A reminder there will be no classes for our Winnipeg or Brandon Division on Wednesday, October 31st 2018 due to Halloween. We hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday!
Irish Halloween (Samhain) Traditions
This is the day we know as Halloween, a day when many Irish folk celebrate by eating traditional barmbrack bread.
From Darkness into Light
The Celts deemed that a day began in darkness and moved forwards into the light. That same impression explains the fact that in those ancient times, winter – the season of long nights – marked the commencement of a new year, a year that progressed onwards into lighter days as the seasons changed.The festival was therefore held on the 1st of November, with the celebrations beginning as the sun set the day before.
Ghostly Samhain Traditions
Many traditions still followed today clearly come from Celtic times, when large bonfires burned in an attempt to confuse any lurking spirits, and people wore disguises and masks to confuse the returning dead and stop them targeting people who they held grudges against during their lives.However, the more timid members of the community choose instead to leave out food offerings to the spirits, hoping that their kindness would appease any visiting spirits.
The Gift of Food
For some householders, the leaving out of food was specifically aimed at ghostly visitors from their own families. One popular food that has long been part of the Irish All Hallows’ Eve celebrations is brambeck (báirín breac, meaning ‘speckled loaf’ in the Gaelic, because of the raisin-dotted dough).Another ingredient that marks it out is the strong black tea that replaces more usual baking liquids.
Finders Keepers
When traditional barmbrack bread is prepared at Halloween, tradition (deriving from Samhain) dictates that certain items should be added to the dough before cooking.
These are: a coin, a ring, a piece of cloth, a pea and a stick.
Each signifies certain outcomes for the person that discover it.
The coin indicates the finder will become rich and the ring that the finder will soon marry. The piece of cloth indicates hard times, the pea suggests that the finder won’t marry in that particular year and the stick points to an unhappy marriage. While some traditionalists continue to add all these symbolic items to their Samhain-inspired Halloween Barmbrack bread, these days most people only add the ring.
It is absolutely delicious toasted and generously buttered. Because of its composition it will last for a good ten days after baking.
Traditional Irish Barmbrack Bread Recipe
Here is a recipe for Barmbrack which is delicious when served buttered. It will keep for around 10 days.
Barmbrack is best served sliced and buttered with a nice hot cup of tea. Enjoy!
Ingredients
1 tablespoon dried yeast
1 1/2 cups water? (lukewarm)
1/4 cup sugar (plus 1 teaspoon)
5 cups plain flour
1/4 cup butter
Pinch salt
1/4 cup ?mixed candied peel
1 1/4 cup raisins
2 eggs (beaten)
Gather the ingredients.
Place the yeast in the lukewarm water, add the teaspoon of sugar, stir and leave to one side.
Put the flour into a large roomy baking bowl and add the butter and salt.
Using your fingertips, rub the butter into the flour to form sand-like crumbs. Work quickly to prevent the butter becoming too warm.
Add the peel, raisins, and the remainder of the sugar to the flour mixture and stir.
Make a well in the centre of the flour mixture, add the beaten eggs and the yeast mixture.
Work the mixture together to form a soft dough.
Knead the dough on a floured worktop for 10 minutes until smooth and pliable.
Place the dough back into the bowl. Cover with a clean tea cloth and leave in a warm place until the dough has doubled in size - about 1 hour.
Return the mixture to the worktop and divide in two. Knead each half for another few minutes then form into two rounds, each approximately 7 inches in diameter.
Place on a greased baking sheet and leave to rise for another hour.
Heat the oven to 400 F/ /200 C
Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, until golden brown.
Remove the cakes from the oven and leave to cool on a rack.
The cake is lovely to eat straight away, but it can be stored in a cake tin, wrapped with a little greaseproof paper.
