Cookbook:Welsh Fruit Bread (Bara Brith) III

This variation for bara brith is also popular and uses baking powder and bicarbonate of soda as raising agents, rather than yeast. Soaking of the dried fruit in tea for several hours is essential to the taste and succulence of the loaf.

Ingredients

 * 4 oz dried fruit
 * Brewed black tea
 * 12–14 oz brown or wholemeal flour
 * 3–4 oz brown sugar
 * 1 teaspoon mixed spice
 * 1 teaspoon baking powder
 * ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
 * 1 egg
 * Glacé cherries (optional), chopped

Procedure

 * 1) Soak the fruit in tea for several hours. Strain, retain both fruit and tea.
 * 2) Mix the flour, sugar, spice, baking powder and bicarb.
 * 3) Add soaked fruit to the dry ingredients, then start to mix.
 * 4) Add the egg, and continue to mix.
 * 5) Add the black tea in small amounts, mixing as you go.
 * 6) Continue to add the tea until the mixture is thick but runny—it should cling to a spoon, but any excess should drop off easily. If you have used up all your tea, a drop of milk can be added instead to achieve this consistency.
 * 7) Add the chopped glace cherries, which will further increase the moisture of the batter.
 * 8) Pour into a greased baking tin, and bake at 190°C for approximately 90 minutes. Loosely cover the top with foil for the first hour, to avoid burning. Once cooked, turn out and cool.
 * 9) Serve sliced with butter and a cup of tea.