Thaxted Sticky Tea Loaf

Three words to describe this tea loaf: sticky, fruity, delicious.  Spread some butter on it, pour a cup of tea and its the perfect accompaniment for your three o'clock tea break.

A slice of tea loaf - tea time sorted!

The recipe comes from a book given to my brother and me (my brother being my current lodger!) by some good family friends of ours who live in the beautiful Essex town of Thaxted.  The recipe book is called (pun alert!) "On a Chicken Wing and a Prayer", being a cookery book sold to raise funds for the ongoing restoration of Thaxted Parish Church.  All the recipes have been donated by people from the town; I am very grateful to whoever donated the recipe for this tea loaf!


"On a Chicken Wing and a Prayer" - Recipes from Thaxted Parish Church

The recipe is wonderfully simple.  To be honest I made it on a slight whim, having an urge to bake something and realising that all the ingredients were items I had - tea, mixed fruit, brown sugar, self-raising flour, an egg and cinnamon.

The fruit and sugar are soaked in tea overnight.  I think next time I make this I will be a bit braver and make the tea stronger.  I'm having friends over at the weekend, which I think will be the perfect excuse to make this delicious loaf for a second time.  I may even let them eat it before three o'clock tea time!


The finished loaf - already half gone!

Learning to make bread - month two: soda bread

My New Year's Resolution was to learn to make bread, and in particular to attempt to make a different type of bread each month.  For January I made a basic bloomer; for February it was soda bread.

I have to admit that I do not recall having heard of soda bread before, but Paul Hollywood promised me that it's a great starting point for those of us who are new to bread making.  It doesn't contain yeast, so unlike the bloomer doesn't require kneading or rising time.  It's basically four simple steps: mix, shape, rest, bake.  The theory (or so the book tells me!) is that the bicarbonate of soda (alkali) and the buttermilk (acid) react together to create the carbon dioxide that makes the bread rise. Whatever the theory, it tasted good, which is the main criteria for me.  Paul Hollywood's Bread book has a range of recipes for soda breads and bakes - including crumpets, which I may have to come back to later in the year.  For now, I am very pleased with my attempt at soda bread; it's quick, easy and tasty, so I'm sure this will be one I make again.



The loaf is cut to allow the heat to get into the centre



Fresh from the oven and ready to eat