Tea loaves and breads, in their traditional form, are one of the easiest things to bake – just a handful of ingredients, no fat, lots of tea-soaked dried fruit and a little spice. This vegan bara brith, adapted from a traditional Welsh recipe, sticks to the rules. Almost.
To bind the ingredients and ensure a good, moist texture, I’ve used a purée made from dried apricots and maple syrup. Natural, unsulphured apricots, which have a darker colour and warm toffee flavour, work really well in this instance. They’re available in health food shops and you can sometimes find them in supermarkets. The more readily available (light orange) variety can be used, though, if you can’t get hold of the natural ones.
The inclusion of maple syrup and apricots alongside all the soaked fruit make this an exceptionally juicy tea loaf.
Historically, bara brith would have been made with yeast, but most versions these days, like this one, are made with baking soda or self-raising flour.
The spice mix is a matter of personal taste. I have added extra cloves to a standard shop-bought mix for a bit more character (and because cloves are so good for you).
Bara brith is lovely on its own, spread with vegan butter/margarine and even toasted or grilled.
vegan bara brith…
ingredients
- 350 g mixed dried fruit (eg, raisins, sultanas, currants and orange/lemon peel)
- 250 ml strong black tea
- 35 g dried apricots (preferably natural/unsulphured)
- 50 g maple syrup
- 190 g self-raising flour
- 2 tsp ground mixed spice
- 1/2 tsp ground cloves
- 20 g dark brown sugar
- optional – 1/2 tsp margarine and 1/2 tsp maple syrup to glaze
method
- Soak the dried fruit, except the apricots, in the tea for at least four hours or overnight. (Make the tea extra-strong, using three tea-bags, and top the quantity up to 250 ml after you remove the bags.)
- Separately, soak the apricots in 50 ml of hot water.
- When you are ready to make the loaf, set the oven to 170°C/340°F and oil or line a standard loaf tin.
- Sift the flour and spice into a large bowl and add the sugar. Whisk the dry ingredients together to ensure everything is evenly distributed.
- In a small blender/processor, purée the apricots, including their soaking water, with the maple syrup.
- Tip the soaked fruit into the dried ingredients, including any tea that has not been soaked up. Then pour/spoon in the apricot purée, and stir the whole lot, turning it over with a large spoon until everything is thoroughly combined.
- Transfer the mixture to the tin and level the top before baking for up to an hour and a quarter. Test with a skewer to ensure it is cooked through. To glaze, remove the loaf five minutes before the end and brush the top with the melted margarine and syrup mixture, then return to the oven to finish baking.
- Allow the loaf to cool before removing from the tin and slicing. It will also store well, wrapped up.
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