Barm Brack
Photo by: Lucy Alexander
When I was a kid the best part about Halloween was not the trick-or-treating but afterwards. After we got home and my siblings and I could finally take a good look at our loot (at least what we hadn’t already eaten). Dumping the bag out between our legs, we would trade with each other to get our personal favorites (2 Milky Ways for 3 Tootsie Rolls, 2 boxes of Milk Duds for 1 Mars Bar). No one ever bothered with the small red boxes of raisins—we only had eyes for the candy. The good news is my tastes have changed; I still love chocolate AND I also love raisins, especially raisin bread. The problem is most raisin breads don’t have enough raisins in them, or the raisins are small and hard.
The Italian restaurant, Il Fornaio used to sell a small loaf of raisin bread that was perfect. The recipe here is chock full of raisins also. I don’t know how II Fornaio made their raisin loaf, but this recipe calls for soaking the raisins overnight in tea, whiskey (optional), and sugar so that they are plump and juicy. According to Mary Berry (one of the judges of the original Great British Bake Off) the Welsh version is called bara brith, which translates to ‘speckled bread’. In Ireland it is called Barm Brack and in Scotland Selkirk Bannock. Whatever you call it, it doesn’t last long in this house.
Remember, the raisins have to sit in tea overnight, the preparation of which takes as long to prepare as making a cup of tea. The bread is delicious toasted with butter.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup raisins (a combination of golden and dark, or a combination of raisins and currants)
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1 cup of freshly brewed black tea
4 tablespoons Irish whiskey (optional)
1 1/4 cups self-rising flour
1 large egg beaten lightly
3 tablespoons honey
Instructions:
In a large bowl, add the raisins, sugar, tea and whiskey (optional). Cover with a plate and set aside on the counter overnight.
Preheat the oven to 300°
Lightly grease a loaf pan. Stir the flour and the egg into the raisin mixture and mix until combined. Pour into prepared loaf pan and bake in preheated oven for 1 1/2 hours or until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let loaf cool in pan for 5 minutes. Turn out onto a rack to cool completely. Warm honey until runny and brush over the top of the loaf.
Photo by: Lucy Alexander