Mrs. Madeline Payne’s Potato Bread

Today I salute the Irish with a recipe for potato bread from an Irish grandmother. Daniela Payne, web editor and author of the Green Living Blog, asked her Irish grandmother to share with me one of Daniela’s favourite childhood foodie memories. This recipe is as simple and as yummy as can be. Daniela’s dad says they should be cooked in bacon fat but alas I had none on hand so I used oil and a little bit of butter for flavour and they were pretty darn good!

I’ve always seen this bread cut into rounds but I thought I would make wedges, it was easier to make one big circle and cut into wedges and I liked the look of the finished product. Daniela says the bread is “Super duper good – especially with fried eggs and bacon when hungover.” So maybe you all should make them today and eat them tomorrow – I’ve already stocked my freezer in advanced!

Madeline Payne’s Potato Bread
Warning: this was a recipe given to me in approximates – I did my best to make it repeatable but it is not “tested till perfect,” merely “made to satisfaction.”

2 potatoes, cooked and mashed (I used russets)
2 Tbsp melted butter
½ cup milk
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups flour

Mash the potatoes and add the other ingredients, mix together and turn out onto counter. Press the dough together into a ball, knead a couple of times to bring it together, but don’t over-mix the dough.

Roll it out to about 1/2 inch thickness (I just patted it out with my hands). Cut into wedges or use a biscuit cutter to cut into rounds. Heat about 1/4 cup of oil in a frying pan, when the oil is hot place the breads into the pan, cook over medium high heat for about 2-3 minutes per side. The breads should be a lovely golden brown colour.

Daniela’s tip: “You can freeze some at this point. Just defrost and re-fry. Top with SALT, like the Irish would! Enjoy.”

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