Barm Brack
Barm Brack
Barm Brack
Prep Time: 3 Hours Active: 30 minutes
Yield: 2 Loaves
5 Cup Flour 1 1/2 Cup Warm Water 1 1/2 Tbls Yeast 1 tsp Sugar for yeast mixture 1/2 Cup of sugar 1 tsp Cinnamon 1/2 tsp Ginger 1/4 tsp Nutmeg 1 tsp Vanilla 1 Orange, Zest and Juice 1/2 Cup Raisins 1/2 Cup Dried Cranberries 1/2 Cup Dried Blueberries 2 cups Very strong Tea
- Soak dried fruit in Tea overnight
- Place the yeast in the lukewarm water, add the teaspoon of sugar, stir and leave to one side.
- Drain the reconstituted fruit
- Add the zest, raisins, cranberries, blueberries and the sugar to the flour mixture and stir.
- Put the flour into a large roomy, baking bowl, add the butter and salt and using your fingertips, rub the butter into the flour to form sand-like crumbs. Work quickly to prevent the butter becoming too warm.
- Make a well in the center of the flour mixture, add the beaten eggs, orange juice, zest and the yeast mixture. Work the mixture together to form a soft dough.
- Knead the dough on a floured worktop for 10 minutes until smooth and pliable. Place the dough back into the bowl. Cover with a clean tea cloth and leave in a warm place until the dough has doubled in size (about 1 hour).
- Return the mixture to the worktop, divide in 2, knead each half for another few minutes then form into a round approximately 7″. Place on a greased baking sheet and leave to rise for another hour.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes at 350 or if you are using a dark pan at 325 until golden brown.
- Remove the bread from the oven and leave to cool on a rack. The bread is great to eat right away or store in wrapped in a plastic bag (I will put mine in the fridge or I have even frozen it, but make sure to wrap really well so you don’t get freezer burn.
