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Earl Grey Tea Bread

This old-fashioned tea-bread uses ingredients you likely already have in the pantry, making it one of the easiest bakes around. There's no mixing or fancy equipment

There's no butter, oil or eggs required, instead this recipe relies on soaking dried fruit in tea overnight to create a moist, flavourful loaf that's perfect for morning tea, lunchboxes or an afternoon pick-me-up.

Costing around $2 per loaf, it's a budget-friendly bake that's easy to make and hard to resist.

This tea bread costs just 20c per serve

Based on average supermarket prices, the entire loaf costs around $2 to make, or approximately 20 cents per slice.

Even served warm with a little butter, each portion costs less than 35 cents, making it a budget-friendly alternative to café cakes, packaged snacks and lunchbox treats.

Ingredients

• 1 cup sultanas (or mixed fruit)
• 1 cup cold Earl Grey tea
• ½ cup brown sugar (for a sweeter bread, use 1 cup)
• 200g self-raising flour

Method

1. Place the sultanas, tea and brown sugar in a bowl and stir well
2. Cover and leave to soak for several hours or overnight
3. Stir through the self-raising flour until combined
4. Pour into a greased loaf tin or bread maker pan
5. Bake at 170°C for 40–50 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean. If using a bread maker, use the cake or quick bread setting
6. Allow to cool before slicing

cup of tea with a buttered slice of earl grey tea bread

Living Smart tips

• leftover tea in the pot? use that instead
• swap in dried apricots, dates or any mixed fruit you have available
• freeze slices individually
• try wholemeal self-raising flour for extra fibre