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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Ginger Biscuits

Wishing all my readers a happy, healthy and prosperous new year. May all your wishes come true this year and hope you get to create a collage of wonderful memories with your near and dear ones. 

I have read enough novels set in the Victorian period to know a thing or two about the popular tea tradition and tea rooms of Britain. However I always associated it with the afternoon tea sessions. A ritual which doubled as a light meal and was meant to ward off the hunger pangs between the lunch and dinner periods. A Duchess named Anna Maria, a lifelong friend of queen Victoria is credited with the creation of the afternoon tea ritual, during mid 1840s. 

There were only two meals served prior to 18th century - a breakfast and a dinner, the main meal of the day that happened around two or three in the afternoon. Somewhere during the 18th century, dinner was slowly moved to somewhere between six to eight in the evening. During this period, a very light midday meal called 'luncheon' started to get served in wealthy homes, to fill the gap between breakfast and these new fashionably late dinners. However these luncheons were lighter and the long afternoons with no refreshments kept everyone feeling hungry. Anna found that a light meal of tea (usually Darjeeling) and cakes or sandwiches was  perfect to beat the hunger pangs before dinner and soon started inviting her friends to join her during the teatime. This post-lunch tea ritual became such a hit that the practice spread in aristocratic circles.

Now, there is another little teatime tradition called 'elevenses' which also happens to be my theme of blogging marathon this week. Elevenses is a short break taken for light refreshments at eleven in the morning, a couple of hours before the midday meal. This is like a second breakfast that comes between a proper breakfast and before lunch. It was not as formal or fancy as the afternoon tea but light snacks which are usually sweet were served with a tea. 

I read somewhere that not the fancy kind but simple ones like these ginger biscuits were a norm for the elevenses. I found the perfect recipe here to suit my purpose and tried it. I was baking a small portion and so, rather than running to grocery store, I substituted with the things I had in my kitchen. Golden syrup was replaced by honey and maple syrup combo, margarine by butter and self rising flour by a combo of all purpose flour, salt and baking powder. Also I baked them a couple of minutes more and left them in the oven for a few minutes. The extra time in the oven makes them perfect 'dunkers' for tea or coffee.

I was taking care of hundred other things while baking this and kind of messed up with my liquid measurement and so, I might have added more flour than needed. I am guessing that's why my cookies were thicker and did not spread as thinner as the original one. However they taste really good in spite of all the substitutions. As I mentioned above, I made them a little on the harder side to use them to dunk in tea / coffee.

Ingredients: (Yield about 30 - 32)
110 g / 4 oz margarine
110 g / 4 oz caster sugar
110 g / 4 oz golden syrup
225 g / 8 oz self rising flour
2 tsp. ground ginger

Directions:
* Preheat the oven to 180 c / 350 deg F. Grease a baking sheet.
* Melt the margarine, sugar and golden syrup in a pan over medium heat. Remove the pan from heat as soon as the contents are melted and allow it cool slightly. Add the flour and ginger and mix to form a dough.
* Once the dough is cool enough to handle, roll the dough into about 30 small balls with floured hands. Place the balls onto the prepared baking sheet with space in between to allow them to expand while baking. Mark the top of each ball with a fork. 
* Bake them until the biscuits are golden brown, about 10 minutes. (Mine were not done at 10 minutes. However remember that they harden a little, while cooling.)
* Remove from the oven, let them cool down a bit and transfer onto a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an air tight container.


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