Air Fryer Classic Buttermilk Rusks

'These are my best and now thoroughly tested classic South African buttermilk rusks.
They are made by hand using toasted milk powder, which gives these rusks that distinctive Ouma rusk flavour. I have made them in my new Vortex Versazone with Clearcook air fryer. I used the dehydrator function to fully dry these buttermilk rusks for 5 hours. I love how hands-off the whole process is and how much electricity you save with this air fryer'.

- Sam Linsell

Ingredients:

360 grams of cake flour (or all-purpose)
140 grams sugar
3 tsp baking powder
25 grams / 4 Tbsp toasted milk powder
1/4 tsp salt
190 grams of salted butter
190 ml buttermilk
2 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions:
To caramelize or toast the milk powder, place 1 cup of milk powder into a large non-stick frying pan over low heat. Fry until golden brown, stirring continuously with a silicone spatula. If the milk powder clumps, blitz it in a food processor to break up any clumps once cooled.

To make the rusks, add all the dry ingredients to a large bowl and mix well.

In a jug, melt the butter in the microwave, then add the buttermilk and vanilla. Whisk until well combined. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until all the flour is absorbed, forming a thick dough.

Press the dough into a lined 20 cm x 20 cm (8-inch x 8-inch) square baking dish and smooth the surface.

Preheat the  air fryer to ‘Bake’ at 180°C for 30 minutes.

Remove and allow the rusks to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then remove them and cool further on a cooling rack. Once cool, cut the rusks into strips. Cut seven strips in one direction, then cut each strip into thirds.

This will make 21 rusk fingers that will fit perfectly into the air fryer basket.

Preheat the Instant Vortex Versazone with ClearCook to ‘Dehydrate’ at 73°C for 4.5 – 5 hours.

Notes:
Store rusks in an air-tight container and they will last for up to 6 weeks – 2 months.