Irish Potato Bread (Potato Farls)

This is a short post, but this is also a really quick “bread.” Because St. Patrick’s Day is coming, I thought I would try an Irish Potato Bread. As with most breads, there are variations on this. The recipe I used—also known as potato farls--is super easy, and I would probably make mine a bit more “bread like” the next time around by adding more flour and some baking soda.

That said, farl is most likely derived from the Scots fardel and refers to a round cut into quadrants. The dough is primarily mashed, boiled potatoes with a little flour and salt.  After rolling into a round shape and cutting into four wedges, they are grilled or fried in a skillet. The flavor is kind of bland, but is traditionally dressed up with some butter, salt, black pepper, bacon, chives or a dollop of jam.

As noted, this recipe—or at least my version—reminded me more of potato pancakes or my mother’s potato patties more than bread. However, I think it would be excellent topped with corned beef and cabbage with diced carrots, or with corned beef and an egg the next morning. By the way, the dough is easiest to work with when the potatoes are freshly cooked (15-20 minutes) and still warm.  

This recipe, credited to Jane Baxter, is directly from a sweet article in The Guardian . Enjoy!

Prep time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes

Makes 8 small farls
500g floury potatoes, such as King Edward or desiree
50g butter
50g plain flour, plus extra for rolling out
¼ tsp baking powder
Salt and black pepper
Extra butter, for cooking

1 Peel the potatoes, then cut them into quarters. Cover with water in a saucepan, season with a pinch of salt and cook for about 15 minutes or until they become tender. You can check this by sticking a knife into them, it should slide out again easily. Drain well, then return the potatoes to the pan.

2 Melt the butter in a pan and add to the potatoes. Mash until smooth. For the best results, pass the potatoes through a potato ricer or mouli – otherwise, use a standard potato masher.

3 Sift the flour with the baking powder into the potato mix and stir to combine. Taste for seasoning and adjust, if required.

4 The dough should come together and away from the sides of the pan. You can add more flour if the mixture is too wet and a little milk if it is too dry.

5 Divide the dough into two halves. Form one piece into a ball, then roll it out on a floured surface and into a rough circle with a diameter of about 15 cm and a thickness of 5mm to 1cm. Cut the circle into quarters.

6 Heat a non-stick shallow frying pan over a medium heat with a little butter to grease the surface. Transfer the four pieces to the pan and cook for around 3 minutes or until golden brown. Flip over and cook the other side for another 3 minutes. Remove to a warm plate.

7 Repeat the process with the other half of the dough mix.