Peach Tea Bread: Holiday Recipe Club

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   Today is my last day of work until August!  Sometimes I really love being a teacher.  This is the first time we’ve ever gotten out this early and while many of my co-workers are looking forward to the pool and vacations I’m most looking forward to cooking, canning, and baking!

    Today is also my first time joining in The Holiday Recipe Club which is run by Erin at Big Fat Baker.  The hop today is in honor of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee!  Queen Elizabeth II is only the second British monarch to celebrate her Diamond Jubilee and for that we’re going to celebrate!  In case you are wondering, the Diamond Jubilee marks Queen Elizabeth II’s 60th year on the throne. 

     When looking at the list of possible ingredients the one that stood out the most was tea.  Who doesn’t think of tea when they think of the royal family?  The bonus to this ingredient is that a generous co-worker just gave me two pouches of loose leaf tea last week and I’ve been looking for ways to incorporate it into my baked goods.

      I wanted to make a sweet tea bread fit for the Queen.  Most tea breads don’t actually have tea in them but I decided it was time to change that.  If you’ve ever been to a tea before you know that they most commonly serve black tea with milk and sweet pastries.  I’ve gone to several teas while cruising with my parents and it’s one of mine and my mother’s favorite thing to do on the ship.  Everyone dresses up and has conversation over tea.  It’s fabulous; we should really adopt this practice in the United States.

     I decided to make a peach tea bread with my new pouch of Blue Sky Blend black tea.  This tea blend has both floral and citrus notes.  I steeped some of the tea with water and milk and then made the batter for my bread out of it.  I also crushed up some of the tea leaves and added them to the batter.  This bread smelled sweet and citrusy in the oven.   When it came out it was a deep golden color.  The bread was very moist and had a creamy fruit flavor in addition to the dried peaches.  It’s very different from any other bread I’ve had before and both my husband and I really enjoyed it.  It’s great plain but even better with cinnamon butter on top.  I enjoyed a slice (or three) with a cup of tea!

Peach Tea Bread (adapted from The Kitchn)
1 T. Blue Sky loose leaf tea (or any other fruity black tea)
3/4 c. low fat milk
1 c. chopped dried peaches
2 1/4 c. flour
1 1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. nutmeg
1 T. Blue Sky loose leaf tea, crushed (or any other fruity black tea)
1/3 c. vegetable oil
3/4 c. brown sugar
1 egg
1 t. vanilla
1 t. lemon juice

1.  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Spray a loaf pan with cooking spray.  Set aside.

2.  Boil water in a kettle. Pour 1/4 cup of boiling water over 1 tablespoon of tea leaves in a small saucepan. Let them steep for three minutes and then add the milk.  Simmer over medium low heat for about 10 minutes.

3.  In a small bowl pour boiling water over top of the dried peaches and let them soften while the tea is steeping.

4.  In a large bowl combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, and crushed tea leaves.

5.  In a medium bowl mix the oil, brown sugar, egg, vanilla, and lemon juice.

6.  Take the tea milk off the stove and strain to remove the tea leaves.  Mix the milk with the other wet ingredients.

7.  Drain the dried peaches.  Mix them into the wet ingredients then pour the wet ingredients into the dry and fold together just until combined.

8.  Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan.  Bake for 15 minutes at 400 degrees then reduce heat to 325 and continue baking for 30-35 minute or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

9.  Cool completely on a wire rack before slicing.

This post linked to: 
Crazy Sweet Tuesday,  Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, Totally Tasty Tuesdays