kosher kitchen

Tea breads for a cozy winter’s day

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I did not discover tea breads until I was an adult. My mother never made them. My grandmother never made them, unless you count her sticky, cinnamon-y babka as a tea bread. I cannot remember the first time I tasted banana bread or lemon poppy bread or zucchini bread. I can’t even remember when I started making them on a regular basis. These wonderful, gift-worthy, easy-traveling delights just seemed to seep into my collections of recipes and find their way onto my table and beyond.

Winter is a perfect time to make these delicious breads and enjoy them with a steaming cup of tea or coffee. They can be prepared quickly, usually with ingredients you have in the house, and they bake in about an hour all the while filling the house with a delicious, cozy aroma. Recipes can easily be doubled and can often be made in disposable pans that make these perfect gifts to bring to luncheons or morning meetings.

Another thing I love about tea breads is that the recipes are usually forgiving. You can add nuts and fruits, decrease the sugar, or use other sweeteners with no ill effects on the outcome. Some are dense and some are light and airy. All are delicious. They can even serve as a dessert. Many, if not most, of these can be made pareve, making them perfect for an after-Shabbat-dinner accompaniment to a cup of tea.

I found that I could add extras like seeds for fiber and sometimes whole-wheat flour for additional health and nutrition. These changes made fruit-filled breads perfect for lunch boxes for the kids and for me!

Try these and add whatever you like to make them fit your family’s favorite flavors. You can make any kind of glaze you like — just mix some confectioner’s or regular sugar with some milk, water, or juice and a flavoring that will blend with the bread, mix well, and drizzle over the bread while it is warm. Yum! Then enjoy with some hot tea while you play a family game. Cozy and delicious!

Shakespearean Tea Bread ‘As You Like It’  (Pareve)

This bread can be made with any fruits, nuts, or anything else you want to add.

3 cups unbleached flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 Tbsp. cinnamon

3 extra-large eggs

1 cup canola oil

1 Tbsp. pure vanilla extract

1-1/2 to 2 cups sugar

2 cups add-ins (see sidebar)

1 cup additional add-ins or chopped nuts

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Generously grease two loaf pans and set aside. Place the flour, baking soda and powder, salt and cinnamon in a large bowl and gently whisk to blend. Set aside.

Place the eggs, oil, vanilla and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and mix until well-blended. Remove the bowl from the stand and add the flour mixture. Mix by hand just until completely blended. Add the 3 cups of add-ins or add-ins and nuts and mix well. 

Pour into prepared pans and bake 50 to 70 minutes or until a tester comes out clean. Makes 2 loaves.

Add-ins:

Finely chopped apples; snipped apricots or any other dried fruit including dates, figs, prunes, pears, peaches, cherries; chopped canned (drained well)  or fresh peaches, apricots, plums; raisins; blueberries, raspberries, cut strawberries; a marbleized swirl of well-mixed jam or marmalade; chopped, cooked rhubarb; chocolate chips or other flavored chips; mini marshmallows; toasted pecans or other nuts. Mix and match as you like.

Pomegranate or Lemon Orange Blackberry Tea Bread (Dairy or Pareve)

3 cups unbleached flour

1 cup sugar

1 cup dark brown sugar OR white sugar, if using lemon juice

2 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 Tbsp. grated orange zest OR lemon zest, if using lemon juice

2 extra-large eggs

2 cups milk, soy milk, or other non-dairy milk

1/2 cup pomegranate juice OR 4 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 Tbsp. pure vanilla extract

2 generous cups fresh blackberries

1/2 cup canola oil (scant)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Generously grease 2 loaf pans. Set aside.

Place the flour, sugars, baking powder, salt, and orange zest in the bowl of an electric mixer and mix on very low to blend.

Break the eggs into a bowl and blend completely. Add the milk, pomegranate juice, vanilla and oil, and mix to blend. Add the liquid to the dry ingredients and mix just until blended, scraping the bowl as needed.

Remove the bowl from the stand and add the blackberries. Mix gently by hand. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 1 hour or until a tester comes out clean. Makes 2 loaves.

Warm and Spicy Pumpkin Bread (Dairy or Pareve)

2 cups unbleached flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

3/4 tsp. ground cloves

3/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp. ground ginger

1-1/2 sticks butter or pareve margarine, softened

2 extra-large eggs

1 cup dark brown sugar, lightly packed

1 cup sugar, scant

2 Tbsp. molasses

2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1 can (15 ounces) pure pumpkin

OPTIONAL: 2/3 cup chopped fresh cranberries, 2/3 cup snipped apricots, 2/3 cup raisins or dried cranberries or other berries.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Generously grease and flour 2 loaf pans. Set aside.

Place the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and spices in a bowl and gently whisk to blend. Set aside.

Place the butter, sugars, molasses and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat until well blended. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition and beat until light and fluffy. Add the pumpkin and beat until blended. The mixture may look curdled. That is correct. 

Add the flour and spice mixture and beat on very low until blended, scraping the bowl as needed. Pour into the two prepared pans and bake for 65 to 75 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean. Makes 2 loaves.

Dark and Rich Date-Nut Bread (Pareve or Dairy)

2-1/2 cups chopped dates

6 Tbsp. butter or trans-fat free pareve margarine

1 cup boiling water

1 tsp. baking soda

2/3 cups milk, buttermilk or almond milk (soy does not work as well)

2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar

4 Tbsp. unsulphured blackstrap molasses

1 extra-large egg

2 cups unbleached flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and place a rack in the middle of the oven. Grease and flour a 9 by 5 loaf pan and set aside. Chop the dates a few at a time in a food processor and place in a large glass bowl. Melt the butter in a small microwave-safe bowl and set aside to cool.

Pour the boiling water over the dates and immediately add the baking soda and stir for about 10 seconds until fully mixed. Cover and set aside to cool.

Stir the milk, vanilla, sugar and molasses together in a small bowl. Add the melted butter and the egg and mix thoroughly. Add the date mixture and stir until evenly combined.

Place the flour and baking powder in a large bowl and whisk gently. Add the chopped nuts and mix with a fork. Add the liquid ingredients and mix just until blended. Do not overmix or the bread will be tough. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until a tester comes out clean, about 55 to 65 minutes. Let cool about 10 to15 minutes, then remove from the pan. Wrap tightly in plastic to keep the bread moist. Can easily be doubled.