If you want a rusk to taste of something, the cheap route is sugar. The honest route is fat, and the fat we use comes from full cream buffalo milk rather than water and milk solids.
What fat does to a crumb
Milk fat shortens gluten strands, which gives a finer, more even cell structure. That is why a milk rusk breaks cleanly and a water dough rusk shatters into crumbs. It also carries aroma, so the toasted notes from the second bake stay on the palate longer.
Less sugar, on purpose
Our Classic Milk is noticeably less sweet than most of the shelf. The point of a rusk is to sit alongside chai, not compete with it. Turn the sugar up and every cup tastes the same.
Sweetness is the easiest flavour to add and the first one people tire of.
Milk costs more than sugar and always will. We have kept the ratio unchanged since 1998 and have no plans to revisit it.