Potato Bread (Farls) - Eagle Eye Produce (2024)

FAQs

What country is potato bread from? ›

Potato bread has been a staple in Ireland for centuries, not only because of the amount of potatoes we ate pre-Famine, but also because Ireland was not a great place to grow soft wheat due to the weather. Boiled potatoes can be mixed with any flour to make a rough potato patty that can be cooked in a pan or on a range.

Potato Farls is just mashed potatoes kneaded with some flour, butter, salt, and pepper, then fried up into tasty little pieces, making them the perfect recipe for the day after Thanksgiving!

Potato bread is a form of bread in which potato flour or potato replaces a portion of the regular wheat flour. It is cooked in a variety of ways, including baking it on a hot griddle or pan, or in an oven.

Potato farls originated in Ireland as a way to use leftover mashed potatoes from dinner the night before. Using leftovers makes this dish quick, easy, and delicious! Enjoy your St. Patrick's Day (or any day) with this recipe!

Potato bread, being made from potatoes, tends to have a higher fiber content compared to white bread, which is typically made from refined grains. Choosing potato bread can help increase your daily fiber intake and support overall digestive health.

Because potatoes contain potassium, the buns rise quicker than those breads with only wheat inside. The moist texture comes from the potato starch and its ability to absorb more water. The potato also gives it a longer shelf life, as the starch molecules protect it from going stale.

: a small thin triangular cake or biscuit made especially with oatmeal or wheat flour.

The "griddle cakes", "griddle bread" (or soda farls in Ulster) take a more rounded shape and have a cross cut in the top to allow the bread to expand. The griddle cake or farl is a more flattened type of bread. It is cooked on a griddle, allowing it to take a more flat shape, and it is split into four sections.

Also known as potato cakes or scones, potato farls are made from a flour and potato dough which is rolled flat and cut into slices, ready to cook.

It seems the Irish call them Potato bread, the English call them potato cakes (Lancashire), Scottish call them potato scones (tottie scones). Irish potato bread is typically made from mashed potato, and either flour or baking soda, and is usually fried.

Why does potato bread last so long? ›

The starch molecules in potatoes contain negatively charged phosphates that deter them from recombining, and diluting flour with potato makes it harder for the wheat starches to crystallize as well. The net effect? Potato breads stay soft much longer.

Once they are golden brown on both sides take the bread off the heat and place on a wire cooling rack. Hurrah! Your potato farls are ready to eat. Pop them in the toaster and spread with butter and a grind of black pepper, and if you are feeling indulgent some thin slices of mature cheddar or smoked salmon.

In contrast, most potato bread recipes use eggs, which can affect the color of the bread (thanks to their yellow-orange yolks). Similar to potato bread, brioche and challah – which also use eggs — also often have a slightly yellow color to them.

It depends: adding potatoes to bread dough increases the potassium, fiber, folate, and vitamin E, along with smaller amounts of zinc, iron, calcium, and magnesium compared to regular white bread. However, potato bread is often made with a lot of butter, sugar, and milk.

The Rich History of Potato Gratin

Potato Gratin, also known as “Gratin Dauphinois,” hails from the Dauphiné region in southeastern France. It was created as a hearty peasant dish, relying on readily available ingredients like potatoes, cream, and cheese.

So, what is bread? Basically, it's a paste of flour and water, cooked over or surrounded by heat. According to history, the earliest bread was made in or around 8000 BC in the Middle East, specifically Egypt.

But the potato, like the Catholic Church, is an import to Eire—potatoes are actually Peruvian, from thousands of years back, and didn't make their way to Irish soil until the late 1600s.