Irish Potato Bread with Butter (Print Version)

Soft, golden potato bread pan-fried to perfection and served warm with creamy butter. A traditional Irish favorite.

# What You’ll Need:

→ Potatoes

01 - 1 lb floury potatoes, peeled and quartered

→ Dairy

02 - 3.5 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus extra for serving
03 - 1/4 cup whole milk

→ Dry Ingredients

04 - 1 cup all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
05 - 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
06 - 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

# Steps:

01 - Boil the potatoes in salted water until fork-tender, approximately 15 minutes. Drain thoroughly and return to the pot to steam off excess moisture.
02 - While still hot, mash the potatoes until smooth and lump-free.
03 - Add the butter and milk to the potatoes, mixing well.
04 - In a large bowl, combine the flour, salt, and baking powder. Add the warm potato mixture and gently mix to form a soft dough.
05 - Turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead briefly until smooth. Pat or roll out to approximately 1/2 inch thickness.
06 - Cut the dough into 8 triangles or rounds.
07 - Heat a non-stick skillet or griddle over medium heat. Cook the bread slices in batches, approximately 3 to 4 minutes per side, until golden and crisp.
08 - Serve warm, generously spread with butter.

# Expert Tips:

01 -
  • The contrast between the crispy golden exterior and the soft, fluffy interior creates a texture thats impossible to resist, especially when the butter melts into all those little nooks.
  • Its remarkably forgiving for beginners, letting you feel like a proper Irish cook even if youve never attempted anything like it before.
02 -
  • If your dough feels too wet and sticky, resist the urge to add lots more flour, as I once did, which resulted in tough, dense bread instead of the light texture were after.
  • The potatoes absolutely must be warm when mixing everything together, or the dough wont come together properly, a lesson I learned one busy morning when I tried to use leftover cold mashed potatoes.
03 -
  • The ideal potato for this bread has a floury, dry texture, and I discovered that letting the cooked potatoes steam dry in their own residual heat for 5 minutes before mashing creates a significantly better texture in the final bread.
  • Cast iron skillets give the absolute best crust, developing those perfect little crispy spots that make each bite interesting, though any heavy-bottomed pan will work in a pinch.

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