Brown Butter Pecan Rusks with Warm Autumn Spices
Crunchy, golden South African rusks with nutty brown butter, toasted pecans and warm autumn spices. These not-too-sweet rusks have a delicious depth of flavour and are perfect for dunking into your morning coffee or tea.
Servings: 48
Ingredients
- 275 g unsalted butter before browning
- 200 g light brown sugar
- 600 g UrDinkel Classic flour See notes
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 tsp pumpkin spice
- 1 large egg
- 240 ml buttermilk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 25 g maple syrup
- 100 g pecans toasted and roughly chopped
Instructions
Brown the butter
- Place the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Allow it to melt, then continue cooking, stirring or swirling frequently, until the milk solids turn deep golden brown and the butter smells nutty.
- Remove from the heat immediately, scraping all the browned bits into a heatproof bowl. Allow to cool until warm rather than hot. The final weight should be approximately 260 g.
Toast the pecans
- Roughly chop the pecans and then toast the pecans in a dry frying pan over medium-low heat until fragrant.
- Allow to cool
Combine the dry ingredients
- In a large bowl, mix the flour, milk powder, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and pumpkin spice.
Mix the wet ingredients
- In a separate bowl, combine the cooled brown butter, brown sugar, maple syrup and vanilla. Add the egg and mix well.
Make the dough
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, then pour in the buttermilk. Mix until combined and fold in the pecans.
- Allow the dough to rest for 5–10 minutes. It should be soft and cohesive. If it is too stiff, add a little extra buttermilk, 10–15 ml at a time, only if needed.
Shape and bake
- Preheat the oven to 175°C conventional heat. Grease or line a 23 × 33 cm baking tray.
- Transfer the dough to the tray. Using slightly damp hands, press it evenly into the corners and smooth the surface.
- Bake for approximately 30 - 45 minutes, or until golden brown and firm.
Cut the rusks
- Allow the baked slab to cool slightly until firm enough to handle. Using a serrated knife, cut into approximately 32 - 48 rusks. (Depends on how big you cut your pieces, I prefer mine a bit smaller)
Dry the rusks
- Arrange the rusks on oven racks or baking trays, leaving space between them. Reduce the oven temperature to 90°C and dry for approximately 6 hours, with the oven door slightly ajar.
- Check that the rusks are completely dry through the centre. If needed, continue drying for longer.
- Allow to cool completely before storing.
Notes
A note on the flour: I used UrDinkel Classic flour, a Swiss spelt flour blend made with 80% semi-white spelt flour and 20% coarsely milled spelt. It gives these rusks a lovely, slightly rustic texture. If you can't find this particular flour, you can try a blend of 80% semi-white spelt flour and 20% coarsely milled spelt, or use a combination of white spelt flour and wholemeal spelt flour. The texture and liquid absorption may vary, so allow the dough to rest for 5–10 minutes before deciding whether it needs extra buttermilk.
Flour substitute: Replace the UrDinkel Classic with 600 g wholemeal spelt flour. You may need to adjust the buttermilk slightly, as different flours absorb moisture differently.
Overnight drying tip: If time permits, leave the rusks to dry overnight in the oven at 70°C, with the oven door slightly ajar. This allows them to dry slowly and thoroughly, giving them that lovely crunchy texture. Make sure they are completely dry through the centre before storing them in an airtight container.