Best 6 Bara Brith Wales Recipes
Bara brith, meaning "speckled bread" in Welsh, is a traditional Welsh fruit loaf that is often served as a tea bread or snack. This dense, sweet bread is packed with dried fruits such as raisins, currants, and sultanas, and it is flavored with spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice. Its distinctive appearance is created by the candied citrus peel, which gives the loaf its speckled or spotted look. Enjoyed for its moist, flavorful texture and the perfect balance of sweetness and spice, bara brith is a delicious and classic Welsh treat that can be adapted to suit various tastes and preferences.
Here are our top 6 tried and tested recipes!
BARA BRITH
A sweet, yeast-less Welsh bread studded with dried fruit. I generally soak my raisins in Irish breakfast tea, but feel free to experiment with flavors.
Provided by Femmie London
Categories Bread Quick Bread Recipes Fruit Bread Recipes
Time 8h45m
Yield 8
Number Of Ingredients 6
Steps:
- Pour hot tea over currants and raisins in a bowl; soak 8 hours to overnight.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
- Grease a sheet of parchment paper and use it to line a 2-pound loaf pan.
- Stir demerara sugar into tea and fruit mixture until dissolved completely.
- Mix flour and egg into the tea and fruit mixture until completely integrated into a batter.
- Spread batter evenly into the prepared bread pan.
- Bake in preheated oven until golden-brown, about 40 minutes. Cool in the bread pan 5 minutes before transferring to a rack to cool completely.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 188.7 calories, Carbohydrate 43.2 g, Cholesterol 23.3 mg, Fat 0.9 g, Fiber 2.1 g, Protein 3.8 g, SaturatedFat 0.3 g, Sodium 260.7 mg, Sugar 24.6 g
WELSH BARA BRITH CAKE
Steps:
- Gather the ingredients.
- In a large bowl, pour the cold tea over the fruit and leave to soak for a minimum of 6 hours, or overnight if possible.
- The next day, preheat the oven to 325 F/170 C/Gas 3 and grease a 2-pound (900-gram) loaf tin with butter and put to one side. To the soaked fruit, add the marmalade, egg, brown sugar, spice, and flour and mix well.
- Spoon the batter into the prepared loaf tin and bake for 1 1/4 hours, or until the center is cooked through (when a cake tester comes out clean). Check from time to time to see that the top doesn't brown too much, and cover with a sheet of foil if necessary.
- Remove from the oven and leave the Bara Brith to stand for 5 minutes, then turn out of the tin and place on a cooling rack. Brush the honey over the top to glaze and leave to cool completely on a rack.
- Slice and enjoy. Bara Brith is even tastier when served with a little butter spread over a thick, fruity slice, or for added sweetness, a little jam or honey.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 533 kcal, Carbohydrate 118 g, Cholesterol 36 mg, Fiber 8 g, Protein 10 g, SaturatedFat 2 g, Sodium 947 mg, Sugar 51 g, Fat 4 g, ServingSize serves 6, UnsaturatedFat 0 g
BARA BRITH - WALES
From Celtic Cookery by Iris Price Jones. "Bara Brith (literally Speckled Bread) is a spicy currant loaf which used to be made every bread baking day by adding sugar and spices and fruit to a portion of the bread dough. It is common to all Celtic countries - called Selkirk Bannock in Scotland, Barm Brack in Ireland, Saffron Cake in Cornwall, and Morlais Brioche in Brittany. It is, I suppose, the most popular tea time dish in Wales and it would be a very unusual tea-party that did not include platefuls of bara brith. Recipes for making bara brith without yeast have multiplied these last few years, and are now generally used in preference to the traditional one, because they are so quickly made and so good. This one gives a rich, moist loaf that cuts well." Serve in thinly buttered slices with tea! My French neighbours enjoyed this a lot!
Provided by Mme M
Categories Dessert
Time 1h10m
Yield 6-8 serving(s)
Number Of Ingredients 6
Steps:
- Put the fruit in a large basin with the sugar, and just cover with warm strained tea. Leave overnight.
- Next day, add to the fruit mixture the marmalade, cinnamon, the beaten egg and flour. Mix well together until you have a nice, slack mixture.
- Bake in a loaf tin, greased and lined with buttered paper. Bake at 325F for 1 1/2 hours.
- Preparation time is overnight soaking, plus 10 minutes active preparation the following day.
