Potato Farls - Irish Potato Bread

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...There are two types of farls, or non-rising bread, that can be found in Ireland today. The farl is a circular flat bread that is cut into four wedges for serving, and it's the triangular shape that gives the bread its name. Last year, I posted a recipe for Four Farls that's made from the same type of dough used to make soda bread. Today, I'd like to walk you through the version of the bread that's made from potato mash and flour. This is the more practical of the two recipes because it is a great way to use leftover mashed potatoes. Yeast was not typically used in Irish kitchens of the past. The climate did not lend itself to the type of wheat usually used to make yeast breads, so cooks leavened breads with soda and kept ingredients to a minimum. Farls, of both types, were cooked in skillets on the hob, or stovetop, rather than in ovens. I'm breaking with tradition and will bake, rather than fry, the bread in order to cut back on the amount of butter that is used. The only trick to making this version of farls is the need to use day old mashed potatoes. They simply will not hold together if newly mashed potatoes are used. In Ireland, the farl may be served with soups and stews and used to mop up gravy. They are also used as the base of a breakfast dish called an Ulster Fry in which the farls are topped with things such as blood pudding, rashers, tomatoes or sausage. I used leftover Champ to make the farls I'm featuring today. That worked out wonderfully well because they are so nicely seasoned. If your potatoes are a standard mash, I recommend you add scallions for extra flavor and a bit of color. Whether they are cooked in an oven or stovetop, the farls should not be moved until their underside has browned and crusted. They taste like a cross between a biscuit and potato pancake. I really like these and make them whenever I have leftover mashed potatoes. I think you will enjoy them, too. Here's the recipe.

Potato Farls...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite

Ingredients:
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
Optional:1/2 to 1 cup scallions
1/4 cup diced cold butter + butter for serving
2 cups day old mashed potatoes
1/4 cup milk

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Liberally coat a cookie sheet with vegetable oil or butter.
2) Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl, rub in butter using fingertips until mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
3) Stir in scallions if you are using them.
4) Stir in mashed potato and enough milk to make a soft but not loose dough. Divide dough into two portions and place on a well-greased baking sheet. Pat and roll or press each portion into a 1/2-inch thick round. Mark surface into quarters without cutting completely through dough.
5) Bake for about 20 minutes or until tester inserted into center of farls comes out clean. Top will be very lightly colored but underside of farl will be golden brown. If you wish top to have more color, spray lightly with non-stick cooking spray and run under a broiler for a minute or two. Remove from oven. Cut into quarters and serve immediately. Pass extra butter at table. Yield: 8 servings.









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Four Farls - A Curiosity from Northern Ireland

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I was born to the green, but it's been years since my family celebrated St. Patrick's Day in an overt way. Those celebrations ended when my paternal grandmother, Maude, passed away. Maude was the grandchild of Irish immigrants, and was born here thirty years after the Great Hunger had ended. She was, however, raised in a community so insular that she spoke with a soft lilting brogue and retained that curious fusion of religion and superstition that some immigrants never put behind them. She attended Mass every day of her adult life and thought that the "Lives of the Saints", with it's graphic depictions of martyrdom, was the perfect picture book for children. She spoke of banshees, told of sin eaters and warned of the Dark Man's terrible wrath, but she wove these fiercesome creatures into lyrical tales of such beauty and redemption they'd make even the Irish poets weep. We learned about the "Hunger," the "Troubles," the "Drink" and the coffin ships that carried famine Irish to their deaths in the depths of an ocean they probably could not name. Only Christmas and Easter were more important than St. Patrick's Day to her. If she was staying with us for the holiday, we were expected to attend Mass before traveling downtown to see the parade and watch the Chicago river run green. There would, of course, be soda bread and colcannon and a bread pudding so soaked in Jamesons, that sobriety tests would probably be failed. Once she was gone, we put aside the trappings of St. Patrick's Day, and made a conscious decision to, instead, celebrate the Irish, and by extension, all immigrants, who braved the coffin ships to make new homes across the sea. Seven million people were driven from that island in the Irish Sea. Another million died of starvation in a passive genocide of which no one speaks. They spread across the continents and wrested something from nothing. It took some time, but they were successful where ever they chose to settle. They survived, "Irish need not apply." They endured, "Irish keep the pigs in the parlor." They triumphed and did indeed hang "lace curtains" at their windows. They even managed to put "a fine Irish lad" in the White House. In our house, St. Patrick's Day serves as a reminder of cruelty in the extreme and the capability of the human spirit to overcome, endure and triumph. Over the course of the year, I've shared many Irish recipes with you. It's fitting that the last comes on St. Patrick's Day. Four Farls is the simplest of all the Irish breads to make. I recommend it to you as an oddity that serves as a reminder of how far immigrant communities have come. I hope a few of you will try it. The Irish peasant kitchen would have used whole meal to make the bread. I recommend using cake flour should you decide to make farls. For the record, they taste a great deal like a biscuit made without shortening. They really are not bad. Here's the recipe.

Four Farls Soda Bread...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite

Ingredients:
3-1/2 cups cake flour
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1-1/4 cups buttermilk

Directions:
1) Preheat a heavy based flat griddle, skillet or frying pan over medium to low heat.
2) Whisk flour,salt and baking soda together in a medium pan. Make a well shape in center of flour mixture and pour in buttermilk.
3) Quickly mix ingredients to form a dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured board and knead to form a ball. Pat into an 8-inch circle about 1/2-inch thick. Cut into 4 pieces with a floured knife.
4) Sprinkle some flour over base of a hot pan and cook farls for 10 to 15 minutes per side, or until golden brown. Be careful not to overcook. Serve warm. Yield: 4 servings.

You might also enjoy these recipes:

(Almost) Irish Soda Bread - One Perfect Bite
Barmbrack - One Perfect Bite
Irish Caraway Crisps - One Perfect Bite