Blaa

Ingredients

Dough

• 600 gstrong white flour
• 10 ginstant yeast
• 2 tspsalt
• 1 tbspsugar
• 40 gbutter, softened
• 380 mlwarm water

To finish

• plenty of extra flour, for dusting

Directions

1. Mix the flour, yeast, salt and sugar, rub in the butter, then bring together with the warm water. Knead 10 minutes to a soft, slightly slack dough.
2. Prove 1 hour 30 minutes until doubled.
3. Knock back and divide into 12. Shape each into a loose round and flatten slightly — a blaa is soft and square-shouldered, not a tight ball.
4. Set them close together on a floured tray, almost touching, in rows of three. They should join as they prove and bake, so the sides stay pale and soft and they are torn apart afterwards.
5. Dust the tops heavily with flour — more than looks sensible. The thick white floury coating is the defining feature of a Waterford blaa and it must go on before proving, not after baking.
6. Prove another 45 minutes to 1 hour until visibly puffy and touching one another.
7. Bake at 220°C (425°F) for 18–20 minutes. They should stay pale — a blaa is barely coloured, with no crisp crust at all. Cover with foil if the tops begin to brown.
8. Cool on a rack and pull apart. Eat the same day; the blaa is famously short-lived and has protected geographical status in Waterford.
9. Split and fill with butter and cheese, or with rashers for breakfast.

Technique

• Do not bake them to a colour. Everything about a blaa runs against normal bread instincts: pale, soft, floury, no crust.
• Batch them close together. Space gives you rolls; proximity gives you blaas.
• The flour goes on before the prove so it bakes into the surface.

Substitutions

• Lard in place of butter, which is the older Waterford practice.
• Half milk, half water for a softer crumb.

Variations

• The smaller Kilkenny version.
• A soft roll baked apart, sold as a bap elsewhere in Ireland.

History

Associated with Huguenot bakers who settled in Waterford; the Waterford Blaa won PGI protection in 2013.

Frequently asked questions

What is Blaa?

Blaa is a bread & pastry from Ireland: soft white floury bread roll, split and filled for breakfast. Associated with Huguenot bakers who settled in Waterford; the Waterford Blaa won PGI protection in 2013.

How long does Blaa take to make?

Blaa takes 30 min plus 2 hr 30 min rising of preparation and 20 min of cooking. The recipe makes 12 rolls. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Blaa?

Yes, within limits. Lard in place of butter, which is the older Waterford practice. Half milk, half water for a softer crumb.

What is the most important thing to get right in Blaa?

Dust the tops heavily with flour — more than looks sensible. The thick white floury coating is the defining feature of a Waterford blaa and it must go on before proving, not after baking.