Simple sultana tea bread

Press, 19 August 1981, Page 14

Simple sultana tea bread

Alison Hoist’s

Food Facts

This very easy sultana bread is a firm favourite in our house. It costs a little more to make this bread from my baking mix, but I have never been, able to get as good a loaf using self raising or plain flours. I don’t make a special brew of tea for the loaf — I just pour another cup from the teapot after. I have poured our drinks. It ..works well — by the time I have finished my “cuppa”. and organised myself the sultana and" tea mixture has cooled and. is ready to use. Note: If you do not have a metric measuring cup, use the same cup for all measures.

1 cup sultanas 1 teaspoon mixed spice

1 teaspoon cinnamon 1' cup tea 1 cup brown sugar

2 to 2*4' cups Alison Hoist’s baking mix.

Measure the sultanas, spice and cinnamon in a medium to large bowl. Pour over them a cup of hot, recently made tea and leave this to stand until cold. When cold, add the brown sugar

and baking mix. If you use the smaller amount of baking mix you get a moist cakelike loaf. If you use the larger amount the mixture is breadlike rather than cakelike.

(I use the smaller amount when I cook the mixture in a cake tin and the larger amount when I use a loaf tin.) . ■ .

Mix only enough to dampen dry’ ingredients. Do not over-mix. Turn-the mixture into a cake tin with the sides and bottom' lined with greaseproof paper, or a loaf tin about 23 x 12cm (9 x 4Vz inches) with paper over the bottom and long sides.

Bake at 180 C (350 F 'The cake should take 35 to 45 minutes and the loaf about an hour. When a skewer pushed to the bottom of the middle of the cake comes out clean, the tea bread is cooked. Cool until tin can be handled, then remove the loaf to rack. When cold place in tin or plastic bag for storage. Leave 24 hours before cutting. Spread slices’ with butter or cream cheese. ■ /Note: If baking mix is temporarily unobtainable re-: place it with self raising flour, and put 25g butter into the hot sultana tea mixture. The resulting loaf is similar but not identical. b