cranberry cashew rusks - gluten free
2015-08-04 10:51:26
Rusks are a winter treat. Hard, crunchy, nutty biscuits great for dunking in a mug of tea or coffee anytime of the day. They are my favourite breakfast. However, being a gluten intolerant person finding a tasty rusk on the shelves of the health stores or supermarket poses a problem. They all taste disgusting. I have a wonderful wheat rusk recipe which I decided to adapt to a gluten free version and I must say they are splendid.
This recipe was given to me by my second cousin Anne Donovan many years ago and I have fiddled around with it around over the years. The recipe does use oats which can be a problem for many gluten intolerant people. I used an organic oat seed which I ground into an oat flake myself, to avoid any cross contamination. Most health stores do however, stock gluten free oats.
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Ingredients
- 500g melted salted butter
- 1kg flour - I used 500g rice flour and 500g potato flour
- 10ml salt
- 300g brown sugar
- 125ml psyllium husk
- 700ml oats
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 10 teaspoons baking powder
- 10ml xanthan gum
- 1 cup sunflower seeds
- 60g desiccated coconut
- 3 eggs
- 250g natural yogurt
- 500ml buttermilk
- 250ml dried cranberries - any dried fruit can be added to give different flavours
- 250ml cashew nuts roughly chopped - any nuts can be added to give a different flavour
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 180 degrees.
- The method is very simple - simply add all the ingredients together and mix thoroughly. As it is such a large volume of ingredients the mixing is best done is a very large bowl and it can take a while to get all the flour incorporated. Add the buttermilk slowly as you may not need it all if the mix come together. It should be a thick dough, not too wet. If your mix is too dry after adding all the wet ingredients, simply add a little more yogurt.
- Press the dough into baking tins, it will fill about three tins to a height of about 5cm. Press down firmly.
- Bake in the oven till brown,
- When cooked allow to cool and then cut into the size rusk you desire. Place these onto trays and allow to dry out in a cool oven or warmer draw, approx. 50 degrees for about six hours! They should be hard and dry.
- Store in an airtight container for up to three months.
Amanda In The Kitchen https://www.amandainthekitchen.com/
Hi Amanda -re potato flour vs potato starch, not sure what I should be buying. Haven’t done any gluten free baking so not too clued up with these flours. I’m in South Africa, and I think you’re in the UK so our products may be slightly different. Please advise.
Hi Annie Use potato flour as it has a higher nutritional value. Sometimes potato starch is all you can find, then it will work as well but might make the baking a bit dryer. Hope this helps.
These are the best GF rusks ever. The last time I made them I decided to use all the open packets of flour in my pantry. So I used 500gr general purpose GF flour, 125gr almond flour, 125gr coconut flour and 250gr rice flour. The results were a slightly more crumbly rusk but the flavour was just as good. Thanks for an awesome recipe.
I Love recipes which use up all the bits in the pantry, well done!
Hi Amanda. I am baking this right now. I made some adjustments, as I akways do..
Instead of 500g potato starch, I broke the 500g up into potato starch, tapioca starch, ground oats, ground mixed nuts and coconut flour. I halved the sugar. I had too little buttermilk left so made it up with almond milk and some apple cider vinegar. I also had too little butter and made it yo wirh coconut oil. The recipe is indeed forgiving. It worked..
Thanks for sharing
Hilda from South Africa
I love the adaptability of this recipe – never fails me! Well done!
Hi Amanda, just want to confirm that for the gluten free version of rusks you use rice flour and potato FLOUR NOT Potato STARCH .
Thank you
Regards
Lauren
I use potato starch – so sorry for the late reply.
Hi Amanda
I have been making the same rusks for my gluten intolerant husband for a few years, but I would like to try out this delicious-looking recipe of yours. Can I leave out the xantham gum, or does it have an important function in the recipe?
It has to stay in as it helps bind the recipe together. Gluten free flour doesn’t have the same binding structure as wheat flour so it needs helps.
Hello Amanda
I love the sound of this recipe and would love to make it. Just one problem for me is the solid ingredients that you have listed in mls…. 700ml of oats 125ml psyllium husk. I have no idea how you would measure that accurately as its a volume not a weight? Can you help please. I am in australia so usually work in gms or cups etc.
Hi Hilary
This recipe is amazing. Don’t stress about the measurements. A cup is 250ml, so you can work from that. Basically use 2 and a half cups of oats and half a cup of psyllium husk. It is a very forgiving recipe if your amounts are a little off. Good luck and remember to send me a pic of your successes.