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5:35 pm
January 10, 2010
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This is a recipe that my Mother in Law used to make as part of the 'Cricketers Tea' which is taken by the cricket teams half way through the match on a (hopefully) sunny Sunday summer afternoon
.(Cricket is probably the MOST boring game in the world in my opinion!) I'm hoping it will convert more easily to US measurements as it is made with a UK teacupfull (7oz approx). It's a firm family favourite. It's made over two days – so not for those in a hurry
Brenda Mays' Tea Bread
(Yeilds about 12 slices)
1 cup of tea (no milk or sugar) Hot or warm is better
1 cup of sugar (I use golden sugar, but any would do)
1 cup of mixed dried fruit (whichever you like*)
Put these ingredients in a mixing bowl and stir together. Cover and leave for overnight to soak.
Next day:
Line a 1Lb bread tin with non stick baking paper, leaving enough out of the top to make a 'tent' over the mixture. I usually leave an extra 4 or 5 inches on each of the long sides.
Add to the mixing bowl
2 cups AP flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
Mix together and pour into the loaf tin. Bake at 375 F for approx 50 mins to an hour. Cooked when a skewer comes out clean.
*This recipe is very versatile, I have used half white and half wholemeal flour, and all white, or all wholemeal. I'm sure you have other options.
I usually use mixed dried fruit(currents, sultanas, raisins and mixed candid peel), but have also used apricot and even added chopped fresh orange. It's really personal preference.
I only use 1/2 a cup of sugar and it's plenty sweet enough for me. (I cut back on sugar in all recipes as I'm diabetic.)
To serve: Either sliced on its own or better still spread with butter, warm from the oven or cold.
It freezes very well. I usually make a batch by doublling, or tripling the mixture and freeze the extra. (I only have three 1lb loaf tins.
(Oh Lord, I hope you have tea in the house!)
6:20 pm
February 10, 2009
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Oh so funny Rose! Most here do drink tea, lots also have loose tea to brew in a nice teapot though tea bags are the norm for most American households. We're only HALF barbarian!
We'll get the knack of the recipes, so please don't hesitate to post them!
6:28 pm
October 17, 2008
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So my thinking is………if we use one of our "cups", it's just a tad more, it would still be all the same, right?
6:30 pm
January 10, 2010
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Thanks for that BuckeyeGirl. I hate the mess loose tea makes. I don't drink coffee at all, so I have at least three different types of tea in the house at any time and choose dependent on my mood.
(Heaven help the family though if I'm drinking Assam
)
Okay – I just chuck a teabag in a cup and let it brew, or chuck a couple in the pot to make more than one loaf
7:43 pm
December 28, 2008
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Am guessing that the proportions would still be right using one of our 8-oz cups or the 7-oz cup. The only thing to vary would be a little less egg and baking powder to the other ingredients. Well, salt, too, but since I never add salt anyway… 
Now, Rose! Some of us keep a fairly wide variety of teas in our cupboards! I even have a selection of tea eggs from which to choose depending upon whether it's for a single cup, a small pot or a large pot. What I DO need are more tea cozies!
All that said, this does sound quite good, even for those of us who prefer indulging in our tea, biscuits and teabreads with friends over something like quilting instead of a sporting event! 
8:42 pm
January 10, 2010
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8:59 pm
December 28, 2008
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Would one of you Brits remind me what the little china (guess it could be any material, but mine is English bone china) thingy is called that spans a tea cup into which you place loose tea and over which you pour boiling water to produce a single cup of tea? It has holes in the bottom, of course!
3:47 am
November 6, 2009
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Tea Ball……Although your description sounds more like a tea strainer……But then what would I know
8:39 am
December 28, 2008
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Oh, Chris, I have several tea eggs, or balls, which are mesh, that drop into teapots. Must now do some research to discover what that othe item is called! Am sure I knew once upon a time. (Tea strainer? Hmmm. Maybe…)
9:47 am
November 6, 2009
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Pete,Tea making can be a controversial subject,as Im sure you know. Traditionalist,perfectionist,they all have their idiosyncrasies ranging from only freshly boiled water,warming the pot,milk first or second,only with lemon,it goes on and on. Basically,number of spoons of leaf tea into a warmed pot,boiling water,steep, pour into cup through a tea strainer,does it for me. Where I draw the line is the use of teabags,diabolical invention!! Ever opened one? thats not tea leaves,its tea dust!! which I was led to believe is the sweepings.
