Sourdough Bara Brith | Welsh Fruit Loaf

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A famous Welsh fruit loaf just had a sourdough remake! A denser, chewy bread, very generously studded with dried fruit that has been soaked in strong black tea is what Bara Brith is! Lightly toasted and slathered in salted butter, it is the most amazing sidekick to a mid-morning coffee!

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Like the sound of Bara Brith? Then you'll definitely like our Cranberry and Walnut Sourdough Bread and Cinnamon Raisin Sourdough!

Welsh Cuisine: An Undiscovered Gem

It's been long due that I start cooking some Welsh delights! Neither Seb nor myself are Welsh, but since we've been living here for seven years, I feel bad that I haven't yet properly explored the culinary planes of Wales. I have long been a fan of Welsh baked goods, including Pwdin Eva, Welsh Cakes and of course, Bara Brith. Not to mention all the savoury gems, like Glamorgan Sausages and Welsh Rarebit!

One of the loveliest memories of Bara Brith was having it in a small cafe - Prospect Garden Tearooms - in the Panorama outside Wrexham. Set on a hill with lovely views stretching out miles and miles over the North Wales landscape. They have the most amazing Bara Brith there!

Whilst traditionally Bara Brith was made with yeast, these days you will more likely find yeast-free loaves made with self-raising flour. I took a traditional recipe created by one of the Great British Bake Off Contestants, Beca Lyne-Pirkis, and adapted it to be made with sourdough starter instead.

I'll admit, it's been a journey trying to make a perfect Sourdough Bara Brith. It took me no less than 10 completely failed or so-so loaves until I arrived at a recipe that I was excited to share. The amount of fruit in the dough, the use of tea instead of water, all affect the dough, the rise and the cooking time, so it certainly took me over 6 months of on-and-off experimenting but I am pleased to say that this recipe truly works.

Ingredients and Substitutes

• strong white flour: with high gluten content. Also known as bread flour.
• strong whole wheat flour: can be substituted with the same amount of white flour.
• water: using lukewarm water (instead of cold) will help the dough rise.
• active sourdough starter: 100% hydration.
• dried fruit: we used sultanas and dried cranberries, but you may use currants and dried apricots if you wish.
• strong black tea: we used Earl Gray, but English breakfast and even chai tea will work very well.
• salt.
• caster sugar: also known as castor or superfine sugar.
• butter: unsalted, at room temperature.

A Note On Sourdough Starter

A sourdough starter that is low in acid will work best. That simply means that your starter needs to be frequently refreshed prior to using it to make Bara Brith. We recommend you feed a little bit of your starter for 2-3 days in a row before using it in any enriched dough. Regular feeds will ensure both low acidity and strong yeast.

Another important thing to remember is that sourdough starter is best when used at its peak (and never once it starts to deflate unless the recipe specifies 'sourdough discard'). Once you fed your starter one last time before making pain au chocolat, leave it in a warm spot for 4-5 hours. It should double (maybe even triple in volume) in that time and you're fine to use it then. If you leave it for longer, your starter may reach its peak and then start deflating. If your starter hasn't doubled in 4-5 hours at 20-24°C, you may need to keep feeding it for a couple more days before it's fit for purpose.

How to Make Sourdough Bara Brith?

Day 1: Start in the Morning

Feed your starter early in the morning (or the night before, if that's what you're used to). Take your butter out of the fridge to soften.

Once your starter is active and has at least doubled in size (but not started to deflate), start making the dough. In a bowl of your stand mixer, mix strong white and strong wholewheat flour, water and active sourdough starter into a rough dough. Cover and leave to autolyse for an hour.

In the meantime, make 150ml of strong black tea (we used Earl Grey). Pour the tea over the dried fruit in a shallow bowl and leave to soak. If you fancy adding some spice, feel free to pop a cinnamon stick, a few cloves or star anises in the mixture.

After an hour, place the dough in your stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment (we love Kenwood). With the mixer running, add the salt and sugar, then start adding softened butter bit by bit and mix until the butter is fully incorporated (about 5-7 minutes). Tip the dough into a lightly greased bowl, cover and leave for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, drain the dried fruit, discarding the tea used for soaking. Squeeze any extra moisture out of the fruit. Add a third of the fruit to the top of the dough and press down so that it sticks. Stretch and fold one corner of the dough into the middle. Then do the same with the other four corners. Flip the dough over. Scatter another third and stretch and fold the four corners of the dough into the centre again. Flip the dough over and do this once more. Flip the dough over one last time, cover and leave the dough for 30 minutes.

For the next 1.5 hours, every 30 minutes come back to the dough and stretch and fold the corners of the dough into the middle and flip it over. You should have done 4 stretch and folds in total. Alternatively, perform coil folds (easier with a sticky dough like this one). We have included a video below to show you the method, and the photos show the stretch and fold method.

After the last fold, let the dough rest in a covered bowl for 3 - 4 hours. 

Using a pastry brush or your hands, grease a 2 - 3 lbs loaf tin with oil and generously sprinkle with flour.

Tip the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and using your hands stretch it out into a rectangle, the width of your loaf tin. Roll the dough tightly starting from the shorter edge. Pop the dough in the prepared tin seam side down. Loosely cover with oiled clingfilm and pop in the fridge for a few hours (but at least 1 hour).

*** This is done to cool the dough and slow the proving process, as I will then leave it to prove overnight. If you want to bake it the same day, don't fridge it, just leave it to double in size at room temperature for 3-5hours***

Take the dough out of the fridge just before you go to bed and leave it in a cool spot overnight (but no more than 8 hours). Try and find a spot in the house that's about 17°C overnight. If your house is much warmer, reduce the amount of time it stays out, but make sure you leave enough time for the dough to prove as it will need quite a while due to the amount of fruit in the dough.

Head to our dedicated article about How To Know When Your Sourdough is Done Proofing to learn more.

Day 2: First Thing in the Morning

Preheat the oven to 220°C Fan. Take the oiled clingfilm off of the dough. Bake the Sourdough Bara Brith in the centre of the oven for 17-20 minutes, until it is deep golden brown. Then reduce the temperature to 180°C, cover the loaf with tin foil and carry on cooking for another 20-25 minutes.

Once baked, the internal temperature of the loaf should be 93-96°C. transfer the loaf onto a cooling rack and leave to cool completely before slicing. Serve slathered with salted butter!

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Other Delicious Sourdough Recipes

We love baking with sourdough. If you are looking for more ideas for your next sourdough adventure, why not try our:

• Strawberry Sourdough Bread Loaf
• Sourdough Yorkshire Puddings
• Rustic Seeded Sourdough Bread Recipe
• Sourdough Baguettes
• Sourdough Apple & Cinnamon Buns

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