This sweet yeast bread is traditionally served on Halloween, St. Patrick's Day, and just on weekdays with tea and butter.

In Ireland, there has long been a tradition of placing certain symbolic inedible objects into bread dough, such as a piece of cloth, a ring, a splinter of wood, a pea, and a coin. Each person who takes a piece of bread has a chance to tell their fortune. If they find a pea, they won't have a quick wedding; if they find cloth, they'll be poor; if they find a splinter, they'll have trouble in their family life; if they find a coin, they'll be rich; and if they find a ring, they'll get married soon.

Nowadays, the tradition of putting only a ring into the dough has been preserved.

Recipe with step-by-step photos

Barmbrack

Nutritional value per serving
293 kcal
  • Proteins: 9 g
  • Fats: 4 g
  • Carbohydrates: 54.4 g
*Nutritional value is calculated per 100g of ingredients
  • Total time:
  • Complexity:
    It's easy and straightforward to prepare, but it does require some experience. Not everyone can do it right the first time.
  • Number of servings: 1

Ingredients

Servings
  • Wheat flour
    300 G
  • Egg C0
    1 pcs
  • Cane sugar
    150 G
  • Salt
    5 G
  • Baking powder
    5 G
  • Spices
    5 G
  • Raisin
    500 G
  • Tea (strongly brewed)
    400 ml

Preparation

Step 1

The night before, place the raisins in a cup and pour 300 ml of steeped iced tea over them. You can do this 3-6 hours before making the dough, but use hot tea.

Step 2

Sift the flour, spice mixture (cinnamon, coriander, nutmeg, cloves), baking powder, and salt into a deep bowl. Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Step 3

Mix everything with a whisk.

Step 4

Add the entire amount of sugar and whisk the dry mixture. Regular white sugar can also be used.

Step 5

Break the egg and stir the resulting mixture with a wooden spatula.

Step 6

Carefully strain the raisins soaked in tea and gradually add this liquid to the dough. Stir with a wooden spatula.

Step 7

Add the brewed tea (100 ml) in small portions and stir thoroughly. The consistency should be quite runny, like pancake batter. You may not need all of the tea.

Step 8

Add the raisin mixture to the resulting dough and mix gently with a spatula.

Step 9

Carefully line a rectangular loaf pan with parchment paper. Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 60-75 minutes. The wetter the batter, the longer it will take to bake.

Step 10
Irish Barmbrack Bread for Halloween - Photo

Once the bread has risen and hardened, remove it from the oven and let it cool in the pan for 20 minutes. Then, remove the bread and place it on a wire rack to cool completely.

Step 11

Cut the bread into slices, serve with tea and butter, and enjoy the unique, rich taste and aroma.

Similar video recipe: Irish Halloween Bread

This video details a recipe for Irish sweetbread with dried fruit. The recipe doesn't specify which dried fruit to use, so use your own personal preference. You can also add nuts. Another unique feature of this recipe is that instead of just steeping the dried fruit in a strong tea, you can add just 50 ml of whiskey to soak the tea, or even use whiskey entirely instead of tea. Remember, this is an Irish recipe!

The finished cooled bread can be stored tightly wrapped in foil in an airtight container for several days.

Do you know what other traditional Halloween dishes are prepared in different countries? We'd love it if you shared your favorite recipes in the comments below..