Blaa
 | |
| Alternative names | bla, blah |
|---|---|
| Course | Usuallybreakfastorlunch |
| Place of origin | Ireland |
| Region or state | Waterford |
| Main ingredients | white flour |
| Ingredients generally used | yeast, sugar, water, salt |
Ablaa/blɑː/,orWaterford Blaa,is a doughy, whitebreadbun (roll) speciality, particularly associated withWaterford,Ireland.[1]It is currently made in Waterford and South County Kilkenny.[2][3][4]
Blaas are sold in two varieties: "soft" and "crusty".[5][6]Soft blaas are slightly sweet, malt flavour, light but firm in texture and melt in the mouth. Crusty blaas are crunchy at first bite, then chewy with a subtle malt taste and a pleasing bitter aftertaste from the well cooked, dark crust.[3]
Eaten mainly atbreakfastwithbutter,[6]they are also eaten at other times of the day with a wide variety of fillings (including a type ofluncheon meatoften referred to as "red lead"[6]). Thebreakfast blaa(egg,bacon rasherand sausage) is more common than thebreakfast rollin Waterford.[citation needed]
A combined 12,000 blaas are sold each day[7]by the four remaining bakeries producing blaas:[8]Walsh's Bakehouse,[9]Kilmacow Bakery, Barron's Bakery & Coffee House[10]and Hickey's Bakery.[11]Of the four remaining bakeries, only two remain in Waterford City.[6]Blaas quickly lose their freshness and are best consumed within a few hours of purchase.[6]
Some sources report that the blaa was introduced to Waterford at the end of the 17th century by theHuguenots.[3][6][12] This theory is disputed because although whiteflourexisted in the 17th century,[6][13]it was not widely used until mass production of the industrial revolution.
Blaas are sometimes confused with a similar bun known as abap;however, blaas are square in shape, softer, and doughier, and are most notably identified by the white flour shaken over them before the baking process.[14]
On 19 November 2013, the Waterford blaa was awardedProtected Geographical Indication statusby the European Commission.[15]
See also
[edit]
References
[edit]- ^Healy, Alison."Waterford’s blaa roll bakers honoured in awards"Archived9 October 2012 at theWayback Machine,The Irish Times,Tuesday 18 November 2008.
- ^pixel-industry."Waterford Blaa - Homepage".Waterfordblaa.ie.Retrieved23 September2017.
- ^abc"Waterford Blaa Specification"(PDF).Agriculture.gov.ie.Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 19 October 2019.Retrieved23 September2017.
- ^"Official Journal of the European Union".Official Journal of the European Union.
- ^"Our Blaa - Hickey's Bakery".Hickeysbakery.ie.Retrieved23 September2017.
- ^abcdefgRuggeri, Amanda (6 February 2018)."The bread that changed how the Irish eat breakfast".BBC News Online.Retrieved8 February2018.
- ^"The Waterford Blaa"(PDF).Ec.europa.eu.Retrieved23 September2017.
- ^"Corned Beef, Guinness And... Blaa? The Irish Bread You Never Knew About".Npr.org.Retrieved23 September2017.
- ^"Walsh's Bakehouse Waterford: Traditional Bakery & Home of the Waterford Blaa".Walsh’s Bakehouse.Retrieved23 September2017.
- ^"Barron's Bakery & Coffee Shop, Cappoquin, Co. Waterford, Ireland".Barronsbakery.ie.Retrieved23 September2017.
- ^"Welcome to Hickey's Bakery - Hickey's Bakery".Hickey's Bakery.Retrieved23 September2017.
- ^"Traditional Waterford Food".discoverwaterfordcity.ie. Archived fromthe originalon 19 July 2010.
- ^"Industrial Revolution".Kaslo Sourdough Bakery.Retrieved22 October2014.
- ^"Blaa blaa blaa: Waterford bap considered for EU protected status",Thejournal.ie,8 September 2011.
- ^"Waterford blaa awarded special status by EU".The Irish Times.19 November 2013.Retrieved22 April2016.
External links
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Irish breads | |
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