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Irish Tea BrackPeter FlynnI can't remember who suggested baking a brack this year, but
I went looking for a recipe that I could do in my bread machine
(a Panasonic BreadBakery). Most of the recipes said it couldn't
be done, so I had to try…I ended up with Rhonda Hetzel's recipe from her Down
To Earth blog, baking only a half-quantity as a test to
start with — only to find that it needed vastly more liquid than
given. The result below is based on that adaptation, as a brack
needs to be a fairly small loaf…you can always bake two.This produces a 1lb loaf. It's up to you whether or not you
add a ring.1 large mug very strong tea
(2 bags)500g mixed dried fruit and peel
(sultanas, raisins, currants, cranberries, cherries, and peel,
whatever proportions you fancy)1 tsp dried yeast1 tsp caster sugar½ that mug above of warm milk250g strong white bread
flour½
tsp salt2 tbsp dark
Muscovado sugar½ tsp ground cinnamon½ tsp grated nutmeg1
large egg3 tbsp melted butterSoak the dried fruit in the tea for an hour or more, then drain through a
sieve and discard the tea.Mix the yeast, caster
sugar, and warm milk and leave for
five minutes.Put the remaining ingredients, including the yeast mixbut not
the fruit, into the breadmaker and set to
White Loaf, Rapid Bake, Medium SizeLet it mix for 10 minutes, then add the fruit.Let it rise and bake.If (as Rhonda) suggests, you only use the breadmaker for
making and rising the dough, and your machine has a
raisin/nut dispenser, use it. I can't, because the Panasonic's
dispenser is far too small for this quantity of fruit; and I
had to use the Rapid program because that's the only one that
matches the requirement for one hour to rise and half an hour to
bake — the normal bake programs are far too long. For this reason,
you have to add the fruit by hand, as the Rapid program doesn't
use the raisin/nut dispenser.