Found recipe! Bara brith
Posted by Melanie Unruh , Tuesday, November 26, 2013 8:40 AM
I've searched years for my great aunts' bara brith recipe. Literally, "speckled bread", this old Jones family traditional Welsh recipe was made every winter by my great aunts. Although this looks like the much-maligned holiday fruitcake, bara brith is not as sweet, not as stuffed with luridly-colored candied fruit. Although I recalled the Jones recipe to be yeast-risen using potatoes to proof the yeast, nothing similar ever turned up on the interwebs. I have a book of clipping and random recipes from my grandmother (who married a Jones but wasn't one), but the recipe wasn't in there. There's one in a recipe box in her handwriting, but there's no yeast and no potatoes, so I rejected that version years ago.
My mom is in the process of sorting a storage-unit worth of stuff ... and behold! [1] - the long lost old yellow Emporia Gazette clipping. Although it is attributed to one "Miss Esther Morgan", my aunt's handwriting is in the margin, "this" written in her antique hand. Although I may be misremembering, I think that this is the original Jones family recipe, and Miss Morgan - likely to be a relative - submitted it for publication.
I have no idea how old this recipe actually is. There's no publication date. I would guess that it might be as old as the Victorian era. Family lore states that the bread must be sliced very thin as a measure of hospitality. Of course, tea is the favored beverage.
And here is the recipe, as published:
Sponge - Boil 1 cup potatoes in one pint water. Mash potatoes and cool, then add 1 cake yeast and flour [a] to make a stiff batter. Let rise overnight in a warm place. Warm 2 quarts of flour. Mix 1 cup shortening in flour and put sponge in center. Add 1 pound seeded raisins, 1 pound seedless raisins, 3-4[b] pounds currants, 1-4[b] pound candied citron or 1 pound orange peel, 1 cup brown sugar, 1 cup white sugar, 2 eggs, 1 teaspoon maple[c], 1 teaspoon vanilla, 2 teaspoons salt, 1 tablespoon cocoa, 1 tablespoon cinnamon, 1 cup nuts. Then mix flour with hot water (being careful not to use too much or "boddi r melinydd," and mix well as for other bread. Let rise in a warm place until light, then knead. Let rise again and put into pans and let rise. It takes longer to rise than white bread. This makes 3 large loaves. Miss Esther Morgan, 515 Union.
A few thoughts:
[a] How much flour is added to the potatoes for the sponge?
[b] I believe that these should be read as fractions - 3/4 lb currants, 1/4 lb candied citron
[c] Is the "maple" maple extract, syrup or sugar?
[1] Not to mention the well-loved Ranger cookie recipe. But that's another blog entry.
Cool! Old family recipes are so great to have--I've put together a cookbook of the ones I've gathered so far.