Saint Patrick’s day is coming soon. In my last post I showed how to make Irish Sausage. Here is the post for the rest of my Irish breakfast, Boxty Bread.
Boxty is an Irish potato pancake. Unlike potato pancakes I am used to, Boxty is based on mashed potatoes and is a finer pancake than grated potatoes make.
I took a trip to Ireland on my retirement and I had Boxty and quite enjoyed it. Then one of the bed and breakfasts we stayed at served Boxty Bread. It was a bread made out of biscuit ingredients, mashed potatoes and grated potatoes. I had never had anything like it. Obviously it is a perfect addition to my Irish breakfast.
I started by preheating the oven to 400 F (205 C).
I mixed:
- 375 ml (1 1/2 cups) (195 g) all purpose flour
- 12 ml (2 1/2 tsp) (10.4 g) baking powder
- 5 ml (1 tsp) (7.3 g) table salt
together in a mixing bowl.
Add 235 ml (1 cup) (210 g) mashed potatoes and 30 ml (2 tbsp) melted butter and mix to combine.
Grate 235 ml (1 cup) (215 g) of potato.
Put it in a seive or colander and press as much liquid out as possible. Mix the potato into the dough.
Gradually add 125 ml (1/2 cup) of milk and mix into a loose dough.
Knead the dough several times until well mixed. Form into a circle and put on a baking sheet sprayed with baking spray.
Cut the dough almost all the way through at right angles. This quartered loaf is called a farl.
Bake for 40 to 50 minutes until the loaf is well browned and the internal temperature is over 203 F (95 C).
Let sit for 5 minutes and serve warm. It can be toasted or reheated for later service.
I served it with Irish Sausage. I also toasted some leftovers and had it with apple butter.
The Verdict
This is hard to describe. I will start with the flavour. It tastes a lot like a very tasty soda biscuit. The nice crust of the bread is similar to a biscuit and the baking powder gives a touch of tart. However, that is the end of the similarity to a biscuit.
The texture is heavy and rich like an old fashioned potato bread.
This combination makes the Boxty Bread versatile. It was very tasty with just butter as a side to the Irish Sausage. It would be good as a side dish to beef, stew or a soup. I have this urge to try it with Sausage Gravy.
On the other hand, the biscuit flavour went well with butter and sweet apple butter.
You haven’t tried anything quite like this. Give it a try!
The Old Fat Guy
Ingredients Instructions
3 Responses
Now, this is something that I have never even heard of David. It looks and sounds really good, so I must add it to my must-try list. Thanks!!
Thanks, Sam. It is a really different side I tried in my Irish trip. I like it for a real change.