Recipe - Bara Brith ( Speckled Bread)

6 ounce Dried fruit
8 ounce Dark brown sugar
One half pt Strong hot tea
10 ounce Selfraising flour
1 Egg

This is Wales' traditional rich fruit bread. South Wales makes it with
baking powder; Northerners prefer yeast as the raising agent. Either way
it's delicious.

Soak the dried fruit and sugar overnight in the tea. You can use either
fresh tea, or the cold dregs from the teapot (this gives a good strong
colour). Next day, sieve the flour and fold it it into the fruit. Mix in
the lightly beaten egg. Line a small loaftin with buttered paper then tip
in the mixture, smoothing it well into the corners.

Bake in a gentle oven at 300 F (150 C) gas mark 2 for 1 One half hours. Cool and
store for at least 2 days in a tin so that it matures moist and rich.
Traditionalists say you should never butter the Bara Brith, but Dorothy
says do, as it's lovely that way.

Source: Elisabeth Luard in "Country Living" (British), April 1989.

From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini