Coconut Masala Chai Sourdough Spice Tea Bread Recipes

SPICED FRUIT SOURDOUGH LOAF

Steps:

• Dissolve the honey in the hot tea.
• Combine the raisins, currants and orange zest in a heatproof bowl and pour the hot tea over. Cover and leave for 3-6 hours.
• Using a fine sieve, strain the fruit over a jug, reserving the soaking liquid. Set fruit aside, covered in the fridge, until the next day.
• Measure the soaking liquid and make up to 400 ml with tap water if necessary. Set aside until you're ready to make the dough.
• In a large bowl, stir the flour, salt and spices together.
• Dissolve the sourdough starter in the reserved soaking liquid.
• Stir the liquid into the flour, salt and spices. Bring together into a rough dough that leaves the sides of the bowl clean.
• Cover the bowl with cling film and leave overnight or 14-16 hours.
• Scrape the dough out of its bowl onto a well-floured worktop and flatten out.
• Spread half the soaked fruit over the dough. Fold over the sides of the dough to cover the mix and flatten the dough again.
• Spread the rest of the fruit over the dough, fold over the sides again and continue folding until it's distributed evenly
• Shape your loaf to the proving vessel, cover with cling film and leave to rest 10 min.
• After 10 min place the dough into lined, floured proving basket or tea towel-lined bowl, cover with cling film and leave for 90 min.
• After 60 min preheat oven to 250C/500F/Gas 10 and put a cast iron pot with lid into the oven.
• After 90 mins, carefully flip the dough from the proving basket into the pot, slash the top, replace the lid and put in the oven. Turn heat down to 220C/425F/Gas 7. Bake for 30 min.
• After 30 min remove pot from the oven, take bread out and put bread directly on the oven shelf. Bake for 10-20 min until the bread is cooked through, turning down the oven if necessary to stop the outside burning
• Leave on a wire rack to cool.

COCONUT MASALA CHAI SOURDOUGH (SPICE TEA BREAD)

Steps:

• Brew 16 ounces of tea with two black tea bags. (Boil water, steep for five minutes, remove tea bags.)
• Add all of the ingredients except the flour and starter to 320g of tea. You will have some unused tea that you can drink. Let the spices and coconut soak while your starter builds.
• Add your ripe starter and flour to your coconut-spice-tea, mix to incorporate and cover.
• After the dough has rested 20-30 minutes begin four rounds of stretching and folding about 30 minutes apart. Cover between folds.
• The bulk fermentation should be complete about 5-10 hours from when you mixed in the starter and flour, depending on tea temp, ambient temp and starter strength. Look for puffy edges and approximate doubling. The gritty texture of the dough makes large bubbles unlikely.
• Flour your counter and scrape out the dough onto it. Preshape the dough and let it rest for 20-30 minutes.
• Shape your dough into a boule, batard or oblong tube, depending on your intended baking vessel.
• Sprinkle your counter with shredded coconut, roughly in the shape of your loaf. Lightly dampen the top of your dough (spray or wet hand), and flip the damp side onto the coconut, rolling it a bit to coat the surface, then place the dough coconut-side down into your proofing basket.
• Proof in the refrigerator 10-16 hours, or at room temperature 1-2 hours, or combine cold and warm proofing in countless ways. Preheat your oven to 500F 30 minutes before the end of the proof.
• Flip your dough into the hot baking vessel (or onto parchment paper first), score, cover the vessel, and put it in the oven.
• Bake at:
• 500F for 15 minutes covered
• 450F for 10 minutes covered
• 450F for 10 minutes uncovered
• The internal temperature should be around 205-210F. Let the bread cool before slicing.