This post was originally published on February 22, 2018.

Aren’t potatoes one of the most wonderful vegetables?  They can be used in so many recipes–even bread!  You might think that potato bread always has yeast in it, like this overnight version, but that’s not the case.  You can have potato bread on the table in just over an hour with this Irish boxty bread recipe. 🥔

What is boxty bread?

Boxty bread is a classic Irish potato bread that looks very similar to soda bread.  It’s just as easy to make as soda bread, and tastes even better, in my opinion.  The texture of this bread 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 boxty made of?

Boxty bread is made from mashed potatoes, grated potatoes, flour, salt, baking powder, butter, and milk.  Using both mashed and grated potatoes gives this bread a lot of moisture and an interesting texture.

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

What do you eat potato bread with?

• Serve potato bread with butter, jam, or honey.
• Toast potato bread 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 Bread

• Keep leftover boxty bread 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 Boxty Bread

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.  This will prevent the bread from having too much liquid in it.  (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 bread 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 the boxty bread 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 bread recipe today! 👍

Pro Tips

• Use an all-purpose potato, such as russet, for this bread.
• Be careful to wring out as much liquid as possible from the grated potato and measure it accurately.  Adding too much grated potato will make the loaf will be doughy.
• Score the bread in an X almost all the way through.  This allows the heat from the oven to penetrate the inside of the bread, helping it cook properly.
• Let the boxty bread rest for 10 minutes or so while the oven is preheating.  This helps the baking powder work better.
• Allow the boxty bread to cool before eating.

Enjoy these other delicious breads this St. Patrick’s Day!

• Oregano Onion Soda Bread: a moist, savory loaf of Irish soda bread.
• Waterford Blaa Buns: a traditional Irish bun used for a chip butty sandwich.
• Overnight Potato Bread: start the dough for this moist and fluffy bread the night before.

The pleasure of a 5-star review for this boxty bread would be greatly appreciated.

Irish Boxty Bread

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• Author: Emma
• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Cook Time: 40 minutes
• Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
• Yield: 1 small loaf
• Category: Bread
• Method: Baked
• Cuisine: Irish

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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 bread 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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Ingredients

• 1 cup plain mashed potatoes (200g)
• 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour (200g)
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon fine salt
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted (55g)
• about 1/3 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 bread rest for about 10 minutes on the counter while the oven is preheating to 400 F.
6. Bake the bread 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.  Boxty bread tastes best warm and spread with butter.

Notes

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

Keywords: irish, potato