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A few years ago I went to beautiful Ireland for the first time as part of a press trip. I was there to explore the local cuisine, so naturally one of my first questions to a local was: “What is a truly local dish?” The answer was Irish potato bread. Now the only irish bread I knew up to that point was soda bread, which I love. But I understood from the gentleman that this particular potato bread was something else entirely.
Potato Bread or Irish potato farls
So when Ellen and I saw a Irish potato bread recipe on the breakfast menu of the hotel we were staying in, I just had to order it. What arrived in a small basket was something best described as potato cakes. Now up till this point I had never tasted traditional Irish potato bread but I was pretty sure this was not it. It was soggy, greasy and tasted bland. So quite a disappointing element of the otherwise excellent traditional Irish breakfast.
Of course I had nothing to compare it with but I did remember that lovely Irish gentleman being so proud of the Irish food. And I figured he couldn’t possibly have meant this limp excuse for a potato bread.
Paula McIntyre
As luck would have it we had an outing with Causeway foodies a day later and I told Wendy, the owner of my problem with the potato bread. She immediately enlisted the help of Paula McIntyre who is something of a celebrity in the area and two days later I had a recipe for making my own Irish potato bread in the mail box.
What you need for making the potato bread
Now if you think you need a lot of different ingredients for making a potato bread? Think again. You need no more than two ingredients. Potatoes and all purpose flour. It doesn’t get any easier than that. You can even use leftover mashed potatoes for making them I suppose, although I have not tried that myself.
You can use a potato ricer for mashing the potatoes, although I just mashed them and pressed it through a sieve. That worked fine. You add a little bit of salt and a little bit of sugar and the flour and knead it into a soft dough. That is easiest when done on a lightly floured surface or a floured board.
With skin
Officially the rules for making an Irish potato bread is that you should be boiling the potatoes with the skin on. Remove the skin after cooking and than mash them. Quite frankly I found that too much hassle so I peeled the potatoes before hand. But just so you know that that is not the official way to do it. I’m sure it adds flavor, but I thought they had plenty of flavor.
You can also some flavorings at this point if you want. Herbs or some melted bacon fat (not too much!) would be delicious.
Shaping and baking
Once you have your dough you shape it into a ball of dough and flatten it. This can be done with a rolling pin or by hand. Cut the round shape with a sharp knife into eight equal wedges. Now it’s time to bake them. You could maybe compare them to potato scones in a way. I believe they are also sometimes called tattie scones. When you’re baking them in a pan make sure to use plenty of butter (or bacon fat) to prevent them sticking to the pan.
Bake them on all sides until they are golden brown all over and serve them with some delicious butter. Let them cool down a little bit on a wire rack but eat them warm.
World of difference
Now once you’ve tasted these fresh from the pan there is no going back! it was such a world of difference from the potato bread we had at the hotel! I was sold right away. And how fun would this be to serve on St. Patrick’s day for instance?
Most important when eating this Irish potato bread is that you serve them hot. You do not want them cold as that is just not tasty at all. Reheating them could be done in a toaster so they get some of their crispiness back.
Tips for Irish potato bread
The most important thing when you’re making this potato bread is to eat them hot. You can serve them as part of breakfast as we had in Ireland. Cooled down they are really not that tasty. It’s like eating an old potato. Not what you want.
So eat them warm. With Irish butter! Or make it vegan by using plant-based butter. Not my preference but it’s certainly an option.
How to cut the potato bread
Now as you can see I cut one large ball into 8 wedges. That is one way of doing it. You can also make smaller portions and flatten each ball into a much thinner result. That makes it easier to bake to. Those are also called potato pancakes as the size and shape is the same. The Irish potato bread is know by different names anyway, but they’re all more or less the same thing.
Also if you’re making rounds, you can cut each round into quarters creating the Irish potato farls.
What flavor can you add to the potato bread
So much you can do here! Something simple like adding garlic powder is already a great different flavor. But adding grated cheese, crispy bacon, fresh herbs or whatever else you can think of is bound to be a great addition. They’re pretty flexible.
Irish potato bread
Ingredients
- 500 grams floury potatoes
- 200 grams all purpose flour
- little bit of sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
How to make the potato bread
- The official way is to boil the potatoes in their skins, then remove the skins and press the potatoes through a press or sieve. Of course, you can also use a potato masher, but make sure it’s smooth. Not too many lumps.
- Add the flour, sugar and salt and mix until combined. This is easiest if you pour it on a floured surface. Knead briefly. No more than about 30 seconds.
- Shape the dough into a ball and flatten it to about 6 inches in diameter. Cut it into 8 slices (wedges).
- Heat a frying pan with butter and fry the potato wedges until cooked and golden brown. Serve immediately with butter!
Nutrition Information per portion:
Disclaimer:
The nutritional values above are calculated per portion. The details are based on standard nutritional tables and do not constitute a professional nutritional advice.
