Chef Cúán Greene’s grandmother Laillí grew up in Connemara, the place she realized to bake this hearty tea bread, often called bairín breac or barmbrack in Irish. He says “breac” means speckled, applicable because the loaf is studded with tea-infused currants and raisins. A “bairín” was initially an oblong piece of wooden positioned in entrance of a horse-drawn cart’s wheels as a brake, and it’s additionally the form of the oblong loaf tin during which this brown bread is baked. Whereas his grandmother would serve it with salted butter, Greene now slices the completed loaf into thick fingers and toasts them on a charcoal grill till smokey and caramelized, then smears every with a savory miso fudge and tops with sea urchin. A wild pivot from the way in which his grandmother served it. This recipe is predicated on one she taught him.
Featured in “Our Favorite Irish Recipes for St. Patrick’s Day.”
Bairín Breac (Irish-Fashion Brown Bread)
The basic Irish accompaniment to the right cuppa.
Yield: makes 2 loaves
Time:
1 hour, 10 minutes
Substances
- 2½ cups blended dried fruit (resembling golden raisins, currants, candied citrus peel)
- 2 cups strongly brewed black tea (made with 3 tea luggage)
- 1 cup plus 1 Tbsp. darkish brown sugar
- 2 giant eggs, flippantly overwhelmed
- 3½ cups cups all-purpose flour
- 1½ tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. floor allspice
- 1 tsp. floor cinnamon
- 1 tsp. floor cloves
- Salted butter, softened, for serving (elective)
Directions
- In a medium bowl, combine collectively the dried fruit, tea and brown sugar. Cowl and put aside to soak at room temperature in a single day.
- Preheat the oven (with certainly one of its racks positioned within the backside third) to 300°F.
- Butter two 9- by 5-inch loaf tins, line every with parchment paper, and put aside.
- In a big bowl, stir collectively the eggs and the reserved fruit-and-tea combination. Right into a second giant bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, allspice, cinnamon, and cloves. Utilizing a silicone spatula or picket spoon, fold the dry elements into the egg-and-fruit combination simply till mixed. Divide the batter evenly between the 2 ready loaf tins, then switch to the oven and bake till the bread is darkish brown and a skewer inserted within the heart comes out, about 50 minutes. Cool for a couple of minutes within the pans, then use the parchment lining to elevate the loaves out to complete cooling on a wire rack. Serve heat, at room temperature, or toasted with salted butter, if desired.
