As you have no doubt sussed by now, I am obsessed with tea brack and actually feel quite hurt when people refer to tea brack as barmbrack. Tea brack is very much a year-round thing, not just for Halloween. It’s believed that the word brack comes from the Irish word breac, which means speckled, while the word barm refers to the foam formed on fermenting ale, which contains yeasts and cultures used in brewing. This barm became used as a raising agent when baking bread.
For me, there are three key differences between barmbrack and tea brack. First, barmbrack is made with an enriched yeast dough shaped into a round, while tea brack is loaf shaped and relies on raising agents for its lift. Second, barmbrack doesn’t contain any tea, while tea brack, well, I think the name speaks for itself. Last and by no means least, a barmbrack is traditionally eaten at Halloween and contains charms that are meant to tell your future, whereas tea brack is a year-round treat and never contains charms.
Serves 10–12
500g strong white flour
60g caster sugar
30g butter
1 x 7g sachet of fast-action dried yeast
2 tsp mixed spice
½ tsp salt
150ml milk, warmed slightly
150ml water, warmed slightly
1 egg, beaten
400g mixed dried fruit
1 tbsp marmalade, warmed
Grease and line a deep 20cm cake tin.
Combine the flour, sugar, butter, yeast, spice and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. Slowly add the milk, water and the beaten egg, mixing until you have a soft dough. Continue to knead in the mixer for about for about 8 minutes, until the dough is smooth and feels stretchy. (You can mix and knead the dough by hand if you prefer.) Add the dried fruit and knead for a further minute.
Shape the dough into a round and place in the prepared cake tin. Cover with a clean damp tea towel and leave to rise for 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 180°C fan.
Bake the barmbrack in the preheated oven for 45–50 minutes. When it’s done, it should have a nice golden colour and sound hollow when tapped on the bottom.
Allow to cool in the tin for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack. Brush with the warmed marmalade and allow the brack to cool completely.
from Bake: Traditional Irish Baking with Modern Twists by Graham Herterich