You pays your money and takes your choice.! I will dismount from my high horse,and add that I think that yours is a tea strainer,used to prevent tea leaves from contaminating ones delicate palate ,dont forget to crook the little finger,and cucumber sandwiches with the crust removed please
If I may digress slightly,Many of you ladies seem to have your own well,water being pumped to the house.Does it run through a filter before the tank and on to the tap??
9:57 am
February 10, 2009
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Some will I'm sure. I have two actually. We had to have a new well dug a number of years ago and the water is now very full of minerals, especially iron. We have a cartridge filter at the intake, and also a filter on the kitchen tap for drinking and some cooking purposes.
The well we had for years and years before this one was crystal clear pure spring water, but the underground water sources changed, probably due to nearby excavation… I say nearby, but it was over a mile away really. Still, that water was magic for complexion, hair, laundry and drinking. No one could believe it was out of a well. Ah well… (pun intended! )
10:11 am
December 28, 2008
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Must agree, Chris. I will use the teabags, but not just any of them! MUCH prefer loose tea, which might explain having sooo many of the mesh balls. My original tea egg really looked like an egg with holes in it – ceramic and everything. Calling all of them all "tea eggs" has just stuck with me.
Yes, after looking around the net, I have concluded that it IS a strainer that I have. It came from Herrod's many years ago. Not overly effective, since it is china with relatively few holes compared to the stainless steel mesh variety. And I have so far found nothing that looks like it currently available for sale anywhere. (Not that I want another one! Just wanted to correctly identify it.)
10:13 am
November 6, 2009
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Thanks Pete, the reason I asked was contamination,but another reason was source.Where I live the water is very hard,extracted from limestone acquifers,can cause havoc with buildup in central heating,limescale in kettles etc.It also affects the taste of tea! Ive had a filter fitted at the mains intake. As you say it is very notable when travelling somewhere different,that has soft water.Laundry,Shampoo and the tea tastes different. We wont mention adding things like Chloride to the water supply. Makes one long for the good old days.
11:30 am
December 28, 2008
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Oh, about the water here – we are now on "city" water, but lived with well water exclusively for many years. We still filter our drinking water, though. The coffee and tea just taste better that way. We do not have an over abundance of minerals here.
Our well required all sorts of treatment as there was e.coli, among other nasties, in it. Cattle used to roam on the hills around our house. Apparently it takes centuries for those bugs to reach extinction! On the other hand, stuff really grows here…
1:34 pm
January 10, 2010
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Pete, I concur you have a ceramic tea strainer.
2:19 pm
December 28, 2008
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Rose, on a serious note – I owe you an apology for highjacking this thread with questions unrelated to what you posted! You gave us a lovely recipe, for which I thank you. My questions were legitimate, but should have been posted elsewhere.
Sorry! 
3:50 pm
January 10, 2010
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I hadn't thought that you had hijacked it Pete, so no aplology needed.
I'm glad you like the recipe though.
4:01 pm
December 28, 2008
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It's just that we really do try to keep things on topic. Sometimes someone tries to find something they know they saw posted, and cannot find it when buried in an obscure post. As a mod, I really should not do what we tell others not to do!
7:01 pm
October 30, 2009
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ChrisUK said:
If I may digress slightly,Many of you ladies seem to have your own well,water being pumped to the house.Does it run through a filter before the tank and on to the tap??
Chris We have a well, with a water softener but "drinking water" runs through a reverse osmosis filter. I don't care for the taste of the softened water; I can taste the salt.
8:45 pm
November 8, 2009
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Rose, Thanks so much for this recipe, I have never heard of making bread with tea before. I love tea and drink large quantities of it…not British tea, though since I don't drink caffeine. Usually herbal, flower, white or red teas. I have been to China and some other countries and gotten hooked on teas from around the world. I always use loose leaves. I have a lovely cast-iron teapot that keeps the tea warm for 2-3 hours and I have a beautiful glass teapot for the flower teas that "bloom" in the hot water.
I plan to make your Tea Bread using a ginger-coconut red tea. I will let you know how it turns out.
Sandra
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