From the oven · A loaf to slice
Bara brith
The name means "speckled bread", and every slice is dotted with plump fruit that has spent the night soaking in strong tea. It is one of the easiest loaves to make: no butter to rub in, no yeast to wait for, just a bowl, a tin and a little patience.
Two kinds of speckled bread
Bara brith was originally a yeasted bread, enriched with fruit and spice and baked once the weekly loaves were out of the oven. Today most home cooks make the quicker tea-loaf version given here, which uses self-raising flour and gets its moisture from the tea-soaked fruit. It is less like bread and more like a dense, sliceable cake, and it keeps beautifully.
The tea matters. A strong, plain black tea gives the loaf its depth and colour. Brew it well, use it while it is still hot, and let the fruit drink it up overnight.
What you’ll need
Tick things off as you go.
Take your time
- Soak the fruit. Put the dried fruit and sugar in a bowl, pour over the hot tea and stir. Cover and leave to soak overnight, or for at least 6 hours, until most of the tea has been absorbed.
- Prepare the tin. Heat the oven to 160°C fan (180°C conventional, gas 4). Grease a 900 g (2 lb) loaf tin and line it with baking paper.
- Mix the batter. Stir the beaten egg into the fruit and any remaining tea. Sift in the flour and mixed spice and fold together until no dry flour remains. The mixture will be thick and heavy.
- Bake. Spoon into the tin and level the top. Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes, until risen, firm and a skewer pushed into the centre comes out without wet batter. If the top darkens too quickly, cover it loosely with foil for the last 20 minutes.
- Cool before slicing. Leave in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely. Wrap and leave for a day if you can: the loaf becomes moister and easier to slice.
Why soak overnight
Soaking plumps the fruit so it stays juicy in the bake, and it draws the colour and flavour of the tea into the mixture. It also dissolves the sugar, which is why there is no butter or creaming stage. A short soak of a few hours will still work, but the loaf will be a little drier and paler.
If you forget to soak the fruit the night before, warm the fruit, sugar and tea together in a pan for 5 minutes, then leave to cool for an hour. It is not quite the same, but it is close.
Serving and keeping
The traditional way to eat bara brith is in thick slices, spread with salted butter, alongside a pot of tea. It is also good lightly toasted. Some people like it with a slice of Caerphilly or a sharp Cheddar; the salty cheese against the sweet fruit is a combination worth trying.
Wrapped in baking paper and foil, or in an airtight tin, the loaf keeps for up to a week and gets better over the first few days. It freezes well, whole or in slices, for up to 3 months.
Changing the fruit
Any mix of dried fruit works, as long as the total weight stays the same. Chopped dried apricots, figs or dates add a deeper sweetness; dried cranberries give a sharper note. A little grated orange zest stirred in with the egg is lovely. For other bakes from the same tin and tea pot, try griddle-cooked Welsh cakes or the soft, quick teisen lap.
