A ''blaa'' , or Waterford Blaa, is a doughy, white

bread Bread is a baked food product made from water, flour, and often yeast. It is a staple food across the world, particularly in Europe and the Middle East. Throughout recorded history and around the world, it has been an important part of many cu ...

bun (roll) speciality, particularly associated with

Waterford Waterford ( ) is a City status in Ireland, city in County Waterford in the South-East Region, Ireland, south-east of Ireland. It is located within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster. The city is situated at the head of Waterford H ...

, Ireland. It is currently made in Waterford and South County Kilkenny. Blaas are sold in two varieties: "soft" and "crusty". 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. Eaten mainly at

breakfast Breakfast is the first meal of the day usually eaten in the morning. The word in English refers to breaking the fasting period of the previous night. Various "typical" or "traditional" breakfast menus exist, with food choices varying by regi ...

with

butter Butter is a dairy product made from the fat and protein components of Churning (butter), churned cream. It is a semi-solid emulsion at room temperature, consisting of approximately 81% butterfat. It is used at room temperature as a spread (food ...

, 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"). The ''breakfast blaa'' (egg, bacon rasher and sausage) is more common than the ''breakfast roll'' in Waterford. Breakfast_blaa

A combined 12,000 blaas are sold each day by the four remaining bakeries producing blaas: Walsh's Bakehouse, Kilmacow Bakery, Barron's Bakery & Coffee House and Hickey's Bakery. Of the four remaining bakeries, only two remain in Waterford City. Blaas quickly lose their freshness and are best consumed within a few hours of purchase. Some sources report that the blaa was introduced to Waterford at the end of the 17th century by the

Huguenots The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, ...

. This theory is disputed because although white

flour Flour is a powder made by Mill (grinding), grinding raw grains, List of root vegetables, roots, beans, Nut (fruit), nuts, or seeds. Flours are used to make many different foods. Cereal flour, particularly wheat flour, is the main ingredie ...

existed in the 17th century, it was not widely used until mass production of the industrial revolution. Blaas are sometimes confused with a similar bun known as a

bap BAP or bap may refer to: Food * Bap (bread), a bread roll * Bap (rice dish), of Korea People * Bap Kennedy (1962–2016), Northern Irish singer-songwriter * Bronze Age Pervert, Romanian-American right-wing writer and podcaster Music * BAP (Germa ...

; 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. On 19 November 2013, the Waterford blaa was awarded Protected Geographical Indication status by the European Commission.

References

External links

Specification Document for the Application of ‘Waterford Blaa PGI’

Recipe
{{Waterford Buns County Waterford Culture in Waterford (city) Irish breads Irish products with protected designation of origin

See also

References

External links