The first time I heard about Bara Brith was when watching the Great British Bake Off! I was hooked and I knew I needed to try this. Bara Brith which means Speckled Bread, is a tea bread made with a mixture of dried fruits. It is perfect when lightly buttered and served with tea! enjoy 🙂
Bara Brith (Welsh tea bread)
Ingredients
- 2 cups dried mixed fruits, (around 400g) (raisins, apricots, dates)
- 1 1/2 cup strong hot tea, (300 ml) (i used cardamom tea to give it more flavor)
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour, (125g) sifted
- 1/2 cup almond meal, (125g) sifted
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 egg
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin spice or mixed spice
- 1/2 cup brown sugar or muscovado sugar
- zest of 1/2 orange (optional)
Instructions
- Heat the water and let the tea brew until it is really dark. Add the dried fruits to the tea, mix and let soak for an hour.
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a loaf tin with parchment paper.
- Using a strainer over a bowl, drain the fruits and reserve the rest of the tea.
- In a separate bowl, mix together the fruits, egg, and sugar (optional: add the orange zest). Add in the flour, baking powder, and spices. Add 2 tablespoons of the reserved tea and stir until everything is well combined.
- Place the mixture into the pre-prepared loaf tin and bake in the oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Notes
This bread gets better over time.
You can also add some of the reserved tea to the baked loaf to make it more moist, but I did not think it was necessary.
