Malt Loaf [British Classic]

This British classic tea-loaf is sticky and squidgy with that perfect malty flavour. I love it served warm, spread with a little (ok, a lot of) salted butter.

Two slices of malt loaf with butter spread on top are on a white plate, with a gold knife and whole dates close by.

Nicky’s Notes

A woman with long brown hair and a black top smiles at the camera, sitting indoors with a brick wall and some greenery in the background.

I think I’ve eaten more of this malt loaf than regular bread in the last month!
Two whole boxes of bran cereal have been dedicated to making many many malt loaves – that’s how much we all love it.
Even our teenage son, who initially called it an ‘old-people cake’ (gotta love teens) has been eating it as an afterschool and pre-football snack.

Usually malt loaf is made with raisins, but this version uses half raisins and half chopped medjool dates.

It’s a swap made after running low on raisins, and supplementing with dates from the cupboard, and I’ve NEVER made it different since. They add extra stickiness and a gorgeous caramel-molasses flavour.

Hope you love this one as much as we do.

Ingredients for Malt Loaf

***Full recipe with detailed quantities in the recipe card below***

All-Bran – I’ve labelled it All-Bran here, but I recommend going with the supermarket own-brand version, as the brand version has something added that prevents the bran from going soggy (and we NEED it soggy to mix into the rest of the ingredients properly).
Treacle – adds an extra sweet-sticky molasses flavour. You can swap for molasses if you can’t get hold of treacle.
Dates – I use medjool dates that I destone and chop up. The extra effort is WELL worth it. However, you can leave out the dates and double up on the raisins if you prefer.

Abbreviated Recipe

***Full recipe with detailed steps in the recipe card below***

Soak bran sticks in tea until soggy. Add flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, raisins, dates, treacle and egg and mix. Transfer to a loaf tin and bake (see ingredient amounts and timings in recipe card further below).

Two glass bowls shown side by side; the left contains dry bran cereal in tea, the right shows the cereal fully mixed into a thick, brown mixture.

I like to slice and serve while it’s still warm.

A loaf of sliced raising and date malt loaf sits on baking parchment, with a single slice cut and placed in front.

Recipe Tips

Use a loaf tin liner for easier clean up (I use these liners (<– aff link) for a 2lb loaf tin).
You can serve the loaf sliced, as it comes, but spreading with salted butter really brings out the sweet-malty flavour in the bread.

A hand holds a thick slice of buttered malt loaf, showing the bread’s moist texture and just-melting butter.

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Make ahead and Leftovers Guide

This malt loaf will keep for 5-7 days at room temperature. Wrap in parchment and a layer of foil.
It also freezes well. Slice the malt loaf (place pieces of parchment in between slices if you’re expecting to take out individual slices), wrap in parchment and a layer of foil, then place in an airtight container and freeze. Defrost in the parchment and foil, at room temperature.

Watch how to make it

Heat the oven to 180C/360F (fan) and line a 2lb loaf tin with a loaf liner.
Add the bran sticks and tea (remove the teabag!) to a large bowl, give it a mix and leave for 5 minutes to soften.

100 g (1+3/4 cups, loosely packed) Bran Sticks Cereal , 240 ml (1 cup) freshly brewed strong black tea
After 5 minutes, stir together (it should be soft and fairly smooth), then add in the flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, raisins, chopped dates, treacle and egg.

190 g (1.5 cups + 1 tbsp) plain (all-purpose) flour, 3 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp salt, 200 g (1 packed cup) light brown sugar, 100 g (1/2 cup) raisins, 6 medjool dates, chopped, 1 tbsp treacle, 1 medium egg, lightly whisked
Stir together with a wooden spoon or spatula, then transfer to the prepared loaf tin.
Place in the oven for 45-50 minutes, until an inserted skewer comes out clean.
Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes. Place on a cooling rack to cool for another 10-15, then slice.
I like to serve warm, spread with a little salted butter.
It’s also great served cold, or you can warm individual slices in the microwave for 10 seconds.

Nutritional information is approximate, per slice, based on this loaf making 12 slices.

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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