March 1st is St. David's Day - patron saint of all things Welsh. He was a 2nd century monk who founded the Abbey at St. David's in Pembrokeshire and followed very strict and austere rules. There is a tale that he led the Welsh to victory against the Saxon's wearing a leek (hence one of the country's emblems).
I found an old recipe for Bara Brith basically it is speckled bread.
Bara Brith/Speckled Bread
- 75g currants
- 75g sultanas
- 75g butter
- 25g crystallised peel
- 2 eggs beaten
- 1/4 teaspoon mixed spice
- 75g brown sugar
- 350g self-raising flour sifted
- warmed honey to glaze
Now the currants I brought (a mix of black and yellow, I didn't bother with sultanas) seemed plump enough but the dried ones are supposed to be simmered in water for 15 minutes; then drained well. They are mixed with the butter and peel, the eggs, spice and sugar. The flour is stirred in and mixed.
Bake in a loaf tin (1kg) for an hour.
Now before you all rush off and make this there is a problem! While this tastes delicious I think there is a missing 'wet' ingredient. As I was mixing everything I thought the mix was a little dry - very dry actually - I wonder if some water should have been added. The final bread didn't rise at all and was very, very crumbly. This recipe for example adds a half pint of tea. I would have remade it but had purchased only enough fruit for one attempt!
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