South African Baking

Baking can be so much fun, especially when you get the children to help. There are so many wonderful recipes to choose from. Ranging from braaivleis bread, biscuits, cakes and wonderful mouth watering koeksisters.

Buttermilk Rusks recipe

Introduction

This is a traditional yeast-baked rusk - great for dunking in your tea or coffee early in the morning when you watch the sun rise as the Boer trekkers did every morning when they traveled from the Cape to the Transavaal. If the rusks are to be kept for a long time, do not substitute margarine for the butter.

Ingredients

375g butter
500g sugar
2 extra large eggs
1,5kg self-raising flour
30ml (2 tablespoons) baking powder
500ml (2 cups) buttermilk or plain drinking yogurt

Instructions on how to make it

Preheat oven to 180°C.

Cream the butter and sugar together very well. Add the eggs, one at a time. Sift the flour and baking powder together, and add this to the creamed mixture, using a fork to mix. Add the buttermilk or yogurt, using a little milk to rinse out the carton. Mix well with a fork and then knead lightly. Pack lightly rolled, golf ball sized buns of the dough into the greased bread pans close together, and bake for 45-55 minutes. Place the pans in the middle of the oven, with a sheet of brown paper on the top shelf to protect the buns from becoming browned too quickly.

Remove the paper after the buns are well risen and cooked through, to brown the tops. Reduce the heat to the lowest possible setting. Turn out the buns on to cake racks, cool them and separate them, using 2 forks. Pack them on wire racks or on cooled oven racks – air must circulate. Place them in the cool oven, leaving the door ajar, for 4-5 hours, or overnight, to dry out.

If no buttermilk or yogurt is available, use fresh milk curdled with lemon juice or white vinegar.

Mealie or Sweet corn bread recipe

Introduction

This is also known as Sweetcorn bread and goes down a treat at any BBQ or as they call it in South Africa - a Braai.

Ingredients

2 cups biscuit mix
1 cup creamed sweetcorn
1 tablespoon sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup whole milk
2 ounces butter, melted

Instructions on how to make it

In a large bowl, place the biscuit mix, creamed corn, and sugar. Add the egg and milk, and stir just until combined.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Grease a 9" baking pan. Place the mealie mixture into the pan, and coat with the melted butter.

Bake for 20 minutes.

Muesli rusks recipe

Introduction

This recipe comes from Annette Human's cookbook. I've tried and tested it and not only do they taste good, the recipe makes loads. Make sure you have plenty of space to dry out the rusks. I ended up putting them in the airing cupboard!

Ingredients

700g bought muesli
Rusk dough
700g butter/margarine
500g sugar
750ml buttermilk
1,5kg self-raising flower
40g baking powder
7ml salt

Instructions on how to make it

Heat the butter/margarine and sugar until the shortening has melted. Remove from the stove. Beat together the buttermilk and eggs and stir the buttermilk mixture into the sugar mix.

Sift together the self-raising flour, the baking powder and salt. Add the muesli and mix. Add this to the sugar mixture and combine well.

Spoon the dough into four greased loaf tins, each with a volume of 1,5 litres. Bake the rusk loaves for about 30 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius and then for about 40 minutes at 160 degrees Celsius until golden brown and done. Leave the loaves to cool in the tins for a few minutes, then turn them out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Cut each loaf into rusk-sized portions. Dry out overnight in a cool oven with the oven door slightly ajar.

Makes about 10 and a half dozen rusks (or more)!