Alternative names | bla, blah |
---|---|
Course | Usually breakfast or lunch |
Place of origin | Ireland |
Region or state | Waterford |
Main ingredients | white flour |
Ingredients generally used | yeast, sugar, water, salt |
A blaa /blɑː/, or Waterford Blaa, is a doughy, white bread bun (roll) speciality, particularly associated with Waterford, 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 at breakfast with butter, [6] they are also eaten at other times of the day with a wide variety of fillings (including a type of luncheon meat often referred to as "red lead" [6]). The breakfast blaa (egg, bacon rasher and sausage) is more common than the breakfast roll in 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 the Huguenots. [3] [6] [12] This theory is disputed because although white flour existed 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 a bap; 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 awarded Protected Geographical Indication status by the European Commission. [15]
Alternative names | bla, blah |
---|---|
Course | Usually breakfast or lunch |
Place of origin | Ireland |
Region or state | Waterford |
Main ingredients | white flour |
Ingredients generally used | yeast, sugar, water, salt |
A blaa /blɑː/, or Waterford Blaa, is a doughy, white bread bun (roll) speciality, particularly associated with Waterford, 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 at breakfast with butter, [6] they are also eaten at other times of the day with a wide variety of fillings (including a type of luncheon meat often referred to as "red lead" [6]). The breakfast blaa (egg, bacon rasher and sausage) is more common than the breakfast roll in 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 the Huguenots. [3] [6] [12] This theory is disputed because although white flour existed 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 a bap; 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 awarded Protected Geographical Indication status by the European Commission. [15]