.jpg) Bara brith, a traditional Welsh bread | |
| Type | Fruit loaf |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | Wales |
| Main ingredients | Yeast, mixed fruit (such asraisins,currants andcandied peel) |
| Variations | Without yeast, usingself-raising flour instead |
Bara brith (Ba-Ra Brif) is a traditionalWelshtea bread flavoured withtea, dried fruits and spices.
A decrease in its popularity led to supermarketMorrisons removing it from their shelves in 2006; a year later, a survey showed that 36% of teenagers in Wales had never tried it. It has been subsequently championed by celebrity chefs such asBryn Williams. Several variations on bara brith have been made, including changing it into a chocolate, sausages and even intoice cream.
Bara Brith derived its name from theWelsh language,bara meaning bread andbrith 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.[1]
In 2006, British supermarket chainMorrisons 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.[2] A survey conducted by British supermarket chainSainsbury's 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.[3]
Celebrity chefPhil Vickery baked Bara Brith inBrynsiencyn,Anglesey, in 2011 for a segment on the ITV television seriesThis Morning. He used a traditional recipe which had been handed down to local chef Nerys Roberts through her family.[4] Her bakery had previously supplied British supermarket chainSafeway with Bara Brith, before it was bought out by Morrisons.[5] Beca Lyne-Pirkis baked a Bara Brith for one her entries during thefourth season of the BBC television seriesThe Great British Bake Off 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 judgesPaul Hollywood andMary Berry.[6]
The bread is made by mixing flour (eitherwhite orself-raising), yeast (if not using self-raising flour), butter, mixed dried fruit (such asraisins,currants andsultanas), mixed spices and an egg.[6] Some recipes favour soaking the dried fruit in tea overnight before the baking.[7] This mixture is thenproved to allowfermentation 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.[6] Bara Brith is traditionally served attea time, alongsidetea. It is normally served in slices with butter spread on one side.[7]
InArgentina, Bara Brith is also known astorta negra ("black cake"). One of the most traditional foods coming out of theChubut valleys, it was brought by theWelsh settlers who started arriving in the country in 1865.[8] Other variations exist within Wales. Lyne-Pirkis' version of the Bara Brith onThe Great British Bake Off substituted a tea oil to replace the overnight soaking process for the fruit.[6] In E. Smith Twiddy'sThe Little Welsh Cookbook, a cup of cold tea is included in the mixture, andmarmalade is used as a glaze.[9] Celebrity chefBryn Williams useslard in his recipe, and a combination of raisins andcandied peel as the mixed fruit.[10]
The flavours of a Bara Brith have also been made into other types of food. Pemberton's Victorian Chocolates inLlanboidy,Carmarthenshire, 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.[7] WhenCharles, Prince of Wales visitedAmmanford, Carmarthenshire, in 2011, he tried Bara Brithice cream. It had been created by a local ice cream parlour who knew of the Prince's fondness for the bread.[11]
