How to make Spiced Date and Yoghurt Afternoon Tea Loaf

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This Spiced Date and Yoghurt Afternoon Tea loaf is sumptuous, aromatic but at the same time, SUPER healthy. Free from refined sugar and fat, it is a great afternoon tea snack that won’t do any damage to your waist line! Plus, it is a GREAT way to use up your sourdough discard.

This Spiced Date and Yoghurt Loaf is such a Frugal Recipe!

As you may know if you have been hanging around here for any length of time, I am super passionate about health AND about frugal living, and I am firmly convinced that the two go hand in hand.

The beauty of frugal living is that it is about living in a simple, no frills way. And often, that kind of lifestyle feeds into health and well-being.

It is doing, and eating, in a simple way that bring health. You do not need to buy expensive foods or workout equipment to achieve optimum health.

Which brings me to this Date and Yoghurt Loaf recipe, which marries frugality and health in a beautiful edible way.

This loaf uses no crazy ingredients. It does not contain any fantastic “superfoods” such as baobab or protein powder. Yet, it is refined-sugar free and fat-free!

It uses everyday, cheap ingredients that you probably have on hand anyway. Dates, flour, baking powder, and yoghurt. Plus I’m sure every household must have some remnant of sourdough starter following the recent lockdown hiatus!

This recipe also makes 2 decent sized loaves, which you could freeze in portion-sized segments.

Talk about a little going a long way!

Ferment the loaf batter overnight for more nutritional benefits.

If you have the time, make the dough the day before and leave it to ferment in the fridge overnight.

I prefer to ferment any kind of recipe that uses white flour to try and improve the nutrient profile. Because I have a tight food budget, I am not able to buy the healthiest baking-friendly flour. So, I use white flour, and try to ferment it as much as possible to break down all those phytates. But I’m weird like that!

You definitely do not have to ferment this loaf for it to taste amazing, so by all means, bake it the same day you mix it!

How is this loaf refined Sugar-free?

This Spiced Date and Yoghurt loaf is sweetened with dates only. The dates provide a deep, rich, caramelly flavour which lends itself well to the warm spices. While dates are not a keto-friendly sweetener, they do have their own nutrient profile beyond their sweetness.

Because of these dates, this wonderful loaf is refined-sugar free and a healthier option for you and your kids.

It makes such a comforting afternoon tea snack with a smear with butter. Or, you could add a coil of honey and a sprinkling of cinnamon. I have had this many a time for a lovely lunch.

What is Sourdough Discard?

Sourdough Discard is the portion Sourdough starter that you remove in order to feed your starter.

In order to feed, your sourdough starter needs to have a portion discarded and then replaced with equal quantities of flour and water. This activates the starter and makes it super bubbly.

There is no reason to ever throw sourdough discard away. There are a wealth of pancake, cookie, bread and other wonderful recipes that are improved through the addition of Sourdough Discard.

This recipe, for example! The sourdough discard required for this recipe is a lot, which is hugely beneficial for your starter. This is because the more that is discarded from the starter, the greater the ratio of fresh food for your starter, which is the best way to feed your starter.

If you are in a pinch and have not pre-meditated any recipes to use your sourdough discard for, you could simply feed it and create another supply of sourdough starter. That way, you hedge your bets should one batch go awry.

How often should you feed your Sourdough Starter?

Your Sourdough starter should be fed as often as you use it. If you are using it on a daily basis, then you probably do not need to be reading this post, and know this already.

If you use it infrequently, say once a week, then you should feed it after you have used it, and then place it in the fridge until you have to use it again.

How long can you go without using your sourdough starter?

Recently we went on a summer holiday for three weeks, during which I left my sourdough starter at home. It was not used or fed at all during that time.

And guess what, it was fine!! When I got back, i just made sure I used it daily to give it a rev, and she is still going strong. I only had to do this for one week, and now I have gone back to using her weekly.

To be honest, I would be pretty gutted if “Doughie” died, she has been with us since we got married, and feels like a very important member of the family!

She does nourish us, after all!

Ingredients for the Spiced Date and Yoghurt Loaf

There are no weird or expensive ingredients in this loaf recipe, which makes this loaf frugal as well as healthy

• Dates
• Water
• a TINY bit of Butter
• Mixed spice
• Vanilla essence
• Baking soda
• Sourdough discard
• Yoghurt
• Flour
• Salt
• Walnuts (optional):

How to Make the Spiced Date and Yoghurt loaf

If you are wanting to ferment the dough, you will want to start the mixture the day before you intend to bake.

Measure dates, water, butter, spice and vanilla into a pot.  Bring to the boil, and keep boiling for 5 minutes.

Take off the stove, and leave to cool to room temperature.  The mixture should be thick, and the dates broken down to a sludgy consistency.  We do not want the heat from the mixture to kill the culture in the discard.  It should take an hour to cool.

Mix in the discard, flour, salt and walnuts, if using. Make sure all the flour is incorporated.  Cover the pot/bowl and leave in the fridge overnight (not necessary, but I like that the dough has had time to ferment and improve the nutritional value).

The next day, pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.  Separate the mixture into 2 loaf pans.

Bake for 45 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.

Notes:

If you know you won’t eat them straight away, the loaves keep well in the freezer.  Cut into segments, place into zip-lock bags, and bung into your freezer draw. 

When you want, you can pull out a hunk, defrost, slice, smear with butter, and enjoy.  Comfort food at its best.