13 Days of Halloween: #11 Breaking Bread (Irish Barmbrack)

Five Points Bakery, Buffalo, NY

It isn’t clear how long Barmbrack has been around, but it has been a treasured part of Ireland’s Halloween celebration for well over 100 years. The actual Gaelic name, bairin breac, means “speckled loaf” referring to the fruits dotting the inside. The later term, “barm,” may refer to a rising agent derived from the froth of fermented ale used instead of yeast in the bread.

With Samhain being the end of the Celtic year, people were looking ahead and wondering what the next year would bring. This bread became a popular holiday fortune telling “game” as bakers added trinkets into the batter: a coin, a piece of cloth, a bean, a ring, a stick, and a pea. Many partakers hoped for the ring, which meant getting married within the year, or the coin for good luck or wealth. The pea meant no marriage next year and bean meant no money coming. The cloth also meant bad luck or poverty, and the stick would bring unhappiness or disagreements.

Here is a simple recipe to enjoy the traditional way, toasted and buttered. While many recipes call for soaking the fruit overnight in strong black tea, a little whisky can be added to amp up this treat.

Click here for the recipe. The full list of ingredients is in the video description.