, melted butter and olive oil. Mix with a fork and add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until you get a thick dough-like batter. Do not add more flour. This is a soft dough and is fairly sticky.
Empty the mixture into a baking tray lined with baking paper and greased with oil or butter. The baking tray should be about 23 x 33cm and 3-5 cm deep.
Spread it evenly around in the tin and bake for about 45minutes until cooked and golden brown.
Remove and allow to cool, turn out onto a large chopping board and cut into even fingers. Place back in baking tray on sides. Leave some space between rusks. If it is easier you could also cut the rusks in the tray and just turn them sideways.
Dry out overnight (8-9 hours) in a 60˚C oven or for 6 hours in a 100˚C oven. Turn them over once if you can so the rusks can dry on both sides.
Another drying method I often use is to preheat the oven for about 10 minutes and then turn the oven off. Leave the rusks in the oven until completely cooled down. Or place the rusks back in a hot oven after you used it for something else. And let the oven cool down with the rusks inside. Repeat this process about 3-4 times until the rusks are dry. This will save you some electricity costs.
Any gluten-free self-raising flour blend should work for this recipe. It is normally a combination of rice flour, potato flour, tapioca flour, maize flour, raising agents and xanthan gum
Hi, I'm Ankie! Welcome to Wooden Spoon Kitchen, my pantry of life, love and health where we constantly stir laughter, learning, eating and cooking together!
This is the easiest recipe you can make for a quick dessert and only…
This Post Has 10 Comments
I’m a South African living with my husband in America and my whole family loves this recipe – especially my mother-in-law who is gluten intolerant! My brother-in-law is allergic to tree nuts so when he comes over I make them with peanuts instead of walnuts and that has also worked well. One question though – I struggle to cut them neatly without the rusk falling apart, do you have any suggestions?
Hi Ankie we have made these rusks twice now and both times have been as good as any other rusks. They are fantastic and so easy to make. We just cant stop eating them
Hi Ankie
I have just made this rusk recipe and they are delicious. Certainly the best gluten free I have tasted so far.
The only down side for me is they are very crumbly. How can I overcome this next time.
Hi,
This looks amazing. I cannot use cow’s dairy and am thinking of replacing the buttermilk with coconut milk (with vinegar to make “buttermilk”), as I have done in other baking in the past. Do you think that could work, or do you have another suggestion?
Thanks, Tania
I would love to make this but could you please advise me on baking powder and baking soda quantities. I live in the USA and are unable to find gluten-free self raising flour.
Thanks.
Hi Ankie, this recipe is saved in my bookmark bar and I honestly feel like I may have a problem: just can’t stop eating them! I have a issues with dairy, so I swopped out the yoghurt for coconut milk and two probiotic capsules (powder emptied into the milk and whisked). Still comes out phenomenally munchable. Thanks for posting this!
Thank you so much for your message!! It is great to hear I could help you out:)
This recipe is the most popular on my blog and people all over the world make it.
I have been meaning to test out a buttermilk version, but love your dairy-free version.
I will try it out.
I was surprised that it doesn’t include baking powder or baking soda. I made this last night. Very tasty, relatively easy. But would have wanted it a little bit higher. Only realized when I put it in the oven that there is no rising agent. Any reason why omitted? I have to explain that I mixed the flour as you suggested. I live in Israel and haven’t found a great self raising pre mix flour yet.
I’m a South African living with my husband in America and my whole family loves this recipe – especially my mother-in-law who is gluten intolerant! My brother-in-law is allergic to tree nuts so when he comes over I make them with peanuts instead of walnuts and that has also worked well. One question though – I struggle to cut them neatly without the rusk falling apart, do you have any suggestions?
★★★★
Hi Ankie we have made these rusks twice now and both times have been as good as any other rusks. They are fantastic and so easy to make. We just cant stop eating them
★★★★★
Hi Cheryl
I am so glad to hear that you are enjoying the recipe! I discovered a very easy Spelt flour rusk recipe made with Keffir.
Will post it soon.
x
Hi Ankie
I have just made this rusk recipe and they are delicious. Certainly the best gluten free I have tasted so far.
The only down side for me is they are very crumbly. How can I overcome this next time.
★★★★
Hi,
This looks amazing. I cannot use cow’s dairy and am thinking of replacing the buttermilk with coconut milk (with vinegar to make “buttermilk”), as I have done in other baking in the past. Do you think that could work, or do you have another suggestion?
Thanks, Tania
Absolutely delicious! I added some coconut and instead of olive oil I did Coconut oil! Thank you for this amazing recipe!
★★★★★
I would love to make this but could you please advise me on baking powder and baking soda quantities. I live in the USA and are unable to find gluten-free self raising flour.
Thanks.
Hi Ankie, this recipe is saved in my bookmark bar and I honestly feel like I may have a problem: just can’t stop eating them! I have a issues with dairy, so I swopped out the yoghurt for coconut milk and two probiotic capsules (powder emptied into the milk and whisked). Still comes out phenomenally munchable. Thanks for posting this!
★★★★★
Hi Irmie
Thank you so much for your message!! It is great to hear I could help you out:)
This recipe is the most popular on my blog and people all over the world make it.
I have been meaning to test out a buttermilk version, but love your dairy-free version.
I will try it out.
I was surprised that it doesn’t include baking powder or baking soda. I made this last night. Very tasty, relatively easy. But would have wanted it a little bit higher. Only realized when I put it in the oven that there is no rising agent. Any reason why omitted? I have to explain that I mixed the flour as you suggested. I live in Israel and haven’t found a great self raising pre mix flour yet.
★★★★