Barm Brack

charley68

Barm Brack is an Irish tea soaked fruit loaf. Always (when I was young) made for, or around Hallowe'en, and was always delicious. My mother made one each year, no yeast. Usually a little something was put in the mix, eg sixpence piece - probably 5p these days!! We had a huge amount of fun around Hallowe'en each year.
I do not remember a Barm Brack made at other times of the year, mostly due to the cost of fruit used in the Brack, and needed to make sure there was enough for Christmas cakes.

Mum put little something(s) in the mix as well, threads to pull out.

Mum semi-dried chopped/peeled apples, as do I, due to cost of dried fruit.

Barm Brack is an Irish tea soaked fruit loaf. Always (when I was young) made for, or around Hallowe'en, and was always delicious. My mother made one each year, no yeast. Usually a little something was put in the mix, eg sixpence piece - probably 5p these days!! We had a huge amount of fun around Hallowe'en each year.
I do not remember a Barm Brack made at other times of the year, mostly due to the cost of fruit used in the Brack, and needed to make sure there was enough for Christmas cakes.

Baggs, my nan made barm cakes every week. They were fabulous.

Never heard of it , but it sounds lovely

Currently apple caked up, allira, and haven’t done a banana bread for yonks. Actually my apple cake recipe works just as well with bananas or with both apples and bananas 🙂

I've had enough of banana cake in all its variations!

Apple cake is lovely.

Norah

Occasionally I peel and chop apples, oven bake at 80-100 for a couple of hours, to dry. Replace most of the dried fruit with apples.

We've many fruit trees, good use for excess.

I've cored and cut apples into rings and dried them; they keep well in a glass jar.
Even better, DD has a food dehydrator. It's probably more economical than using the oven too.

Barm in the name suggests yeast is used in the recipe, or at least some of the barm taken from another process such as brewing ale.

Barm cakes – flattish soft bread rolls – are a lovely memory from my Lancashire days. Not that we had them often. They were a treat.

Waiting for a couple of bananas to ripen enough so I can make banana and walnut teabread 😋

Occasionally I peel and chop apples, oven bake at 80-100 for a couple of hours, to dry. Replace most of the dried fruit with apples.

We've many fruit trees, good use for excess.

Thanks for the recipe Whiff. I didn’t have any mixed fruit so I used sultanas which was fine. It looked like a bit too much mixture for my 1lb loaf tin so I made 4 muffins as well . They cooked beautifully (I had to adjust the timing of course) and we had them for breakfast. I have butter on mine but DH says it doesn’t need it.

PS, the old Mary Berry recipe, in case anyone would like it:

3/4 pint cold tea (I used hot, made with 2 teabags)
7 oz soft brown sugar
12 oz mixed dried fruit
10 oz SR flour
1 egg
(I added a tsp of mixed spice but would make it 2 next time)

Put tea, sugar and fruit in a bowl, cover and leave to soak overnight.
Grease an 8 inch round cake tin, or a 2 on loaf tin. (Mine just fitted into the loaf tin*)
Add flour (and spice) to the soaked fruit and liquid, mix all together thoroughly, beat the egg and add to make a smooth mixture.
Pour into the tin and bake for about 1 hr 45 mins, 180, 160 fan.
Cool on a wire tray.

( *I did the Jamie Oliver thing of wetting the lining paper and scrunching it up, before fitting it into the tin. No need to wash the tin afterwards!)

I've always known it as barm brack. Haven't made one for ages. Might try out one of the recipes above.

Mine was very moist and moreish - dh had 2 fat slices while it was still warm.
I’d add rather more mixed spice next time though - TBH I could hardly taste it.
But for such a simple recipe, 10/10.

I used to make amn Australian boiled fruit cake which was very similar but did contain an egg or two.

Pantglas2

I’ve made the tea-soaked fruit loaf and called it Bara Brith but my grandmother made a proper yeasted one once a week along with her normal bread production.

1lb 2oz bread flour
1oz butter
9oz dried fruit
1tsp mixed spice
1tsp yeast
1tsp salt
1.5tsp treacle
14 fl oz water

Mix, prove and bake as per normal bread.

My husband's workers love tea bread toast- we're too far from civilization to go out for meals. I use a similar recipe, more spice, water is replaced with tea, treacle is replaced with 1/2 c sugar.

Allergies: No milk or eggs, can be adapted with almond flour

I bought some homemade once at a campsite in Wales. It gave me the worst indigestion ever so have never eaten it since!

I make mine with all sultanas, but at Christmas I add cherries. I always thought it was an Irish recipe as all my Aunties made it.
Very easy and never fails.

I'm in Ireland and barm brack- often shortened to brack- was the type of fruit bread with yeast as in Pantglas recipe. The type without yeast where fruit is soaked in tea, mentioned by other posters, was known as tea brack. Though the both have fruit, they taste fairly different- barm brack has a much lighter texture. In my childhood, brack was usually bought, and available all year round, but at Halloween it had a ring. These days, it's available in every shop - I bought one yesterday- lovely!

Love Barm Brack, my Mum used to make it many moons ago.

I’ve made the tea-soaked fruit loaf and called it Bara Brith but my grandmother made a proper yeasted one once a week along with her normal bread production.

1lb 2oz bread flour
1oz butter
9oz dried fruit
1tsp mixed spice
1tsp yeast
1tsp salt
1.5tsp treacle
14 fl oz water

Mix, prove and bake as per normal bread.

These recipes sound similar to another I haven’t made for years. In addition to the overnight soak of dried fruit in the tea there was a cupful of All Bran in it.

Thank you I didn't know Barm Brack was Irish . Only heard of Bara Brith was Welsh . Love learning new things GN is it's own open university. 😊

Bara Brith

250g mixed dried fruit
100g dark brown sugar
225ml hot tea I would use 2 teabags
Quarter teaspoon ground cinnamon
Quarter teaspoon grated nutmeg
I large egg
250g SR flour

Oven 160°c
Lined 1lb loaf tin

Put dried fruit and sugar in bowl cover with tea I leave the tea bags in for stronger flavour. Once cold cover and leave over night
Take out teabags .
Add rest of ingredients mix well.
Put into tin .
Bake 50-60 mins until skewer comes out clean
Put in cooling wire of 30 mins before turning out of the tin. Cool before slicing.

My mom's tea bread but my version
I use 400ml mug as measure.

225g of mix dried cranberries,cherries and blueberries.
( Mom used normal dried fruit)
Half mug of tea made with 2 teabags
Half mug of dark brown sugar
1 full and level mug of SR flour
I medium egg

Oven 160°c
Lined 1lb loaf tin

Soak fruit and sugar over night in tea leaving in tea bags. Take out tea bags .
Add rest of the ingredients mix well .
Put into tin
Bake 50-60 mins until skewer clean.
Once cold wrap in baking paper and put into tin or wrap in foil .
Leave 2-3 days before cutting the top will feel sticky.
Don't worry it won't go mouldy the action of the tea fruit and sugar makes it's sticky and morish .

Can be made with gluten free flour but once mixed add some milk to make it looser as the gluten free flour needs more moisture than ordinary flour.

Why I say take out tea bags my mom forgot luckily I spotted them still whole in the mix before she put it in the oven .
Spread both tea breads with spread but delicious with cheese or by itself .

Ive made this nd cookedit in the airfrytr at 160

I’ve used this recipe a few times - www.theslimmingfoodie.com/tea-loaf/#Easy-tea-loaf