Bara Brith Currant Bread Welsh Food

WELSH CURRANT RAISIN BREAD BARA BRITH (MADE WITH YEAST)

Steps:

• Put 8 cups of the flour in a mixing bowl and let it stand in a warm place for a short while. Rub the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles meal, add the currants, raisins candied fruit peel, nutmeg or allspice, salt and all of the brown sugar but 1 teaspoon of the brown sugar. Mix thoroughly.
• In a smaller bowl cream the fresh yeast with the 1 teaspoons of brown sugar and blend the yeast mixture with the milk.
• Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, pour the yeast mixture into it and sprinkle a little additional flour over the yeast mixture. Cover the dough and let it stand in a warm place for a few minutes, until it is just beginning to rise. Pour the beaten eggs into the bowl and proceed to knead gradually adding the 1 1/2 cups tepid water mixed with the molasses. This should be a soft dough. Knead about 10 minutes.
• Cover the bowl with a cloth and let the dough rise in a warm place for 1 1/2 hours, or until it has doubled in bulk. Then turn the dough out onto a well floured board, divide it in half and put it into two well buttered 8 1/2 by 4 1/2 inch loaf pans. Let the loaves rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes, or until they have nearly risen to the rims of the pans.
• Bake the loaves in a preheated 350°F oven for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, so that the tops are browned and loaves sound hollow when rapped.
• Welsh Fare S. Minwel Tibbott.

TRADITIONAL WELSH BARA BRITH

Steps:

• This is Wales' traditional rich fruit bread.
• South Wales makes it with baking powder; Northerners prefer yeast as the raising agent. Either way it's delicious.
• Soak the dried fruit and sugar overnight in the tea.
• You can use either fresh tea, or the cold dregs from the teapot (this gives a good strong colour). Next day, sieve the flour and fold it it into the fruit. Mix in the lightly beaten egg.
• Line a small loaf-tin with buttered paper then tip in the mixture, smoothing it well into the corners.
• Bake in a gentle oven at 300 F (150 C) for 1-1/2 hours.
• Cool and store for at least 2 days in a tin so that it matures moist and rich.
• Traditionalists say you should never butter the Bara Brith, but it's lovely that way!

BARA BRITH BREAD

Steps:

• Combine 1 1/4 flour and the other dry ingredients (first five).
• In a saucepan heat buttermilk, sugar, butter and salt just until warm (115-120 degrees F), making sure butter is melted; stir constantly.
• Add to flour mixture, adding the egg in as well. Beat on low speed of electric mixer for 30 seconds. Then beat at high speed for 3 minutes.
• Stir in currant or raisins and as much of the remaining flour as can be mixed with a spoon. Turn onot floured surface and knead in enough of the remaining flour to make moderately stiff dough (takes 6-8 minutes).
• Shape into ball and place into a greased bowl, turning it over once. Cover and let rise until doubled (about 1 1/4 hours). Punch down and shape into a loaf. Put into a greased 8x4x2 inch loaf pan, cover and let rise till nearly double (30 minutes).
• Bake in oven at 375 degree F for 35-40 minutes, making sure to cover with foil the last 20 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool.

BARA BRITH - WALES

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.

BARA BRITH

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.

BARA BRITH AMERICAN STYLE

Steps:

• Place Tea Bag into a medium sized heat-proof mixing bowl. Pour Boiling Water over Tea Bag. Allow to steep for at least 30 minutes.
• Remove Tea Bag from Water and add Dried Currants and Dried Dates. Using a spoon, push fruit down into the tea until it is completely covered. Allow to soak for at least 1 hour, although overnight is preferred.
• Preheat oven to 350°F Use Cooking Spray to grease two 12-cup Muffin Pans.
• Add Eggs to the Fruit in bowl and mix gently. Add Flour, Brown Sugar and Cinnamon. Mix thoroughly. Mixture will seem dry at first, but as it is mixed it will become thinner. Using a large spoon, fill each Muffin Cup about 2/3 full.
• Bake in 350F oven for about 20 minutes or until pick inserted into center of muffin comes out clean.
• Serve as is or with Butter or spreadable Cream Cheese. Good warm or cold. Excellent served with Hot Tea or Coffee.
• Preparation time does not include the time that it takes to soak the Fruit.

BARA BRITH

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.

BARA BRITH (CURRANT BREAD) WELSH

Steps:

• Oven: 450F, Gas Mark 8 for 15 minutes: 375F, Gas Mark 5 for 45 minutes.
• Soak the fruit and candied peel in the water with the spice.
• Leave to steep in a warm place and use the warm spicy, strained water to mix the dough.
• Sift the flour and salt and rub in the lard; cream the yeast with the sugar and a little of the spiced water; mix this into the flour, together with the eggs and use enough of the water to give a firm, yet elastic dough.
• Knead well, leave to rise and knock back; blend in the drained fruit and knead again.
• Shape the dough into loaves and set into greased 1 lb tins in a warm place to prove; bake, reducing the temperature after the first 15 minutes.
• Originally, in some recipies, the fruit content would have been fresh currants or blackberries.
• Bara Brith is often served as part of the traditional Welsh tea.
• It can also be purchased at many of the small bakeries found throughout Wales.
• British Cookery (BTA/BFPC)