Orange Cranberry Walnut Bread

Time for some tidbits. Do you know what high tea and low tea are? Good for you if you are acquainted with the terms. If clueless about those words, join the club. I didn't know what they were either until last week and my guesses in fact, would have been quite the opposite to their real meaning. What started as a simple online search this week for elevenses menu turned into somewhat like I was going through a copy of 'English tea traditions for Dummies', (if such a book exists). 😵

One can easily misinterpret the terms 'low and high' teas, associating them with the social class. The 'afternoon tea' of the aristocrat ladies where one needs to mind their dress code and etiquette was called 'low tea' because they would sit in low armchairs in a sitting room while enjoying their tea and cakes set at low level tables. Low tea, a light snack was intended to tide someone over until dinner and usually used to be a ladies 'get together' or a social event. Think of scones, tea sandwiches, pastries, and cakes when talking about low tea. Here, a meal of tea, scones and cream is called a 'cream tea' and it is the simplest form of afternoon tea. If more sweets are added along with tea, scones and cream, then one would have a 'light tea'. If savory stuff is also included in the menu, then it becomes elaborate and constitutes a 'full tea'.    

Ironically, 'high tea' originated among the lower classes of the society and it is the meal served at the end of a working day. During 1800's as I mentioned in this post, dinner was a midday meal and the working class did not have the luxury of a lunch break. They instead had tea/meal right after their work with a hearty meal like cold cuts, cheeses and meat pies. This evening meal was served at at a high table - a proper dinner table and hence the name.

If I am not wrong, a formal afternoon tea time meal is a almost a thing of the past in most of the English households owing to the modern day busy lives. Unless if it is a special occasion or one is visiting classy hotels / tea rooms of England to partake in the afternoon tea which provides the tourists an opportunity to experience the age old English custom along with the locals who drop in to enjoy a relaxed afternoon with a nice cuppa with treats.

Now from those afternoon tea sessions to mid morning breaks. Elevenses, a colloquial English expression that started in the mid 18th century in Britain means a light refreshment taken at about eleven in the morning. I guess the timing had and has been flexible and the food served must have been highly variable. It is obvious  that people who eat an early or no breakfast crave for some light refreshment during mid mornings irrespective of their time period in history or their location on the map. The coffee or tea breaks of the modern world is a proof that the institution of elevenses still exists everywhere though maybe not on an elaborate scale or with the same frequency as during the previous centuries. And for that matter not even under the same name, depending upon where you live.

I am one of those who eats an early breakfast which is usually on the lighter side and feel the hunger pangs mid morning. Today's orange bread is perfect for such situations. A small cup of milk and a slice of this bread would suffice until lunch break. Bread served with butter and small cakes were a usual feature of elevenses and so, I made a quick bread which was kind of cross between the two though the yeast breads were the norm during the 18th century. The other elevenses posts this week are ginger biscuits and classic scones.

This bread which is on the sweeter side turned predominantly orange flavored one since I upped the liquid ratio in the recipe. The original recipe uses cranberries but I opted for the dried, sweetened ones since no one at home is a fan of tart cranberries. The bread tasted delicious, slightly warmed and slathered with butter. Walnuts add slight crunch while the sweetened, dried cranberries lend a sweet - tart touch. I made two mini loaves and the small slices do the portion control and are great for snacking. I guess the sugar quantity can be reduced if not looking for a sweet bread. 

Ingredients:
1 flax egg or any substitute for one large egg
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1.5 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 or 2 tsp. grated orange zest
2 tbsp. melted butter
2 tbsp. hot water
1/2 cup orange juice *
1 cup fresh / frozen cranberries (I used dried and sweetened ones.)
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

* I had to use extra juice since the batter was not coming together. I used over 1/4 cup. Start with 1/2 cup mentioned in the recipe and go on adding in small increments until bread batter is formed. The final batter should not be of neither a dough consistency nor a runny batter. 
Directions:
* Preheat the oven to 325 deg F / 165 deg C.
* Combine 1 tbsp. flaxmeal and 3 tbsp. warm water in a small bowl and keep aside for about 5 minutes. 
* Combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl.
* Combine flax egg, orange zest, melted butter, hot water and juice in another bowl and beat to combine. Add to flour mixture, stirring just until combined. Gently fold in berries and nuts.
* Transfer the batter to a greased 9x5 inch loaf pan and bake until a toothpick inserted at the center comes out clean, about 60 minutes. This can also be baked in 4 mini loaf pans but the baking time would be less.
* Cool for about 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
* I served the slices warm slathered with butter generously.

