Barm Brack

I lived, all too briefly, in Ireland while attending Gradutate School at University College Dublin. While there I discovered a lovely Irish fruit bread called barm brack -- or, in the Irish, bairin breac. There are a number of variations of this bread -- both yeasted and not. In both sorts, however, it was traditional to hide a 'treasure' in the bread(usually a gold ring) for one lucky individual to find. Around Halloween, 'Tea brack' the unyeast version, made with either black tea or whiskey, was the kind more commonly available -- and how sweet it was! Well, now that it is October, and Halloween is in the air, I thought it would be a lovely thing to teach my sons the making of bairin breac -- and right in line with our lessons in bread making science. Today, then, is the day that we have dedicated to this project.

The first step was to haul out my trusty copy of  Classic Irish Recipes. Then, after collecting supplies and checking that we had everything we needed (a good lesson to teach regardless!) we set to work.

First, we proofed the yeast by placing it and a teaspoon of sugar in lukewarm milk.

Next, we combined the flour, yeast, and milk to make the 'sponge'. This was set to rise.

While the sponge was rising, we combined flour, sugar, fruits and butter.

When the first rising is complete, it is time to combine the sponge with the fruit and flour.                                                  Then comes the first kneading. This is what Jason calls the 'pounding' phase, the phase where one works hardest, kneading for five minutes, combining everything.

Again, the mixture is set to rise, for an hour and a half.When risen, we separate it into three loaves and knead until smooth. Now comes the third and final rise.

When this rise is complete, the bread goes into the oven for half and hour. Once baked, the bread is glazed with sugar and set to dry and cool.

And now? We have Barm Brack! Pictures coming soon:>