Buttermilk bran rusks with raisins and seeds
I have taken my best buttermilk bran rusk recipe and added raisins and seeds to it. These are so delicious dunked into your tea or coffee.
Since I have added raisins to this recipe I reduced the sugar down by about 25% from my original recipe. I give all the options below so you can choose which you prefer.
I have also played around using half artificial sugar and a little less than half the sugar and this also worked out very well.
Rusks are a classic South African confection and something missed by expats living abroad. They are especially delicious in winter with a hot drink.
As they are quite time-consuming to make, you might want to double the batch. They dry out particularly well if you have a fan-forced oven. This way you can put 2 large trays in at a time.
Tips for making Buttermilk bran rusks
- Mix the dry ingredients together to ensure the baking powder is well incorporated. Then add the wet ingredients.
- The batter for rusks is quite dense, so it’s best to make these by hand.
- Rusks are first baked in a moderate oven for 30 minutes before cooling and then cutting.
- Once cool, use a very sharp knife to slice them into the size you prefer. I recommend slicing them thinner as these will dry out more easily.
South African Recipes: My Collection Of Classics And Favourites
I have been working with Raisins SA for a few years and have made so many delicious raisin recipes. I adore them in sweet and savoury recipes.
More Raisin Recipes
Here are a few of my other baking recipes with raisins or sultanas.
A few of my other rusk recipes
Muesli rusks with oats & raisins
A classic buttermilk rusk recipe
Air Fryer classic South African buttermilk rusks like Ouma
Bran & muesli buttermilk rusks with seeds
*Pro Tip – Add toasted milk powder to the recipe to bring out a delicious nutty brown butter flavour. 3 – 4 Tablespoons will do the trick (45 grams).
You might also like my Healthier Seeded Crunchies recipe
Buttermilk bran rusks with raisins and seeds
Ingredients
- 200 grams 1 ½ cups cake flour or all-purpose flour
- 200 grams 1 ½ cups of wholewheat flour
- 4 tsp baking powder
- 130 grams All-Bran flakes lightly crushed
- 130 grams of raisins or sultanas
- 140 grams sugar
- 60 ml ¼ cup + 3 Tbsp chia seeds optional – or other seeds such as sunflower, flax, pumpkin, sesame, or a mix of any of these
- 250 grams of salted butter
- 250 ml 1 cup buttermilk
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C/350F.
- In a large bowl add all the dry ingredients and whisk to combine.
- Melt the butter and allow it to cool slightly. Add this to the dry ingredients along with the buttermilk and vanilla. Mix well to combine.
- Line a baking dish with baking paper (approx. 28cm x 20cm dish or similar rectangular dish). Spread the mixture into the tin and lightly press it into all the corners.
- Bake for 30 minutes until light golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a cooling rack.
- Cut the rusks into fingers of the desired thickness. Place them on a large, lined baking sheet. Space them out to allow them to dry.
- Place in a low oven of around 90C-100C, preferably fan-forced, and dry for 4 – 5 hours. Turn the rusks over halfway through. Turn the oven off and let them stay inside overnight. When tested they should be dry right through before turning off the oven.
Notes
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Hi Sam! May I ask, what whole-wheat flour do you use for this recipe? All come across is cake or bread flour, or “wheat bran” flour – is this the one to go for? In SA. Thanks so much, look forward to trying them for a reduced sugar option!
Hi Meg. You get wholewheat flour in SA. Snowflake and Golden cloud make it as well as other milling companies like Eureka and Gideon. They have bits of the wheat kernel in. You should get this at any supermarket.
Really 250 grams of butter?
Hi and yes its 250 grams of butter for the recipe
Great and easy recipe.
Very tasty rusks.
I replaced the brown flour with white and the buttermilk with double cream plain yoghurt. Works perfectly.
Hi Evan, I am so glad you enjoyed this rusk recipe.
This recipe is amazing! I’ve already made it once, and now I’ve got some dry ingredients ready for another batch, but realise that my family don’t like raisins – what can I substitute? Nuts perhaps?
Hi, Claire, you can just leave them out entirely or add dried cranberries instead if you want to keep a fruity element.
Gurl, nothing could have prepared me for the lost real estate when I was cutting them up. I, in the end, had a bowl of broken up pieces – fun snack but it was sad. Otherwise, such a great recipe ! Thank you thank you.
Hi Uvile, there is always a little bit of crumbling when making rusks but it shouldnt be as seer as you describe. It sounds ike the dough was too dry.