This goes to Blogging Marathon under 'Elevenses' Theme.


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Classic Scones

Chinese started drinking tea way before the English caught the fancy. However the afternoon tea which started during 18th century is considered an quintessential English tradition though it is relatively new and started centuries later. The English just didn't drink their cuppa during evenings. Instead the ladies made it into a tradition, a fashionable social event which demanded dress code and etiquette. The afternoon tea which was served in drawing rooms between 4 and 5 pm was a small meal, not a drink. It included an array of snacks which in guise were calorie inducing and mouthwatering treats like rich teacakes (which are not cakes by the way), dainty sandwiches like cucumber ones, small sweet pastries, freshly baked scones served with cream and jam and so on. However the ladies were expected not to eat their heartful, which otherwise would have been impropriety. 

Elevenses on the other hand was a simple affair compared to the evening tea and was a simple refreshment served at around 11 in the morning. It would include tea served with a snack or two which were less savory. Muffins (the English kind and not the American ones), simple bread and butter, biscuits or scones and so on were mostly served. Scones was the common theme of both the tea times, I noticed while looking for elevenses recipes. Tea and freshly baked scones served with cream and jam is known as cream tea. I wanted to try a classic version English scone for quite some time now but the American counterpart always wins when the time to bake them comes. This time, I decided to stick with the English version for my Blogging Marathon - Elevenses theme and tried these classic scones that I had bookmarked from Newyork Times.

These traditional scones are barely sweet since they are eaten with sweet jams and clotted cream. I made them today and served them with strawberry spread to accompany our evening tea and chocolate milk. We noticed that more jam is needed compared to what we spread on our toasts. They were lighter, and flakier than American versions as the recipe suggested. 

Ingredients:
1 tbsp. flaxmeal for flax egg
2 cups cake flour + extra as needed
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder
3 tbsp. sugar (divided)
5 tbsp. cold butter, cut into pieces (or grated)
1/2 to 3/4 cup heavy cream + extra for brushing (Milk can be substituted.)

The original recipe suggests to bake at 450 deg F but the reviewers of the original recipe suggested to lower the temperature and I baked them at 425 deg F. If you don't have cake flour on hand, combine 1/4 cup cornstarch and 1 and 3/4 cups all purpose flour and use instead. If eating eggs, skip the flax egg and substitute with an egg. Heavy cream can be substituted with milk. Start with 1/4 cup cream or milk and go on adding in small increments until dough can be formed. I had to use about 1/2 cup + 1 tbsp. milk and the dough was easy to work with. The original recipe mentions that the dough should be sticky but not messy. Add 1/2 cup of currants or raisins if preferred. I think they will add a little sweet punch to these barely sweet scones. 

Directions:
* For flax egg, combine 1 tbsp. flaxmeal and 3 tbsp. warm water in a small bowl and keep aside for about 5 minutes.
* Preheat the oven to 425 deg F.
* Add flour, salt, baking powder, and 2 tbsp. sugar to a food processor and pulse to combine. Next add butter and pulse until the mixture resembles cornmeal.
or
Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl and grate the butter which was frozen beforehand, directly into the bowl.
* Add egg and enough cream to form a slightly sticky dough. If the mixture appears too sticky, add a little flour. The final dough should be a little sticky to hands.
* Turn the dough onto a slightly floured surface and knead the dough once or twice. Then press it into a 3/4 inch thick circle and cut it into 2 inch rounds with a biscuit cutter or glass. Gently reshape the leftover dough and cut again until all the dough is used. Put the rounds on an ungreased baking sheet. (I lined the baking sheet with aluminium foil. I made 3 inch rounds of 1/2 inch thickness and got 8 scones.) 
Or 
Pat the dough into a circle of 3/4 inch thickness directly on a greased or lined baking sheet and cut into 8 wedges with a sharp knife.  

* Brush the top of each scone with bit of cream and sprinkle with the remaining sugar.
* Bake for about 9 to 11 minutes or until the scones are golden brown.

* Serve the scones warm with jam, mascarpone, clotted cream, or creme fraiche.


