Bara Brith is a traditional Welsh fruit bread made from bread dough with dried fruit and spices. It is served hot and buttered and is popular in bakeries and tea shops throughout Wales. To make it at home, steep dried fruits in tea overnight and add to the dough before baking.
Bara Brith is a traditional Welsh bread that is served in bakeries and tea shops throughout Wales. It is sometimes called a sweet, due to the addition of dried fruit and spices, but since Bara Brith is made from bread dough, it is technically classified as a bread. It is usually served hot and buttered and toasts very well if there are any leftovers.
In Welsh, the name means ‘speckled bread’, a reference to the colored speckles created by the addition of raisins and currants. Supposedly, Bara Brith was invented when a cook pressed dried fruit into the final bread dough at the end of the baking day for a special treat. Whatever the origins, fruit bread is very popular with most people who try it. If you want to apply for Bara Brith in Wales, try asking “Bara Brith, os gwelwch yn dda” or “Bara Brith, please.”
Breads made with dried fruits, nuts and candied ingredients are very old. Before the discovery of leavening like baking soda and baking powder, many desserts were made with bread dough. Many cultures have a tradition of baking sweet breads as special treats around holidays and other special occasions.
To make Bara Brith at home, start by steeping a cup of raisins, currants, candied orange peels, and other dried fruits in your tea overnight. Combine a packet of yeast with three tablespoons of warm water and allow the mixture to dissolve for 5 to 10 minutes. Add one cup of warmed milk along with five tablespoons of melted butter, three tablespoons of sugar, one large egg, one teaspoon of the spice blend, and one teaspoon of salt. Slowly add four cups of the flour to the wet ingredients and turn the dough out onto a kneading board for about 10 minutes.
After kneading, let the dough rest in a covered bowl in a warm place until it doubles in size, which should take a little over an hour. Punch down the dough and add the strained, tea-soaked fruit, kneading slowly. Once all the fruit is integrated, place the dough in a loading pan to increase to double the size before brushing it with melted butter or milk. Next, place it in a preheated 375 degrees Fahrenheit (191 degrees Celsius) oven to bake for about 40 minutes, until the bottom of the Bara Brith feels hollow when touched. If desired, glaze the loaf with honey for an authentic Welsh twist.
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