Bara Brith
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Bara brith is a traditional Welsh tea bread flavoured with
tea Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of '' Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of south-western China and nor ...
, dried fruits and spices. It has been championed as a symbol of Welsh cookery by celebrity chefs such as Bryn Williams, especially in response to a decline in popularity in recent decades. In 2007, a survey showed that 36% of teenagers in Wales had never tried it, though far fewer were unaware of it, suggesting it still had a place of cultural significance even though supermarket chain
Morrisons Wm Morrison Supermarkets Limited, trading as Morrisons, is the List of supermarket chains in the United Kingdom, fifth largest supermarket chain in the United Kingdom. As of 2021, the company had 497 supermarkets across England, Wales and Sco ...
had removed their range from shelves a year earlier. Several variations on bara brith have been made, including changing it into a chocolate, sausages and even into
ice cream Ice cream is a frozen dessert typically made from milk or cream that has been flavoured with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and a spice, such as Chocolate, cocoa or vanilla, or with fruit, such as strawberries or peaches. Food ...
.


History

Bara Brith derived its name from the
Welsh language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic languages, Celtic language of the Brittonic languages, Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales by about 18% of the population, by some in England, and in (the Welsh c ...
, meaning bread and translating as speckled. It was traditionally made in farmhouses by adding fruit, sugar and spices to the basic bread dough to make a sweet treat for special occasions. It has subsequently been used as a colloquialism—to "over spice the Bara Brith" means to do something to excess. In 2006, British supermarket chain
Morrisons Wm Morrison Supermarkets Limited, trading as Morrisons, is the List of supermarket chains in the United Kingdom, fifth largest supermarket chain in the United Kingdom. As of 2021, the company had 497 supermarkets across England, Wales and Sco ...
withdrew Bara Brith from sale at 19 of its Wales-based stores. Complaints were issued in the Press, but the company insisted that the bread was removed because of lack of sales. A survey conducted by British supermarket chain
Sainsbury's J Sainsbury plc, trading as Sainsbury's, is a British supermarket and the second-largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1869 by John James Sainsbury with a shop in Drury Lane, London, the company was the largest UK r ...
in 2007, showed that 36% of teenagers in Wales surveyed had never tried Bara Brith. When responses across the UK were viewed, some 85% of teenagers had never tried the traditional Welsh bread.
Celebrity chef A celebrity chef is a kitchen chef who has become a celebrity. Today, chefs often become celebrities by presenting cookery advice and demonstrations, usually through the media of television and radio, or in Books, printed publications. While telev ...
Phil Vickery baked Bara Brith in ,
Anglesey Anglesey ( ; ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms the bulk of the Principal areas of Wales, county known as the Isle of Anglesey, which also includes Holy Island, Anglesey, Holy Island () and some islets and Skerry, sker ...
, in 2011 for a segment on the ITV television series '' This Morning''. He used a traditional recipe which had been handed down to local chef Nerys Roberts through her family. Her bakery had previously supplied British supermarket chain Safeway with Bara Brith, before it was bought out by Morrisons. Beca Lyne-Pirkis baked a Bara Brith for one her entries during the fourth season of the BBC television series ''
The Great British Bake Off ''The Great British Bake Off'' (often abbreviated to ''Bake Off'' or ''GBBO'') is a British television baking competition, produced by Love Productions, in which a group of amateur bakers compete against each other in a series of rounds, atte ...
'' in 2013. Although she based it on her grandmother's recipe, she found it difficult to complete within the three hours allocated for that round. But it won praise from judges Paul Hollywood and Mary Berry.


Recipe

The bread is made by mixing flour (either
white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
or self-raising), yeast (if not using self-raising flour), butter, mixed dried fruit (such as
raisin A raisin is a Dried fruit, dried grape. Raisins are produced in many regions of the world and may be eaten raw or used in cooking, baking, and brewing. In the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia and South Afri ...
s, currants and sultanas), mixed spices and an egg. Some recipes favour soaking the dried fruit in tea overnight before the baking. This mixture is then proved to allow
fermentation Fermentation is a type of anaerobic metabolism which harnesses the redox potential of the reactants to make adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and organic end products. Organic molecules, such as glucose or other sugars, are catabolized and reduce ...
to take place. After an initial period, the air is knocked out of the mixture and it is allowed to prove once more. This period of preparation can take up to two hours, including the resting time for the bread mixture. It is then baked in an oven. Bara Brith is traditionally served at tea time, alongside
tea Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of '' Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of south-western China and nor ...
. It is normally served in slices with butter spread on one side.


Variations

In
Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
, Bara Brith is also known as ("black cake"). One of the most traditional foods coming out of the Chubut valleys, it was brought by the Welsh settlers who started arriving in the country in 1865. Other variations exist within Wales. Lyne-Pirkis' version of the Bara Brith on ''The Great British Bake Off'' substituted a tea oil to replace the overnight soaking process for the fruit. In E. Smith Twiddy's ''The Little Welsh Cookbook'', a cup of cold tea is included in the mixture, and
marmalade Marmalade (from the Portuguese ''marmelada'') is a fruit preserves, fruit preserve made from the juice and peel of citrus fruits boiled with sugar and water. The well-known version is made from bitter orange. It also has been made from lemons ...
is used as a glaze. Celebrity chef Bryn Williams uses
lard Lard is a Quasi-solid, semi-solid white fat product obtained by rendering (animal products), rendering the adipose tissue, fatty tissue of a domestic pig, pig.
in his recipe, and a combination of raisins and
candied peel Candied fruit, also known as glacé fruit, is whole fruit, smaller pieces of fruit, or pieces of peel, placed in heated sugar syrup, which absorbs the moisture from within the fruit and eventually preserves it. Depending on the size and type ...
as the mixed fruit. The flavours of a Bara Brith have also been made into other types of food. Pemberton's Victorian Chocolates in Llanboidy,
Carmarthenshire Carmarthenshire (; or informally ') is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford. Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre. ...
, developed a Bara Brith-inspired chocolate in 2009, using a tea-flavoured cream-filled chocolate complemented with dried fruit and possessing a cake-like texture. When
Charles, Prince of Wales Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, a ...
visited
Ammanford Ammanford ( ) is a town and community (Wales), community in Carmarthenshire, Wales. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census the community had a population of 5,445, and the wider built up area had a population of 8,285. Ammanford is se ...
, Carmarthenshire, in 2011, he tried Bara Brith
ice cream Ice cream is a frozen dessert typically made from milk or cream that has been flavoured with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and a spice, such as Chocolate, cocoa or vanilla, or with fruit, such as strawberries or peaches. Food ...
. It had been created by a local ice cream parlour who knew of the Prince's fondness for the bread.


See also

* Barmbrack


References


External links

{{Welsh Cuisine Argentine cuisine British breads Sweet breads Welsh cuisine Yeast cakes British tea culture British cakes