Editing Blaa (section)

{{Short description|Irish bread roll}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2020}}
{{Use Hiberno-English|date=December 2020}}
{{Infobox food
| name             = Blaa
| image            = Waterford Blaa, bla or blah (bread of Ireland).jpg
| image_size       = 250px
| caption          = 
| alternate_name   = bla, blah
| country          = [[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]]
| region           = [[Waterford]]
| creator          = 
| course           = Usually [[breakfast]] or [[lunch]]
| type             = 
| served           = 
| main_ingredient  = [[white flour]]
|minor_ingredient  = yeast, sugar, water, salt
| variations       = 
| calories         = 
| other            = 
}}

A '''''blaa''''' {{IPAc-en|b|l|ɑː}}, or '''Waterford Blaa''', is a doughy, white [[bread]] bun (roll) speciality, particularly associated with [[Waterford]], Ireland.<ref>Healy, Alison. [http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2008/1118/1226961466746.html "Waterford’s blaa roll bakers honoured in awards"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121009014312/http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2008/1118/1226961466746.html |date=9 October 2012 }}, ''[[The Irish Times]]'', Tuesday 18 November 2008.</ref> It is currently made in Waterford and South County Kilkenny.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://waterfordblaa.ie/|title=Waterford Blaa - Homepage|author=pixel-industry|website=Waterfordblaa.ie|access-date=23 September 2017}}</ref><ref name="auto">{{cite web |url=http://www.agriculture.gov.ie/media/migration/foodindustrydevelopmenttrademarkets/geographicalindicationsprotectednames/SpecificationWaterfordBlaaFINALVersion061014.pdf |title=Waterford Blaa Specification |website=Agriculture.gov.ie |access-date=23 September 2017 |archive-date=19 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191019085924/https://www.agriculture.gov.ie/media/migration/foodindustrydevelopmenttrademarkets/geographicalindicationsprotectednames/SpecificationWaterfordBlaaFINALVersion061014.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|title=Official Journal of the European Union|url=https://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:C:2013:134:0049:0052:EN:PDF|journal=Official Journal of the European Union}}</ref>

Blaas are sold in two varieties: "soft" and "crusty".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://hickeysbakery.ie/blaa/|title=Our Blaa - Hickey's Bakery|website=Hickeysbakery.ie|access-date=23 September 2017}}</ref><ref name="BBC">{{cite news|url=http://www.bbc.com/travel/gallery/20180205-how-waterford-blaa-changed-breakfast-in-ireland|title=The bread that changed how the Irish eat breakfast|last=Ruggeri|first=Amanda|date=6 February 2018|access-date=8 February 2018|website=[[BBC News Online]]}}</ref> Soft blaas are slightly sweet, malt flavour, light but firm in texture and melt in the mouth. Crusty blaas are crunchy at first bite, then chewy with a subtle malt taste and a pleasing bitter aftertaste from the well cooked, dark crust.<ref name="auto"/>

Eaten mainly at [[breakfast]] with [[butter]],<ref name="BBC" /> they are also eaten at other times of the day with a wide variety of fillings (including a type of [[luncheon meat]] often referred to as "red lead"<ref name="BBC" />). The ''breakfast blaa'' (egg, [[Bacon#United Kingdom and Ireland|bacon rasher]] and sausage) is more common than the ''breakfast roll'' in Waterford.{{Citation needed|date=June 2014}}
[[File:Breakfast_blaa.jpg|left|thumb|Breakfast blaa in Cork]]
A combined 12,000 blaas are sold each day<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/expo-milano-2015/cap-events/gi-win-win/walsh_en.pdf|title=The Waterford Blaa|website=Ec.europa.eu|access-date=23 September 2017}}</ref> by the four remaining bakeries producing blaas:<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2016/03/15/470417854/corned-beef-guinness-and-blaa-the-irish-bread-you-never-knew-about|title=Corned Beef, Guinness And ... Blaa? The Irish Bread You Never Knew About|website=Npr.org|access-date=23 September 2017}}</ref> Walsh's Bakehouse,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://walshsbakehouse.ie/|title=Walsh's Bakehouse Waterford: Traditional Bakery & Home of the Waterford Blaa|website=Walsh’s Bakehouse|access-date=23 September 2017}}</ref> Kilmacow Bakery, Barron's Bakery & Coffee House<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.barronsbakery.ie/|title=Barron's Bakery & Coffee Shop, Cappoquin, Co. Waterford, Ireland.|website=Barronsbakery.ie|access-date=23 September 2017}}</ref> and Hickey's Bakery.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://hickeysbakery.ie/|title=Welcome to Hickey's Bakery - Hickey's Bakery|website=Hickey's Bakery|access-date=23 September 2017}}</ref> Of the four remaining bakeries, only two remain in Waterford City.<ref name="BBC" /> Blaas quickly lose their freshness and are best consumed within a few hours of purchase.<ref name="BBC" />

Some sources report that the blaa was introduced to Waterford at the end of the 17th century by the [[Huguenots]].<ref name="auto"/><ref name=BBC/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.discoverwaterfordcity.ie/index.php?contentid=traditional-waterford-food&sectionid=history|title=Traditional Waterford Food|publisher=discoverwaterfordcity.ie|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100719001417/http://www.discoverwaterfordcity.ie/index.php?contentid=traditional-waterford-food&sectionid=history|archive-date=2010-07-19|url-status=dead}}</ref>
This theory is disputed because although white [[flour]] existed in the 17th century,<ref name=BBC/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.microsour.com/industrial.html|title=Industrial Revolution|publisher=Kaslo Sourdough Bakery|access-date=22 October 2014}}</ref> it was not widely used until mass production of the industrial revolution.

Blaas are sometimes confused with a similar bun known as a [[Bap (bread)|bap]]; however, blaas are square in shape, softer, and doughier, and are most notably identified by the white flour shaken over them before the baking process.<ref>[http://www.thejournal.ie/blaa-blaa-blaa-waterford-bap-considered-for-eu-protected-status-220687-Sep2011/ "Blaa blaa blaa: Waterford bap considered for EU protected status"], ''Thejournal.ie'', 8 September 2011.</ref>

On 19 November 2013, the Waterford blaa was awarded [[Protected Geographical Indication#Protected geographical indication .28PGI.29|Protected Geographical Indication status]] by the European Commission.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/food-and-drink/waterford-blaa-awarded-special-status-by-eu-1.1599966|title=Waterford blaa awarded special status by EU|date=19 November 2013|newspaper=The Irish Times|access-date=22 April 2016}}</ref>