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Dish · Cork
Tripe and drisheen
Beef tripe slow-cooked in milk with onion and served with drisheen, a blood sausage. It is a traditional dish of Cork, tied to the city’s history as a meat-exporting port.
Flavors · Waterford
Blaa
Soft white roll, dusted with flour, baked in batches with the rolls touching each other. It is Waterford’s specialty, has European Union protected geographical indication status since 2013, and is usually eaten at breakfast.
Traditional dish from Waterford, Waterford
Also known as: Waterford blaa, blaas
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Blaa — Waterford, Ireland
The blaa is a white roll, soft and preservative-free, made from wheat flour, salt, yeast, dough conditioner and water, and recognized by the flour dusting on top. The rolls are shaped round and baked together, touching one another; when separated they have straight sides and a domed top, so a blaa can be round or square.
In 2013 the European Union registered “Waterford Blaa / Blaa” as a protected geographical indication. The application was made by a regional bakers’ association. Under the registration, only bread made in County Waterford and a small adjacent area of south Kilkenny may use the name. The specification describes two versions: the soft one, pale and heavily floured, with a slightly sweet, malty flavor; and the crusty one, with dark, chewy crust and a slightly bitter finish.
Local tradition links the blaa to the Huguenots, French Protestants who took refuge in Waterford at the end of the 17th century. According to this story, they baked rolls from leftover dough; the name would come from the French blanc, “white”, because of the flour on top, or from an old word for flour. There is no document proving the origin, and it is told as a tradition by the bakers themselves.
In Waterford, the blaa is mainly a breakfast and lunch bread, meant to be eaten the same day. The best-known form is the breakfast blaa, filled with bacon, sausage or other items of the Irish breakfast. It is said in the town that after midday you can no longer find blaa in bakeries.
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Where it comes from
Waterford , Waterford
The Waterford Blaa has European Union protected geographical indication status since 2013 and is the city’s breakfast bread.
Ingredients
Strong wheat flour, salt, yeast, dough conditioner and water, without preservatives. For the breakfast filling: butter, bacon (rashers), sausage or other items of the Irish breakfast.
How it is eaten
Fresh, on the same day it is baked. Split open with butter, or filled as a breakfast blaa. It also works as a sandwich bread at lunchtime.
When it is eaten
Breakfast and lunch, year-round.
Your questions
Questions about Blaa
What is a blaa?
A soft white roll dusted with flour, typical of Waterford. It is baked in batches with the rolls touching, so it can be round or square.
Is the blaa only made in Waterford?
With that name, yes. Since 2013 the Waterford Blaa has EU protected geographical indication status, which limits production to County Waterford and a small area of south Kilkenny.
How is the blaa eaten?
Fresh, the same day, with butter or filled. The breakfast blaa includes bacon, sausage or other items of the Irish breakfast.
Where does the name blaa come from?
Local tradition says the bread arrived with the French Huguenots at the end of the 17th century and that the name comes from blanc, “white” in French, because of the flour on top. There is no document that confirms it.
Flavors of Ireland
Discover other flavors of Ireland
Dish · Dublin
Dublin coddle
Stew of pork sausage, bacon, potato and onion, slowly cooked in a covered pot in a clear broth. It is the working‑class food of Dublin and appears in references to the city in the work of James Joyce.
Dish · Kerry
Kerry pie
Small lamb pie with a firm crust, traditional at the markets and festivals of County Kerry, also called Dingle pie. It was served with a little of the cooking broth and is still made for the Pattern of Castlegregory in August.