- You can get interesting flavours by choosing unusual teas.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 611.6, Fat 1.1, SaturatedFat 0.1, Sodium 992.5, Carbohydrate 146.1, Fiber 8.2, Sugar 40.6, Protein 9.4
MAMGU'S BARA BRITH
A traitional Welsh family 'Bara Brith' recipe. Delicious smothered in butter with a nice hot cup of tea.
Provided by nesswah
Time 1h30m
Yield Serves 12
Number Of Ingredients 8
Steps:
- Place the three tea bags into a jug and add the boiling water. Leave to brew for 5 minutes.
- Place the dried mixed fruit in a mixing bowl, pour over the tea and dispose of the tea bags. Leave overnight.
- Add the sugar to the mixture and stir until disolved. Next add the whole egg, the flour and finally the mixed spice and ground cinnamon. Mix until the mixture resembles a thick cake like batter.
- Grease a loaf tin and pour in the cake mixture. It should come up no higher than half way, as the cake will rise in the oven.
- Place on the middle shelf of a preheated oven at 150 degrees for 1 hour and 15 minutes.
- Once done, remove from the oven and leave to cool for 10 minutes or so until the cake comes away from the sides of the tin.
- Leave to cool on a cooling rack.
- Serve with butter and a nice hot cup of tea!
BARA BRITH
Good Food reader, Win Morgan shares her recipe for this traditional Welsh tea bread loaf with mixed spice - serve sliced and spread with butter
Provided by Good Food team
Categories Afternoon tea, Dessert
Time 1h40m
Yield Cuts into 10 slices
Number Of Ingredients 8
Steps:
- Tip the fruit into a bowl with the sugar and orange zest. Pour over the tea, stir everything together and leave to soak overnight.
- Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Grease and line the base and short sides of a 900g/loaf tin with 1 strip of baking parchment. Tip the flour and spice into a bowl, and beat in the fruit and soaking liquid. Add the egg, followed by the butter. Beat until you have a well-combined, stiff batter, then tip into the prepared loaf tin. Bake for 1¼ hrs, covering with foil or parchment if the top starts to get too dark. Check with a skewer - if it doesn't come out clean, give it another 5-10 mins in the oven.
- Leave to cool in the tin for 10 mins, then remove and leave to cool completely. Serve sliced and buttered, if you like.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 321 calories, Fat 5 grams fat, SaturatedFat 3 grams saturated fat, Carbohydrate 64 grams carbohydrates, Sugar 40 grams sugar, Fiber 2 grams fiber, Protein 5 grams protein, Sodium 0.5 milligram of sodium
BARA BRITH.
Bara Brith originates like myself from Wales. Traditionally eaten as a snack with tea/coffee. I prefer it to normal fruit cakes.
Provided by Dai9914
Categories Breads
Time 1h45m
Yield 1 loaf
Number Of Ingredients 7
Steps:
- Place the fruit and sugar in a mixing bowl, and soak overnight in the strained tea.
- Sieve the flour and mixed spice, and warm the marmalade.
- Add the flour, warm marmalade and egg to the soaked fruit.
- Mix well, pour the mixture into a greased loaf tin.
- Bake for 1 1/2 hours on 180c, 350f.
- Cool on wire rack.
- Serve sliced and buttered.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 3522.4, Fat 11.6, SaturatedFat 2.4, Cholesterol 211.5, Sodium 6002, Carbohydrate 820, Fiber 47.9, Sugar 189.1, Protein 62.4
Tips:
- Use high-quality ingredients: The quality of your ingredients will greatly impact the taste of your bara brith. Use fresh, organic ingredients whenever possible.
- Don't overmix the batter: Overmixing the batter will make the bara brith tough. Mix just until the ingredients are combined.
- Let the bara brith cool completely before slicing: This will help to prevent the bread from crumbling.
- Store the bara brith in an airtight container at room temperature: The bara brith will keep for up to 3 days.
- Enjoy the bara brith with your favorite toppings: Bara brith is traditionally served with butter, jam, or fruit preserves. However, you can also enjoy it with cheese, eggs, or even grilled meats.
Conclusion:
Bara brith is a delicious and versatile bread that can be enjoyed for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. With its unique flavor and texture, bara brith is a surefire crowd-pleaser. Whether you're a seasoned baker or a novice in the kitchen, I encourage you to give this traditional Welsh bread a try. You won't be disappointed!
Are you curently on diet or you just want to control your food's nutritions, ingredients? We will help you find recipes by cooking method, nutrition, ingredients...
Check it out »
You'll also love