Sourdough Green Tea and Candied Kumquat Bread

This green tea bread is made with matcha tea powder and candied kumquats. It's such an unusual and delicious combination of flavors. 

With St. Patrick's Day coming up, it's pretty much time for green and orange bread, right? Fortunately, one of he Bread Baking Babes members, Cathy of Bread Experience introduced us to this Green Tea and Orange Bread by Eric Kayser in the book, The Larousse Book of Bread. 

These breads are small and chewy. They have a faint flavor of matcha tea along with the sweet flavor of the candied kumquats. 

The green color of the dough is way more distinct than the green color of the baked loaves. Check it out. 

While the original recipe calls for candied orange peel, I decided to try using some candied kumquats I had just made. While the candied orange peels are dry and sugared, the kumquats are more like preserves, with the kumquats sitting in a jelly. 

It was a fun experiment. The candied kumquats, with their sweet-tart flavor, blended in nicely into this loaf. 

After all, it's kumquat season! 

In fact, if you want even more of the citrusy flavor, you can spread more candied kumquats over the bread, or for more of a subtle flavor, toast slices of the bread and spread it with butter and some kumquat jelly left over from making the candied kumquats. 

This bread is also flavored with orange flower water. I prefer the milder flavors of orange flower water that you can find in Middle Eastern markets rather than the stronger ones from extract companies. 

This bread is made with a sourdough starter. The original recipe from Eric Kayser calls for the addition of additional yeast, but I decided to go with Cathy's recommendation of using only starter. 

One issue I had was that the dough basically never rose during the first or second rise. It may have something to do with the extra sugar syrup/jelly from the kumquats. I know that my starter was strong and passed the "float test." 

Fortunately, the final bread rose up in the oven. I baked these on a pizza stone under a couple of layers of foil roasting pans. I loaded the shaped loaves onto the pizza stone, sprayed them with water, and topped them with the foil roasting pan that I also sprayed with water. 

The loaves definitely grew in the oven. In fact, the oven spring was pretty amazing. 

I can't wait to see how the rest of the Bread Baking Babes fared with this recipe. Be sure to check out the list of the Babes after the recipe. 

Sourdough Green Tea and Candied Kumquat Bread

Yield: 16 servings

Author: Karen's Kitchen Stories

This green tea bread is made with matcha tea powder and candied kumquats. It's such an unusual and delicious combination of flavors.

Ingredients

For the Levain

• 50 grams all-purpose flour
• 50 grams water
• 25 grams sourdough starter (I used 100% hydration starter)
• In the evening of the day before making the bread: Place the starter, flour and water in a small bowl. Mix with a wooden spoon until the flour is stirred in well.
• Cover the bowl with a plate, or bees wrap, and let it rest overnight in a warm place.

For the Final Dough

• 500 grams all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 250 – 300 grams water, divided 125, 125, 50
• 10 grams salt + 15-20 grams water
• 30 grams olive oil
• 25 grams orange flower water
• 10 grams (2 tsp) matcha tea powder
• 150 grams candied kumquats

Instructions

1. Pour 125 grams of the water, orange blossom water, and olive oil over the levain. Mix completely to break up the levain.
2. In a large bowl, add the flour. Pour the levain/water mixture over the flour and mix to incorporate. Add the rest of the water, gradually, and as needed to fully hydrate the dough. Add 100g, then 30g, and then another 30g water as you mix the dough.
3. Cover, and let the dough rest for 20-30 minutes, then sprinkle the salt over the top and dissolve it with 15-20 grams of warm water.
4. Cover, let rest for 30 minutes, then fold in the matcha tea powder and candied kumquats and knead the dough until it becomes evenly colored, smooth, and elastic. Add more water if the dough starts to tear.
5. Shape the dough into a ball, cover, proof for 2 hours. Stretch and fold the dough after 1st hour. Let rest for final hour.
6. Remove the dough to a lightly dusted work surface. Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces, about 260 grams each. Shape into balls, cover with a dish towel and let rest for 15 minutes.
7. Roll the dough pieces between your hands to create tension, and form smooth and well-rounded boules.
8. Place the loaves, seam-side down on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Cover with a damp cloth and let proof for 1 hour 15 minutes.
9. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. with a baking stone on the middle shelf. Place foil roasting pans over the the baking stone. Score the loaves in a crosshatch pattern (or the pattern of your choice).
10. Transfer the loaves on the parchment to the preheated oven. Then place the roasting pan on top. Bake for 18 minutes. Remove the roasting pans and bake for an additional 5 to 10 minutes, until golden. 
11. Remove from the oven and leave to cool on a wire rack.

Calories

198.68

Fat (grams)

4.20

Sat. Fat (grams)

0.80

Carbs (grams)

34.77

Fiber (grams)

2.22

Net carbs

32.54

Sugar (grams)

1.07

Protein (grams)

5.01

Sodium (milligrams)

306

Cholesterol (grams)

0.00

https://www.karenskitchenstories.com/2021/03/sourdough-green-tea-and-candied-kumquat.html

Karen's Kitchen Stories

bread, kumquat, matcha tea

bread

American

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Be sure to check out the rest of the Bread Baking Babes' versions of this bread:

Bread Experience

A Messy Kitchen

My Kitchen in Half Cups

Blog from OUR Kitchen

Feeding My Enthusiasms

Judy's Gross Eats