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Cinnamon Bread

My son did not get to enjoy the things I baked this month as he wasn't home until Christmas' weekend. He loves cinnamon flavored bakes and I tried this one, especially for him. At first I thought of baking a cinnamon raisin bread or cinnamon buns which my daughter also loves but didn't have the patience to wait for the yeast batters to rise. Instead I tried a quick bread version which was done in less than the time needed for a yeast based batter to rise. I am calling this a cinnamon bread though it was supposed to be a cinnamon swirl bread. The original recipe was meant for a standard loaf pan and there were two prominent cinnamon swirls in each slice. In the recipe, 1/3rd of the bread batter is poured into the pan and a layer of cinnamon sugar is sprinkled evenly. Again the layers are repeated twice. The final bread looks gorgeous when cut open, showing those lovely cinnamon swirls. Take a look at the bread.

I scaled down the recipe not realizing that I may not be able to get those swirls, the reason I tried this recipe in the first place. I had quartered the recipe to fit a mini loaf pan and it was hard to sprinkle two layers of ground cinnamon sugar between the batter layers. After the first layers of batter and cinnamon, I poured the second layer of batter and could not spread the thick batter. I had to pour all the batter instead and sprinkle the cinnamon sugar over it. The cinnamon layer in between was also not enough, I realized when I took a look at the images and tasted it. Don't skimp on the cinnamon for it's pronounced flavor in the bread; lesson learnt. My son wondered why I baked only a mini loaf of this lovely bread. This quick bread is delicious with a perfect crumb. I will bake a big loaf soon and update the pictures.

Ingredients:
1 flax egg
1 tbsp. ground cinnamon
1 and 1/3 cups sugar (divided)
1/4 cup butter, softened
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup buttermilk 

Directions:
* Combine 1 tbsp. flax-meal and 3 tbsp. warm water in a bowl and keep it aside for about five minutes. In case buttermilk is not available, add 1 tbsp. cider vinegar to a cup of room temperature milk and keep it aside. 
* Preheat oven to 350 deg F / 180 deg C. Grease a 8 by 4 inch loaf pan. Combine cinnamon and 1/3 cup sugar in a small bowl.
* Beat butter, 1 cup sugar and flax egg until blended. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add these dry ingredients to the butter mixture alternately with buttermilk.
* Pour a third of the batter into the greased pan. Sprinkle 1/3 of the cinnamon sugar evenly over the batter. Repeat layers twice. 
* Place the pan in the preheated oven and bake until a toothpick inserted at the center comes out clean, about 45 - 50 minutes. Let it cool for about 10 to 15 minutes before removing from the pan to a wire rack to cool completely. Slice and serve when it cools down.

This cinnamon bread is going to be my last post of this year and also my last entry for the Bakeathon event.

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Eggless Applesauce - Oatmeal Bread

This applesauce based bread is one delicious, moist and flavor filled one that can be served as a breakfast or brunch item or even as a dessert if you ask me. Even after cutting the sugar by half from the original recipe, this quick bread tastes really awesome and is filled with the goodness of oats, wheat, apple, dry fruits and nuts. I got to clear one more bookmarked recipe from KAF with this bread and it was rich and yummy even after making substitutions and omissions to suit my preferences. 

Ingredients:
2 flax eggs*
1 cup unbleached all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole white wheat flour
1/2 tsp. salt 
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon*
1/2 tsp. allspice
1/2 cup sugar*
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1.5 tsp. vanilla or boiled cider
1/2 cup rolled oats
1 cup unsweetened apple sauce* 
1/2 cup chopped walnuts*

* The changes I made:
I substituted eggs with flax eggs. 
The original recipe used a cup of sugar. I used half of it and it was still perfectly on the sweet side.
I substituted all purpose flour for wheat flour.
The original recipe has 1.5 tsp. ground cinnamon and 1/4 tsp. nutmeg as well which I left out.
I used homemade applesauce that was prepared with about 3 apples and increased it's quantity from 3/4 to 1 cup.
I added  sweetened dried cranberries and raisins along with walnuts.


Directions:
* Preheat the oven to 350 deg F. Lightly grease a 9 by 5 inch loaf pan. (The specified loaf pan is bigger for this bread and the loaf filled about 2/3rd of the pan.)
* Combine 2 tbsp. flaxmeal and 6 tbsp. warm water in a mixing bowl and keep it aside for about five minutes. Then add sugar, oil and vanilla to the flax eggs and mix well.
* Combine flours, salt, baking soda, baking powder. cinnamon, all spice, and nutmeg (if using) in another bowl. 
* Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Mix in the rolled oats, applesauce and walnuts. 
* Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and bake it until a toothpick inserted at the center comes out clean, about 55 to 60 minutes.
* Remove the bread from the oven and let cool.
* The bread can be stored well wrapped at room temperature for few days or can be frozen for later use.

It goes to Bakeathon  and Blogging Marathon events.


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