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bara brith recipe with sian

Bara Brith is a Welsh tea cake which is made from self-raising flour, sugar, dried fruit and berries, tea, spices, and an egg. Bara Brith is unique because you soak the dried fruit overnight in tea. The bread gets its name in Welsh as "speckled bread" for the pieces of dried fruit which speckle its moist inside. Siân's grandma's recipe is very traditional and absolutely amazing. The bread is dense, flavorful and super moist. Try it out below!

bara brith recipe: 
makes 1 loaf in a 8 x 4 tin
*soak Raisins  and sultanas in tea overnight
prep time: 10 minutes
baking time: 60 minutes
total time: 1 hr 10 minutes plus overnight soak
equipment needed for bara brith:
directions for bara brith

bara brith ingredients:

  1. In a large mixing bowl, pour strong warm tea over the the raisins and sultanas. Cover and leave overnight.

  2. The next day, preheat the oven to ~ 355º F (180ºC)

  3. If you used 2 cups of tea, like Siân, strain excess tea into a bowl for later in case you need more liquid (see video for a good idea of what the consistency should look like).

  4. Combine the dried fruit with 8 ounces of brown sugar and 1 tsp pumpkin spices.

  5. Using a wooden spoon, mix in 10 oz of self rising flour and 1 egg, until a sticky brown homogenous dough is formed. 

  6. Divide the mix evenly into a greased bread loaf tin or line the bread loaf tin with a loaf tin liner.

  7. Bake in the oven for approx. 1 hour or until it is fully cooked through. *To double check, stick a butter knife in the middle and if it comes out clean, the loaf is ready

  8. Allow to cool and serve with a thick spread of salted Welsh butter.

*Some Welsh claim that bara brith is meant to sit for 1-2 days before being eaten...that's why you should make 2 loaves, to test this theory out yourself!

  • 6 oz sultanas (~ 1 cup)

  • 6 oz raisins (~ 1 cup)

  • 1 cup of black tea (Siân likes to use 2 cups and discard the extra tea)

  • 8 oz soft brown sugar (~1 cup) 

  • 1 tsp "mixed spice" which is pumpkin spices in the US (cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and ginger)

  • 10 oz of self raising flour (~ 2 1/4 cups) you can make this with 10 oz (~ 2 cups) of all purpose flour, 3 tsp of baking powder, and 1 tsp of salt

  • 1 large free range egg 

  • Salted Welsh butter to eat with!

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*if you only have access to raisins or sultanas, or you can't seem to find out the difference, feel free to use 12 oz of raisins or sultanas or use your favorite dried fruit like prunes!

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