Waterford Blaas

Although I definitely have a recipe arsenal of Old Faithful bread recipes, I still like to experiment with new ones every so often, particularly if I’ve never heard of them before, they come from a different place/culture, and they’re seasonal.

Today’s post/recipe checks all of those boxes.

I’m not Irish or of Irish descent, and I don’t cook a lot of Irish/Gaelic-descended food, so it’s little wonder that I had never heard of Waterford Blaas until very recently.

If I’m being completely honest, I had to google it just to learn how to pronounce the last part.

Blaa, is an Irish slang word for bread that has origins in a port city in south-east Ireland called Waterford. I’ve never been there before, but the pictures make it look like a pretty nice place.

After today, I can confirm that they certainly know a thing or two about making bread.

Waterford Blaas are a roll that has a distinctively strong crumb, thanks to the use of strong/bread flour in the dough. The exterior is either very soft or crusty and finished with a light dusting of flour, while the inside is slightly chewy. In Ireland, they’re typically eaten at breakfast with butter and jam the way scones and biscuits are typically eaten for breakfast here in the US.

The ingredients for blaas are very sparse and simple: yeast, flour, water, salt and sugar. I had all on hand in the house yesterday, so I randomly decided to give them a try. The process was very simple and similar to a lot of other yeast breads with a few exceptions.

The first is that the dough requires three proofings in total, whereas a lot of other yeast based recipes only need two. This gives the gluten in the dough enough time to relax and create the blaas’ soft and chewy texture on the inside.

I can tell you, the extra step and wait is definitely worth it.

Today happens to be St. Patrick’s Day, so that checks the final box and also makes these a perfect seasonal bake that’s easy to put together, and delicious to eat whether for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or a snack.

Waterford Blaas

Recipe Adapted from Bake from Scratch

Ingredients

5¼ to 5½ cups (667 to 699 grams) bread flour, divided, plus more for dusting
4 1/2 teaspoons (28 grams) active dry yeast*
3¾ teaspoons (11.25 grams) kosher salt
1 tablespoon, plus 1¾ teaspoons granulated sugar, divided
1⅔ cups (400 grams) hot water (120°F/49°C to 130°F/54°C)

Directions

Pour the water into a medium sized bowl, and sprinkle the active dry yeast on top. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of the white sugar on top of that and allow to sit for ten minutes, until proofed and frothy.

In a large bowl, combine the proofed yeast-water mixture, the salt, the remaining sugar and 3½ cups (445 grams) of the flour, using a handheld mixer with the dough hook (or a standing mixer with the dough hook attachment), beating until combined.

Continue to add as much flour is necessary, beating at low speed until dough is relatively smooth and elastic and pulls away from sides of bowl, 6 to 8 minutes.

Turn out dough onto a clean surface, and shape into a ball.
Lightly oil a large bowl. Place dough in bowl, turning to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free place (75°F/24°C) until doubled in size, 30 to 40 minutes.

Punch down dough; cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free place (75°F/24°C) until nearly doubled in size, about 30 minutes.

Spray a 13×9-inch rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray. Line bottom of pan with parchment paper. Very lightly dust parchment with flour.

Punch down dough; let stand for 10 minutes. Turn out dough onto a clean surface, and divide into 12 portions (about 89 grams each). Shape each portion into a rectangular strip, then fold over both ends of the strip, so that it forms an oblong-ish dough ball.

Place dough balls, seam side down and evenly spaced, in prepared pan. Gently flatten each into a 21⁄2- to 3-inch round. (It’s OK if dough rounds shrink slightly and become more rounded again afterward.) Cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free place (75°F/24°C) until doubled in size, touching, and hold an indentation when poked, 40 to 50 minutes.

Preheat oven to 425°F (220°C).

Using a fine-mesh sieve, dust tops of rolls with flour.

Bake until golden brown and an instant-read thermometer inserted in center registers 200°F (93°C), 15 to 18 minutes, loosely covering with foil during final 6 to 8 minutes of baking to prevent excess browning.

Let cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes