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Perfectly Spiced Chai Sourdough Bread (Easy!)

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This chai sourdough bread combines tangy sourdough with warm, aromatic chai spices for a soft, tender loaf that’s perfect for cozy mornings or a special treat. Made with real chai tea steeped in milk and butter, it’s an easy, crowd-pleasing recipe that uses sourdough starter or discard.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 cup (240g) sourdough starter (active or discard, at room temperature)
  • 1/2 cup (120ml) whole milk
  • 1/4 cup (60g) unsalted butter
  • 2 chai tea bags
  • 1 large egg (room temperature)
  • 1/4 cup (50g) brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons (30g) honey
  • 2 1/2 cups (315g) all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Instructions

  1. Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Line your 9×5-inch loaf pan with parchment paper, leaving some overhang on the long sides for easy lifting later. Set it aside.
  2. Steep the chai tea. In a small saucepan, combine the milk and butter. Warm over medium-low heat until the butter is melted and the milk is steaming but not boiling (about 2-3 minutes). Remove from heat, add the chai tea bags, and let them steep for 10 minutes. The milk will turn a beautiful golden-brown and smell absolutely incredible. After 10 minutes, remove the tea bags, squeezing them gently to release all that spicy goodness into the milk.
  3. Mix the wet ingredients. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the sourdough starter, egg, brown sugar, and honey until smooth. Slowly pour in the warm chai-infused milk mixture, whisking constantly so the egg doesn’t scramble. The mixture should look smooth and pale brown.
  4. Combine the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, and cloves. Make sure the spices are evenly distributed—nobody wants a pocket of straight cloves in their bread!
  5. Fold the dry into the wet. Pour the dry ingredients into the bowl with the wet ingredients. Use a rubber spatula to fold everything together gently. Mix just until no streaks of flour remain. The batter will be thick and slightly sticky—this is exactly what you want. Overmixing can make the bread tough, so stop as soon as it comes together.
  6. Transfer to the pan. Scrape the batter into your prepared loaf pan. Use the spatula to spread it evenly into the corners. The top will look a little rustic, which is part of the charm.
  7. Bake. Place the pan in the preheated oven and bake for 45-55 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs. My oven usually takes about 50 minutes, but ovens vary, so start checking at 45 minutes.
  8. Cool. Let the bread cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Then, using the parchment paper overhang, lift the bread out and transfer it to a wire rack to cool completely. I know it’s tempting to slice into it right away, but letting it cool fully (at least 1 hour) gives you cleaner slices and a better texture.

Notes

If the top of your bread is browning too quickly but the center isn’t done yet, loosely tent a piece of aluminum foil over the top for the last 10-15 minutes of baking. For best results, use a kitchen scale to measure flour. Let the bread cool completely (at least 1 hour) before slicing for cleaner slices and better texture.

Nutrition

Keywords: chai sourdough bread, sourdough discard recipe, chai spice bread, easy sourdough bread, tea infused bread, sourdough quick bread

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