What’s so spooky about Irish barmbrack?

Many of my Irish friends grew up carving turnips to ward off evil spirits at Halloween because pumpkins were not readily available in Ireland until recently.

While they didn’t have pumpkins, they did have the tradition of bairin breac or barmbrack, speckled bread in Irish. A sweet, yeast bread flecked with raisins, barmbrack is bought more than baked in Irish homes now. But, with a little planning, making it at home yields exceptional results.

In farming communities throughout Europe, including Ireland, leftovers were folded into bread to economize. This one uses grated parsnips, but you could easily substitute leftover mashed potatoes for added moisture and flavor.

Here the added parsnips develop the dough into light, fluffy bread studded with raisins. Many of my friends were surprised that parsnips were added, which are a very common vegetable in Ireland, but people of a certain age assured me that their mothers always added a handful of shredded parsnip or last night’s leftover mash.

Tucked into the bread just before the last rise, the baker traditionally adds a dried pea (not marrying that year), a matchstick (unhappy marriage), a piece of cloth (poverty/bad luck), a coin (wealth) and a ring (first to wed that year). It’s advisable to wrap each token in wax paper for baking. As you cut into the barmbrack, everyone gets a little excited to see who gets the ring, especially the children.

This bread is divine when it’s sliced and served with butter or toasted for breakfast.

Bairin Breac

1 medium potato, cooked until tender, plus reserved 1 1/2 cups of cooking water

1 tablespoon butter

1 1/2 tablespoons dry yeast

1/3 cup sugar

5 to 5 1/2 cups all purpose or bread flour

2 teaspoons salt

2 eggs

1/4 cup vegetable oil

3/4 cup raisins

1/2 cup dried currants

1 cup grated parsnip

Peel and cut potato into chunks. Mash the potato with butter until smooth. Set aside to cool.

In a large bowl, measure the yeast and a pinch of sugar, and add the potato water cooled to 105 to 115 degrees. Stir to dissolve and let sit 5 minutes. Add the sugar, mashed potato, and 1 cup of flour into the bowl. Beat until smooth and set aside at room temperature until bubbly, about an hour.

Add salt, eggs, oil, and one more cup of flour to the batter and beat until smooth again. Add raisins, currants and parsnip; stir to combine. Add the remaining flour a 1/2 cup at a time until the dough clears the side of the bowl. Do not add too much flour or it will make the dough tough. Knead in a mixer or by hand for 2 minutes until the dough is springy and soft. Add a drizzle of vegetable oil to the bowl and coat the dough in the oil and cover with a tea towel to let rise until doubled for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Turn dough out on work surface and shape into loaves and drop into oiled loaf pans. Cover with the tea towel again and let rise for an additional 45 minutes. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees 25 minutes before baking. Bake for 30-35 minutes until it sounds hollow when tapped. Remove to cool.

Notes: This dough also make delicious rolls that freeze well for a quick breakfast. Raisins will fall out; push them back in. You will thank me. Start this bread on a weekend morning and eat it by the afternoon.