Celebrate Spring and go Green with this Green Tea and Orange Loaf

This naturally leavened Green Tea and Orange Loaf, infused with matcha green tea powder, candied orange peel, and orange blossom water, has a distinct green color before baking and a lighter green after baking.

I’m the host kitchen for the Bread Baking Babes this month. I chose this bread because March 16^th is the day before St Patrick’s Day, and I wanted to make something appropriate.

Over the years, we’ve made the regulars – soda bread, potato bread, etc. so I needed something different.  After searching through some of my bread books, I found this Green Tea and Orange Loaf in The Larousse Book of Bread by Eric Kayser, and knew this was the one.

About the Candied Orange Peel

The first time I made this bread, I used homemade candied peel.  Here is the process I used to make the candied orange peel.  https://www.breadexperience.com/making-candied-orange-peel/

I only had about 200 grams of homemade candied orange peel so I used 100 grams instead of the 150 grams called for. I had planned to use the other half for the next loaf.

Well, you know what they say about best-laid plans.  I gave one of the loaves to my walking buddy. She texted me later that night to say she loved it, but she requested “more orange peel, please!”  So, don’t skimp on the orange peel or you might get called out.

The next time I made this loaf, I used storebought candied orange peel.  I think I like the flavor of the homemade candied orange peel over the storebought, although both are tasty.

About the Matcha tea powder

The original recipe calls for 10 grams or 2 teaspoons of tea powder.  I had almost exactly 2 teaspoons of powder left in a container, but when I measured it out by volume and then weighed it on the scale, it only weighed 5 grams.  I thought the bread could use a little more color so I added more the next time I made it.

Also, the original instructions say to add the matcha green tea powder and candied orange peel (after the dough has been formed) and knead the dough until it becomes evenly colored, smooth, and elastic.

I tried this method, but it was tricky to get the tea powder evenly distributed.  I was doing this by hand so if you use a mixer, you may not have this issue.  For the next bake, I will either use a mixer or add the matcha tea powder with the dry ingredients to see if that helps incorporate it more evenly.

About the size of the loaves

The original instructions say to divide the dough into 4 pieces, about 260 grams each.  At first, I wasn’t going to do that.  I almost made two regular-size loaves but decided to give the smaller loaves a try.  I am so glad I did.

These are lovely small loaves perfect for giving away, which I did. They are so tasty, you don’t need much, plus I didn’t need them sitting around for me to devour.  I did enjoy two of the loaves and that was plenty.

I encourage you to make the smaller loaves.  You can give some away or freeze them for later.  I haven’t tried the freezing part yet because they didn’t last long enough.

The loaves have good keeping quality. Even after several days, they still tasted good.  I enjoyed them warm with butter, but my walking buddy said she dipped some in olive oil and it was very tasty.

Notes from subsequent bake

I fed my starter the evening before and let it rest on the counter at a warm temperature.  I used 100 grams of the fed starter in the loaf.

I used 150 grams of store-bought candied orange peel instead of the homemade orange peel and 10 grams of matcha tea powder (10 grams = 4 tsp, not 2 tsp according to my measuring spoon).  I added the matcha tea powder with the dry ingredients instead of kneading it in the dough.

The dough was a bit greener than the first loaf; however, after being baked, the loaf looked more orange due to the candied orange peel.  The dough was also stickier due to the inclusion of more candied orange peel.  I had also increased the amount of water used while I was mixing the dough to keep the dough from tearing so this could also be a factor in the added stickiness.

At first, I wasn’t sure if I liked the flavor of the second loaf.  It was a bit bitter, but the flavors seemed to blend after resting.

Even so, I think I prefer the flavor of the first loaf.  It was a little sweeter.  This may be due to the sugar-dusting on my homemade candied orange peel and/or because the second loaf had more matcha tea powder.

The next time I bake this bread, I will probably go back to using 5 grams (2 tsp) of the match tea powder.

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Roundup of Bread Baking Buddies’ Green Tea & Orange Loaves

Bread Experience was the Kitchen of the Month for March.  I chose the Matcha Green Tea and Orange Loaf because of the color and flavor combinations. It was a fun loaf and a great way to kick off Spring (at least here in the States).

Although the combination of flavors may seem odd, it’s a delicious bread. Great for sharing … that is, if you don’t eat it all yourself!

We had several Bread Baking Buddies join in the fun this month.  We’re delighted these ladies chose to bake along with us.  Just look at all of those beautiful green loaves!

Nellie’s Green Tea & Orange Loaf 

Nellie thinks this bread is great for breakfast with coffee.  I agree.

Although I enjoyed the mini loaves, I  like the look of Nellie’s bigger loaf.  There’s more goodness in each slice!  And, she achieved a lovely (and enviable) green crumb.

You can view Nellie’s lovely bread photos on Instagram.

Jocelyn’s Green Tea & Orange Loaf

Jocelyn said this pandemic has opened the door for her to seriously experiment & explore breadmaking, especially sourdough. The learning never ends.

She failed to read the instructions on oven temperature, thus the burnt top but on a positive note, it gives her an excuse to try this recipe again. She loves the smell of the bread once it is cut.

We’re so glad she chose to experiment with us.  I almost burnt my first batch as well, but hey, that’s part of the process.

Jo Ann’s Green Tea & Orange Loaf

Jo Ann said Matcha is one of her favorite flavors! At first, she was skeptical about the orange flavor with the matcha. However, following good advice on someone’s blog, she spread it with some homemade marmalade. It was like having afternoon tea for breakfast.

She did some research and learned that because she was using the culinary matcha, vs the ceremonial matcha, there was no way to ever recreate that coveted lovely green color. So she settled with sage green and consoled herself with the intoxicating smell of the orange flower water every time she toasted a slice of this bread.

She thinks this bread would make a wonderful Easter bread.  I love that idea!

Another beautiful loaf!  I appreciate Jo Ann sharing her research regarding the green color.  Who knew?  And, I’m so glad that she loved this bread way more than she expected to.  I did too!

Radha’s Green Tea & Orange Loaf

As Radha notes on her blog, when she read through the recipe, she started trying the recipe right away.  She wanted to bake it as the flavor combinations were so different from the usual breads she makes.

She thinks this recipe is a keeper. (Me too!) She has some minor experimentations that she wants to continue with this bread.

I felt the same way when I saw the recipe and ingredients for this bread.  I could just taste the flavor combinations in my mind.  It’s one of a kind.

What a lovely display of green loaves on beautiful dishes.  That honey matcha drizzle looks fabulous!  I look forward to seeing her tweaks on future loaves.

Thank you, Nelly, Jocelyn, Jo Ann, and Radha for joining in the fun this month and baking the Green Tea and Orange Loaf.

I love all of your green loaves!

From all of the Babes, we hope you’ll join us again next time.

 

 

Happy Baking!
Cathy