Equipment
Ingredients
Fruit Soak
- 150 g sultanas
- 100 g raisins
- 50 g candied mixed peel, finely diced
- 200 ml strong black tea, hotly brewed
- 30 ml irish whiskey
Dough
- 150 ml whole milk, lukewarm
- 7 g fast-action dried yeast
- 50 g caster sugar
- 350 g strong bread flour
- 4 g fine sea salt
- 2 g mixed spice
- 40 g unsalted butter, softened
- 1 egg, beaten
Glaze
- 20 ml water, boiling
- 20 g caster sugar
Nutrition (per serving)
Nutrition is estimated per serving. Nutrients without complete source data are omitted.
Full nutrition
- Calories
- 249 kcal
- Protein
- 5 g
- Carbohydrates
- 48 g
- Fat
- 4 g
- Fiber
- 2 g
- Sugar
- 24 g
- Sodium
- 152 mg
- Saturated Fat
- 2 g
- Monounsaturated Fat
- 1 g
- Polyunsaturated Fat
- 0 g
- Cholesterol
- 24 mg
- Potassium
- 223 mg
- Calcium
- 37 mg
- Iron
- 1.8 mg
- Magnesium
- 18 mg
- Phosphorus
- 73 mg
- Zinc
- 0.5 mg
- Vitamin A
- 35 mcg
- Vitamin C
- 1 mg
- Vitamin D
- 0.3 mcg
- Vitamin E
- 0.3 mg
- Vitamin K
- 1 mcg
- Vitamin B6
- 0.1 mg
- Vitamin B12
- 0.1 mcg
- Thiamin
- 0.33 mg
- Riboflavin
- 0.24 mg
- Niacin
- 2.6 mg
- Folate
- 72 mcg
- Water
- 42 g
- Alcohol
- 1 g
- Caffeine
- 3 mg
Sources: Aggregated Public Data, USDA FoodData Central
Method
Combine the sultanas, raisins, candied peel, hot black tea, and whiskey in a medium mixing bowl. Cover securely and leave to soak overnight.
Warm the milk to 35C/95F in a measuring jug. Whisk in the yeast and 5g of the caster sugar. Leave to stand for 10 minutes until the surface is frothy.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the bread flour, the remaining 45g of caster sugar, salt, and mixed spice until evenly distributed.
Add the softened butter to the dry ingredients. Rub the butter into the flour mixture using your fingertips until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.
Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. Pour in the frothy yeast mixture and the beaten egg. Stir until a shaggy dough forms, then turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 10 minutes until smooth and elastic.
Drain the soaked fruit mixture thoroughly through a fine mesh strainer, pressing gently to extract excess liquid. Flatten the dough, pour the drained fruit into the center, and fold the edges over to enclose it. Knead gently for a few minutes until the fruit is evenly distributed.
Form the dough into a ball and place it in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with a damp cloth or plastic wrap and leave in a warm spot to rise for 1 hour 30 minutes, or until doubled in size.
Punch down the dough to deflate it, then shape it into a neat, tight round loaf. Place the shaped dough into a greased and parchment-lined 20cm round cake tin.
Cover the tin loosely and let the dough rise for a second time for 1 hour until puffy and light.
Preheat the oven to 180C/350F.
Bake the loaf in the center of the oven for 45 minutes. If the top begins to brown too rapidly, tent loosely with aluminum foil for the final 15 minutes of baking.
While the bread is in its final minutes of baking, dissolve the caster sugar in boiling water in a small cup. Immediately upon removing the bread from the oven, brush this syrup all over the top crust.
Carefully remove the bread from the tin and transfer it to a wire cooling rack. Allow it to cool completely before attempting to slice.
Chef's Notes
- Soaking the dried fruit in hot, strong black tea plumps it rapidly and imparts tannins that beautifully balance the intense natural sweetness of the raisins and sultanas.
- For the absolute best texture, use a high-protein bread flour. The added gluten network is necessary to support the heavy weight of the soaked fruits without collapsing.
- If you want to follow the Halloween tradition, wrap a sanitized silver ring tightly in a small piece of parchment paper and push it into the bottom of the dough just before the second proof in the cake tin.
- Barmbrack reaches its peak flavor two days after baking, as the spices and fruit juices continue to mature and permeate the crumb.
Storage
Refrigerator: 1 week — Wrap tightly in plastic wrap or store in an airtight container to prevent drying out.
Freezer: 3 months — Slice before freezing. Freeze slices with parchment paper between them for easy removal.
Reheating: Toast individual slices on medium setting until warmed through and slightly crisp on the edges.
Troubleshooting
Dough becomes incredibly sticky and unmanageable after adding the soaked fruit
Cause: The soaked fruit was not drained sufficiently, adding excess hydration to the dough
Fix: Knead in extra bread flour, one tablespoon at a time, until the dough returns to a workable, slightly tacky consistency
Prevention: Drain the fruit in a sieve for at least 15 minutes, pressing down firmly to extract trapped liquid before folding it into the dough
Bread is dense and heavy
Cause: Under-proofing the dough, or the yeast was killed by milk that was too hot
Fix: Cannot be fixed
Prevention: Ensure the milk is lukewarm (not exceeding 38C) and allow the dough to fully double in size during the first proof
Cultural Context
Barmbrack, derived from the Irish 'bairin breac' meaning speckled loaf, is deeply intertwined with the Celtic festival of Samhain, which evolved into modern Halloween. Historically, the bread was baked with various predictive charms hidden inside, such as a ring for marriage, a coin for wealth, or a piece of cloth for poverty. Slicing the barmbrack was a highly anticipated event, serving as both a sweet treat and a fortune-telling ritual for the coming year.
