Dunking guide: Rusk edition

Practically pudding, buttermilk honey-and-almond rusks (1) taste all treacly and delicious thanks to a double shot of sweetness courtesy of dark brown sugar and badger-friendly honey. Pretty nutty, right?

The brown bread of the rusk world, semelbeskuit (2) is the virtuous choice for daily dippers. The digestive wheat bran adds a satisfying nutty flavour and coarser texture, and makes it a pretty decent brekkie stand-in.

All of the seeds – think linseed, sunflower and pumpkin – star in Woolies’ hearty Low GR multiseed rusks (3), made with a mix of stoneground flour, oatmeal, oat bran, pecan nuts and Thompson raisins.

Mosbolletjie-style rusks (4) boast the same feathered texture and aniseed flavour of the original spongy bake. A quick dip in some honeyed, milky rooibos is the treatment this SA icon deserves.

Buttermilk muesli rusks (5) are crunchy-chewy thanks to a genius mix of oats, biscuit crumbs, sunflower and pumpkin seeds, coconut and almonds that's sweetened with golden syrup, honey and molasses. Also available in a no-sugar variety.

Woolies’ Buttermilk rusks (6) will give those your local tannie bakes a run for their money. Nothing fancy: just creamy, tangy Ayrshire buttermilk, butter, free-range eggs, sugar and salt, mixed and twice-baked to golden, crumbly goodness. They’re also available
in a no-sugar variety.

Buttermilk bran rusks (7) dish out a double whammy of fibre with bran flakes – like the kind you eat with milk – and wheat bran. A leisurely soak in some hot co ee and you have yourself a party. They’re also available in a no-sugar variety.

If regular rusks go against your gut, you need Free from gluten buttermilk seeded rusks (8), stat. They’re made with a mix of rice flour, potato starch, tapioca starch and xanthan gum, with some dried coconut, linseed, pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds thrown in for free.

Carb-dodging doesn’t have to mean dissing your beloved dunkables. Just stock up on some Carb-clever buttermilk rusks (9), which rely on almond flour, coconut, psyllium husks and seeds to give you a little something to hold onto.

The great beskuit recipe:

To make your own stockpile of big dippers, do as columnist Sam Woulidge does when the hankering hits. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Sift 1 kg self-raising flour, 1 t baking powder and a pinch of salt together. Add 200 g brown sugar and 300 g All-Bran Flakes, then add 3 beaten free-range eggs, 2 cups buttermilk and 500 g melted butter. Mix well with your hands. Place the mixture onto a large silicone baking sheet on a baking tray, pat into a rectangle and bake for 30–35 minutes, or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Allow to cool. When cool, cut into medium-sized rectangles, reduce the heat to 50°C and return the rusks to the oven to dry out for about 4 hours. Or a bit longer.

Discover more biscuit recipes here.