Bara Brith
Wales' tea-soaked fruit loaf: moist, lightly spiced and best sliced thickly with salted butter.
AI assistance: the introduction, ingredient list, method, tips and FAQ on this page were drafted with an AI writing tool, working from long-established traditional methods. Named editor who reviewed it: owner to supply How we work
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 1 hr 15 min
- Total
- 7 hr 30 min
- Makes
- one 2lb loaf
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Course
- Cake
- Cuisine
- Welsh
"Bara brith" means "speckled bread" in Welsh, after the dried fruit that studs every slice. Older versions were yeasted breads; the version most Welsh families bake today is the quicker tea bread, where the fruit soaks overnight in strong tea before being mixed with flour, sugar, egg and spice.
It keeps well and actually improves after a day, wrapped. Serve it sliced and buttered with a cup of tea.
Ingredients
Cups use the King Arthur Baking ingredient weight chart. Weighing is more accurate.
- 300 g mixed dried fruit
- 250 ml strong hot black tea
- 100 g light muscovado or soft brown sugar
- 1 medium egg, beaten
- 225 g self-raising flour (US: self-rising flour)
- 1 tsp mixed spice
- salted butter, to serve
Equipment
Shop links are affiliate links (disclosure).
- 2lb (900g) loaf tinHow to chooseShop on Amazon(affiliate link, opens in a new tab)
- Large mixing bowlHow to chooseShop on Amazon(affiliate link, opens in a new tab)
- Digital kitchen scalesHow to chooseShop on Amazon(affiliate link, opens in a new tab)
Method
- 1
Put the dried fruit and sugar in a bowl, pour over the hot tea, stir, cover and leave to soak overnight (or for at least 6 hours) so the fruit plumps up.
Photo: AntanO via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped - 2
Heat the oven to 170°C / 150°C fan / gas 3 / 325°F and line a 2lb (900 g) loaf tin. Stir the beaten egg into the soaked fruit, then fold in the flour and mixed spice until no dry flour remains. Spoon into the tin and level the top.
Photo: May be Предположительно Nleamy via Wikimedia Commons, Public domain - 3
Bake for 1 hour–1 hour 15 minutes, until risen and a skewer pushed into the centre comes out clean. Cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then on a rack. Wrap and keep for a day before slicing, if you can wait, and serve with butter.
Photo: Alan Hughes via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0, cropped
Tips
Glaze: brush the warm loaf with a little honey for a shiny top.
Keeping: wrapped in baking paper and foil, it keeps for about a week.
Using a different tin? Change "Your tin" and the ingredient quantities above update automatically.
Convert tin sizes
Multiply every ingredient by
1.00
Enter tin sizes between 5 and 60 cm.
If it goes wrong
| Problem | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Loaf sank in the middle | Underbaked | Bake until a skewer comes out clean; cover with foil if the top browns too fast |
| Dry and crumbly | Fruit not soaked long enough | Soak overnight so the fruit is plump and the tea is absorbed |
Frequently asked questions
What does bara brith mean?
It is Welsh for "speckled bread", after the dried fruit through it.
Why soak the fruit in tea?
The fruit plumps up and the tea adds flavour and moisture, so the loaf needs no butter in the mix.
How long does bara brith keep?
About a week wrapped in baking paper and foil. Serve it sliced and buttered.
Guides for this recipe
Some of these guides contain shop links, which are affiliate links (disclosure).
More Welsh Food recipes
Recipe · 2 hr 15 min
Bara Planc (Welsh Bakestone Bread)
A soft white bread cooked slowly on a griddle instead of in the oven: the old farmhouse bread of Wales.
Recipe · 2 hr 5 min
Cawl
Wales' slow-cooked lamb and leek broth, served with bread and a wedge of Welsh cheese.
Recipe · 50 min
Cawl Cennin (Welsh Leek and Potato Soup)
A simple, chunky soup of leeks, potatoes and stock: humble Welsh cooking built around the national emblem.
Card photos: A sliced tin loaf, baked in a loaf tin, Mike Finn via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0, cropped; Small cakes cooling on a wire rack, James Petts from London, England via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0, cropped; Stacked cream-coloured ceramic mixing bowls, RLiverpool2021 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped; A traditional mechanical kitchen scale, Berthold Werner via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0, cropped; A round of bara planc, Welsh bakestone bread, split and spread with butter and jam, Bake Across Europe via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped; A bowl of meaty Welsh cawl with bread, Worm That Turned via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped; A bowl of leek and potato soup in a clear broth, Roundhere44 via Wikimedia Commons, CC0. All credits: image credits.