Irish Boxty Bread

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Aren't potatoes one of the most wonderful vegetables?  They add so much deliciousness to many different dishes, including this traditional Irish recipe.  This boxty bread makes a wonderful breakfast for St. Patrick's Day, or a hearty accompaniment to a bowl of Dublin coddle.

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Questions

What is boxty bread?

It's a classic Irish potato recipe that looks very similar to soda bread.  It's just as easy to make, and tastes even better, in my opinion.  The texture of boxty is quite unique, though, because it contains mashed potatoes and grated potatoes.  I love how the grated potatoes give it a little bit of a hash brown-like texture!

What is it made of?

It is made from mashed potatoes, grated potatoes, flour, salt, baking powder, butter, and milk.  Using both mashed and grated potatoes adds a lot of moisture and results in an interesting texture.

What do you eat it with?

• Serve with butter, jam, or honey.
• Toast under the broiler and serve with a hearty soup.
• Serve in an Ulster fry (eggs, sausages, bacon, fried boxty, fried soda bread, fried mushrooms or tomatoes).
• Enjoy as part of an Irish breakfast (similar to Ulster fry but also includes black and white pudding and possibly baked beans).

How to Store Boxty

• Keep leftovers tightly covered at room temperature.
• Eat within 24 hours for best freshness.
• Freeze in an airtight container or zip-top freezer bag for up to 3 months.

How to Make

Gather the ingredients: all-purpose flour, baking powder, butter, salt, milk, mashed potatoes, and 2 medium potatoes.

Dump the flour, mashed potatoes, melted butter, baking powder, and salt into a mixing bowl and blend until combined.

Quickly peel and grate the two potatoes.  Measure out 7 ounces (200g) of grated potato, discarding the remaining potato.

Wrap the grated potato in an old kitchen towel and squeeze out as much liquid as you can.  The juice is pink because the potato turns pink after being grated.

Add the squeezed, grated potato to the bowl of ingredients and stir to combine.  Gradually add in the milk until a sticky dough has formed.

Gently knead the boxty on a floured surface, then shape into a ball.

Place on a baking stone or cookie sheet and cut a deep X into the dough, cutting almost all the way through the dough.  The four quarters are called farls.

Bake at 400 F for about 40 minutes, until the loaf is a lovely golden brown.  Let it cool on a wire rack for a few minutes before serving.

You might want to try eating some boxty at breakfast or alongside a bowl of this hearty Dublin coddle.  I highly recommend that you make this delicious potato recipe today!

Pro Tips

• Use an all-purpose potato, such as russet.
• Wring out as much liquid as possible from the grated potato and measure it accurately.  Adding too much grated potato will make the loaf doughy.
• Mark it with an X almost all the way through.  This allows the heat from the oven to penetrate the dough, helping it cook properly.
• Let it rest for 10 minutes while the oven is preheating. This helps the baking powder work better.
• Allow it to cool before eating.

Recommended Tools

• Box Grater: this sharp grater makes it easy to grate potatoes.
• Paper Towels: these sturdy paper towels absorb a lot of liquid.
• Baking Stone: this round pizza stone retains the heat.
• Cooling Racks: these racks will allow the air to circulate under the loaf.

Other St. Patrick's Day Recipes

• Waterford Blaa Buns
• Irish Pub Salad
• Dublin Coddle
• Mushy Peas
• Corned Beef Pie

The pleasure of a 5-star review would be greatly appreciated.

Recipe

Irish Boxty Bread

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★★★★★

5 from 1 reviews

• Author: Emma
• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Cook Time: 40 minutes
• Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
• Yield: 1 small loaf 1x

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Description

Irish boxty bread is an easy, no yeast potato bread ready in just over an hour!  It’s a traditional Irish recipe that uses leftover mashed potatoes and grated potatoes.  You'll want to serve it for St. Patrick’s Day breakfast or dinner this year.

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Scale 1x2x3x

Ingredients

• 1 cup plain mashed potatoes (200g)
• 1 ⅔ cups all-purpose flour (200g)
• 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon fine salt
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted (55g)
• about ⅓ cup whole milk (75 ml)
• 7 ounces peeled and coarsely grated russet potatoes (200g; about 2 medium potatoes)

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Instructions

1. Warm up the mashed potatoes and place them in a medium mixing bowl with the flour, baking powder, salt, and melted butter.  Measure out the milk and set it aside.
2. Working quickly so the potatoes don't turn pink, peel and grate the two potatoes.  Squeeze as much liquid as possible out of the grated potato, then stir it into the flour mixture.
3. Gradually mix in the milk until all the flour is picked up from the bowl and a sticky dough has formed.  Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and gently knead a few times until the mixture is well combined.
4. Shape the dough into a disc and place on a lightly floured baking stone or a parchment-lined cookie sheet.  Score in a cross shape with a sharp knife, cutting almost all the way through the dough.
5. Let the boxty rest for about 10 minutes on the counter while the oven is preheating to 400 F.
6. Bake at 400 F for about 40 minutes, until the loaf is a lovely golden brown.  Let the bread cool a little on a wire rack before serving.  It tastes best warm and spread with butter.

Notes

• Russet potatoes are the best choice for boxty because of their high starch content.
• Squeeze out all the liquid from the grated potato and measure it accurately.  Adding too much potato will make the loaf doughy.
• Cut an X almost all the way through the loaf.  This helps it cook properly.
• Let it rest for 10 minutes while the oven is preheating. This helps the baking powder work better.
• Let the boxty cool before eating to give it time to finish cooking in the middle.

• Category: Bread
• Method: Baked
• Cuisine: Irish

Keywords: boxty recipe, boxty in the oven

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This post was originally published on February 22, 2018.