Put the dried fruit into a bowl. Cover them with the hot tea and leave overnight or for at least 3 to 4 hours so they plump up. Once they have plumped up, drain the liquid and reserve it to be used later. Also set the fruit aside. Make sure the fruit has drained well, otherwise it will make the dough wet when you add it later.

You may knead by machine or by hand. I chose to use my processor. Put the flour, instant yeast, sugar, spices, and salt into a large mixing bowl or bowl of your machine and whisk (or run machine) to mix them together. Add the beaten egg and the butter and pulse a couple of times.

Now put the reserved soaking liquid into a 1 cup measure and top up with enough warm milk to make 1 cup. The milk should be warm enough to make a warm "milk + tea" mixture to make the yeast proof and the dough to rise.

Add this "milk + tea" mixture to the dry ingredients in the bowl and knead into a just-sticky-to-touch and elastic dough, adding a little more flour if necessary. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured counter and flatten it out. Sprinkle the drained fruit over this and fold in half and fold once again. Then gently knead the dough so the fruit is evenly dispersed within the dough.

Shape into a ball and place the dough in an oiled bowl. Turn it to coat it well with oil and then let it rise, covered, until it has doubled in volume (about 1 1/2 to 2 hours).

Gently knead the risen dough and divide it into 2 equal portions. Shape each into a round and place on greased baking trays or into a loaf and place in greased 5" x 8" loaf tins as you prefer. Place the ring and trinkets (if using them) into the bread while shaping them.

Let the shaped breads rise for another 45 minutes to an hour, covered, until they have puffed up. Bake at 180C (350F) for about 35 to 45 minutes until the breads are golden brown and done. Cover the breads with foil if they're browning too quickly.

About 5 minutes before finally taking the breads out of the oven, brush the tops of them with the sugar glaze (if using) and return to the oven for 3 to 4 minutes for a sticky and shiny finish. Cool the breads on a wire rack. Cut into thick slices and serve with butter, as they are.