Homemade, gluten-free buttermilk rusks

When my then boyfriend/now hubby and I were in varsity, and money for dates was thin on the ground, we used to raid my parents' pantry for Ouma buttermilk rusks dipped in frothy, delicious cappuccinos (the flavoured packet mixes). We'd find a spot on the couch in the lounge or outside on the bench in the garden, and smul lekker !

Other than Nature's Choice gluten-free coconut & sesame rusks which are buttery with no nasty aftertaste (but are seriously on the pricey side), no bought gluten-free rusk I've tasted up to now comes close to Ouma buttermilk rusks. But this recipe is about as close as it's going to get.

It's adapted from a recipe which came printed in a little booklet with the Ideas Magazine a few months ago. Make it when you have some time on your hands and are craving a true, homegrown South African tradition - 'n lekker koppie koffie met beskuit op die stoep! (Translation: an enjoyable cup of coffee with rusks on the verandah.)

Buttermilk Rusks
(gluten-free)

Ingredients:

- 1kg gluten-free cake flour
- 280g sugar
- 250g butter
- 3 eggs
- 333ml buttermilk

Method:

1) Use your fingertips to rub the butter into the flour and sugar.

2) Make a well in the centre and use a dough hook attachment on your mixer
to add the eggs and butttermilk (the consistensy will be like a thick scone batter).

3) Roll balls and put them next to eachother
in a loaf tin or a cake tin or something with edges.

4) Bake at 150 degrees Celsius for 30 - 40 mins (till golden)
BUT you have to start watching them after 20 mins already.

5) THEN you take them out, break them apart, eat a few
as delicious/rich/soft scones
with jam and double thick cream on




AND

put the rest on a wire rack on a baking sheet in the oven at 50 degrees Celsius
with a wooden spoon in the oven door for air flow
and bake it for a few hours (mine took 2 - 3 hours)
till it's the crispy texture of a rusk.

(See pic above post.)

Geniet dit!
Enjoy it!