The Waterford Blaa is typically served at breakfast with just butter or filled with bacon. It’s amazingly soft and fluffy and so good fresh from the oven and slathered with salted Irish butter. It can also be used to make “potato chips” or “French fry”, ham-cheese and other kinds of sandwiches.
Recipe from Karen’s Kitchen Stories
The Waterford Blaa is a large, soft, and fluffy roll that is exclusive to Waterford City, Ireland. It is also distinguished by it’s floury crust. It has achieved PGI (protected geographical indication) status, which is a big deal in the European Union. Any bread sold as a Waterford Blaa must be made by one of the certified bakeries. The origin of this bread is attributed to the Huguenots, Calvinists driven out of France in the seventeenth century and welcomed into Ireland because of the trades they brought with them. They mostly settled in southern Ireland. This bread, made with white flour, which was new to Ireland at the time, is derived from the French bread tradition. One theory is that the name is derived from the French word “blanc.”
Makes 8 large or 12 smaller rolls;
Preparation & Resting Time: ±120 mins: Baking Time: ±20 mins
Ingredients:
- 285-300g (285-300 ml) lukewarm water
- 10g (abt 1 tbsp plus ¾ tsp) dried instant yeast
- 10g (abt 2¼ tsp) sugar
- 500g bread flour (just less than 4 cups) plus more for coating rolls
- 10g (abt 1¾ tsp) fine sea salt
- 10g (abt ¾ tbsp) room temperature unsalted butter
Preparation:
- Place 285g warm water in bowl of a stand mixer and add yeast and sugar.
- Add flour, salt, and butter. Stir with a wooden spoon or a dough whisk till just combined.
- Place bowl on mixer and mix with dough hook for 10 mins, adding more water early on as needed to achieve a smooth dough.
- Place dough into an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm spot till doubled in size, abt 40-45 mins. (Dough was put in warm oven to rise.)
- Line a 22.5x30cm baking tray with baking paper.
- Remove dough from bowl and deflate it. Divide dough into 8 or 12 equal pieces (I didn’t use a scale but please do).
- Form each piece into a ball, and then press each ball with palm of your hand to flatten it into a disk. Place each disk side by side into tray (2 disks x 4 disks).
- Cover pan with plastic wrap and place it in a warm spot to rise, abt 45-50 mins.
- Preheat oven to 205C. When the Blaas are ready, liberally dust them with flour.
Bake for 18-20 mins. - Lift parchment out of tray and place the Blaas on a wire rack.
- Using a pastry brush, distribute flour that’s already on rolls evenly over the tops.
- These rolls can be served warm or cooled. Cool completely before storing.
Note:
They are best the day they are made, but are still great for sandwiches the next day. Wrap any leftovers individually in plastic wrap and store in freezer in a freezer bag for upto 2 weeks.
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