welsh – Katy Walters Author

Bara Brith is another recipe from the Welsh side of my family. It was a favourite in my mother’s kitchen, and mine once I had a hungry hoard to feed.

I was interested to read the history of Bara Brith.

According to Wikipedia, Bara is derived from the Welsh language and means bread. Brith means speckled. Apparently, a Welsh chef added mixed dried fruit to bread dough. It is believed to be the first version of the Welsh tea loaf.

I do know that this recipe has been handed down through the ages. The women of my Welsh family know this recipe by heart, and it is a recognized treat on a Sunday.

Bara Brith Recipe

325 ml/11 fluid ounces of hot boiled tea
230 ml/8 ounces of mixed dried fruit
340 mg/12 ounces of self-raising flour
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1 teaspoon of mixed spice
60 mg/2 oz. brown sugar
1 beaten egg

Pour the hot boiled tea over the fruit in a mixing bowl. Leave to soak overnight.

Thoroughly grease a 1ltr/2 lb baking tin.

Next morning or day, pour the mixed fruit along with the tea into a bowl. Add the egg. Mix gently.

Stir in the flour and then add the baking powder. Then stir in the brown sugar. Mix until thoroughly combined together.

If it is a bit stiff, pour in a little more hot water.

Make sure the mixture can drop easily off a large spoon.

Spread mixture evenly in the greased loaf tin and place into a preheated oven: approx. 170C/325F/Gas 3

Bake for around 1 and a half hours. For the last twenty minutes of cooking, cover with foil to avoid the crust burning.

Cool it for at least five minutes.

My mother would always leave it for a day in a cool dry place before eating, but it never lasts that long in our house.

Happy Eating.

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Welsh cakes are a traditional food for the Welsh. They are a quite simple sweet flatbread baked on a griddle. Below I offer you the Welsh Cakes recipe that I use.

Welsh Cakes Recipe — Scrumptious little Welsh cakes

They are practical and so delicious. The small round flat cakes gained popularity in the nineteenth century when used as a food supplement for the miners in the coal pits. They were easily wrapped and carried by the miners in their lunch tins. Along with the homecooked meat and fish pies in rich pastry, these delicious fruited cakes were a treat for the miners during their long hours working underground. The cakes were thickly spread with fresh butter and helped fill a hungry miner’s stomach.

A Family Favorite

This recipe has always been a favourite in my family. The grandchildren also love them. Spread the cakes with fresh butter and eat them warm. You can even add jam/jelly or honey for a sweeter treat.

Using a griddle or bakestone, cook the cakes for about three minutes on each side. If you do not have a griddle or a bakestone, use your frying pan or oven. Keep an eye on the cakes and test for firmness. They should be a light golden colour.

Recipe for Welsh Cakes

230 mgs/8 ounces of self-raising flour

115 mgs/4 ounces of fresh butter, room temperature

2 dessert spoons of currants or other chopped dried fruit to your liking (you can add optional spoon of sugar).

1 fresh egg.

Instructions

Rub the butter into the flour until you get a crumb texture.
Add the dried fruit and sugar, and then gently stir in the egg.
Mix the ingredients and form a ball of dough.
On a floured surface, roll out the dough to about 5mm/1/4 inch thick.
Cut into rounds using a pastry cutter, or the lip of an average mug if you don’t have a cutter.
Butter a frying pan, griddle or bakestone and get the baking surface hot. Cook the dough rounds on the surface for roughly 2-3 minutes each side (eyeball this).
Remove from the pan.

Some people like to coat the cooked cakes with sugar, but I prefer not to.

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