Irish Barm Brack

Traditional Irish Bairín breac regularly abbreviated to brack is spicy yeasted bread with added sultanas, currants and raisins. It is the most famous bakery product in Ireland and the name breac meaning speckled referring to fruit in the bread. The loaf is usually sold in flattened rounds and is frequently served toasted with butter along with a cup of tea in the afternoon. The dough is sweeter than sandwich bread, but not as rich as cake. Barmbrack is the bread of Irish Halloween practice and traditionally contained various objects baked into the bread such as a pea, a stick, a piece of cloth, a small coin and a ring. The Barmbrack was used as a sort of fortune telling game and each item was supposed to carry a meaning to the person that received an item. The pea meant the person would not marry that year, the person receiving the stick would have an unhappy marriage, the person receiving the cloth would have bad luck or be poor, the person receiving the coin would enjoy good fortune or be rich and the person receiving the ring, would be wed within the year. There have been supplementary articles added to the bread such as a medallion usually with a picture of the Virgin Mary symbolizing going into the priesthood or to the Nuns, while this tradition is not widely continued in the present day.

Ingredients make 1 loaf

650 g bakers white flour

1 tsp mixed spice (6g)

1 tbls caster sugar (20g)

1 tsp salt (6g)

1 tbls instant yeast (7g)

450 ml milk

80 g soft unsalted butter

325 g mixed dried fruit (sultanas, currants and raisins)

Method

Place flour, mixed spice, sugar, salt and yeast in a large bowl and mix evenly. Add milk to the dry mixture and mix until dough is formed. Place the dough on a lightly floured table. Knead until firm and smooth with your hands. Place the dough back into the bowl and cover with cling wrap. Allow dough to rest for 60 minutes at room temperature until doubled in size. Preheat oven to 190ºC. Knead the soft butter and fruit into the dough until evenly mixed. Shape into a round shape and place in a 20 cm round greased cake tin. Cover and allow rising for approx. 45 minutes. Place bread in the lower middle of the oven. Bake for approx. 45 minutes. Remove the bread from the tin and place on a wire rack. Brush sugar syrup on top of the bread which will produce shiny bread. Allow cooling for at least 30 minutes before cutting.

Note: Sugar syrup is made by mixing same amount of water and sugar in a saucepan. Bring to the boil and remove from the heat.