In a lively conversation with Aunt Kate she taught me the
difference between St. Patrick’s Day and St. David’s Day which is on March 1st.
This is when the people of Wales honor their patron saint St. David with amazing
culinary delights along with, daffodils and leeks, lively parades, and concerts.
When I asked what is Bara Brith? She explained that the name
originated from the Welsh words for "bread" (bara) and
"speckled" (brith), meaning “speckled bread.” This refers to the
dried fruit scattered throughout. The day she taught me about this bread, we
made both with and without yeast so I could understand the difference of the
bread texture versus the dense fruit cake style. This recipe is without the
yeast. Enjoy!
Bara Brith is called a tea bread because it starts off
with soaking dried fruit in hot tea until softened.
Servings: 10 slices
Ingredients:
1 ¾ cups Dried Mixed Fruit
1 1/3 cup Hot Tea
½ cup Soft Dark Brown Sugar
1 tsp Mixed Spice
2cups Self-rising Flour
1 Egg ((beaten))
Directions:
In a large bowl, place your dried mixed fruit, hot tea and
sugar. Once the tea cools, cover and leave the fruit to soak up the tea and
sugar over night.
The next day, pre-heat your oven to 160°c for fan assisted
ovens. Line a 2lb loaf tin with grease proof paper and set aside.
Sift the flour and mixed spice into the bowl of soaked mixed
fruit. Add the [beaten] egg and mix everything together until well combined.
Pour the mixture into your lined loaf tin, spreading to the
corners. Bake in your pre-heated oven for about 1 hour, until dry on top and a
skewer inserted comes out clean.
Once cool, remove from the tin but keep the greaseproof
paper lining on. Bara Brith is best enjoyed after a couple of days kept in an airtight
container, sliced with a spread of butter/margarine.
Elizabeth Kilbride is a Writer and Editor with forty years of
experience in writing with 12 of those years in the online content sphere.
Author of 5 books and a Graduate with an Associate of Arts from Phoenix
University in Business Management, then a degree. Mass Communication and Cyber
Analysis from Phoenix University, then on to Walden University for her master’s
in criminology with emphasis on Cybercrime and Identity Theft and is currently
studying for her Ph.D. degree in Criminology. Her work portfolio includes
coverage of politics, current affairs, elections, history, and true crime.
Elizabeth is also a gourmet cook, life coach, and avid artist in her spare
time, proficient in watercolor, acrylic, oil, pen and ink, Gouche, and pastels.
As a political operative having worked on over 300 campaigns during her career,
Elizabeth has turned many life events into books and movie scripts while using
history to weave interesting storylines. She also runs 7 blogs that range from
art to life coaching, to food, to writing, Gardening, and opinion or history
pieces each week.
British
Fare, Potpourri of Frugality. Kilbride
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