Bara Brith

I'd not heard of Bara Brith before I saw the recipe on page 6 of The Best of Mrs Beeton's Afternoon Tea. Containing mixed peel, raisins & currents, it has a fruit cake kind of vibe, except made with strong flour & yeast.

Dry ingredients - mixed peel, raisins, currents, brown sugar, yeast, salt & strong plain flour.

Once dry ingredients had been mixed with wet (one egg & some milk - I didn't think it would be nearly enough but somehow it was), I left the dough to rise in our bathroom of all places.

Our bathroom does not have a window and the whole apartment building is heated centrally so we have little control over the temperature of our sauna-like bathroom.

A good 10minute kneading session followed a 3 hour rise in the bathroom. Then, the mixture was man-handled into the tin and left to rise for another 10 minutes (which is actually did!)

After an 1 1/2 hour bake (with some turning) we were done!

Brushed the loaf with honey and sliced up ready for the husband to take to work with him in the morning.

I thought the bake would be more arduous than it was. Whenever I think of yeast or bread making I can never be bothered to dedicate the time, but this was pretty easy.

The final taste is very much like a fruit cake, but lighter. The breadiness of it takes away some of the sweetness you usually find in fruit cakes and there is less fruit. I can't say I'd be in a rush to make it again as there are not many fruit cake/bread recipes I like enough, but it was a pleasant surprise.

Bara Birth

450g Strong plain flour

75g butter

50g chopped mixed peel

150g seedless raisins

50g currants

75g soft light brown sugar

1 tsp ground mixed spice

pinch of salt

25g fresh yeast

1 tsp sugar

250ml lukewarm milk

1 egg, beaten

flour for kneading

honey for glazing

Grease a 20 x 13 x 7.5 cm loaf tin. Sift the flour into a bowl and rub in the butter. Stir in the peel, sultanas, raisins, brown sugar, mixed spice and salt. Blend the yeast to a thin paste with the sugar and milk. Set aside in a warm place until frothy - about 5 minutes.

Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and add the yeast mixture and the beaten egg. Mix to a soft dough, then cover the bowl with cling film. Leave in a warm place until the dough has doubled in bulk - this will take around 2 hours, or longer.

Turn out the dough onto a floured board and knead. Place in a prepared loaf tin, pressing into the corners. Place the tin in a large, lightly oiled polythene bag. Leave for a further 30minutes to rise. Set in the oven at 200C / gas 6.

Bake for 15min, then lower the oven temperature to 160C / gas 3. Continue baking for about 1 1/4 hours. Cool on a wire rack and brush the top with honey.