Blaa
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A blaa Template:IPAc-en, or Waterford Blaa, is a doughy, white bread bun (roll) speciality, particularly associated with Waterford, Ireland.<ref>Healy, Alison. "Waterford’s blaa roll bakers honoured in awards" Template:Webarchive, The Irish Times, Tuesday 18 November 2008.</ref> It is currently made in County Waterford and south County Kilkenny.<ref name="auto">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Blaas are sold in two varieties: "soft" and "crusty".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="BBC">Template:Cite news</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 rasher and sausage) is more common than the breakfast roll in Waterford.Template:Citation needed
A combined 12,000 blaas are sold each day<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> by the four remaining bakeries producing blaas:<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Walsh's Bakehouse,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Kilmacow Bakery, Barron's Bakery & Coffee House<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Hickey's Bakery.<ref>Template:Cite web</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>Template:Cite web</ref> This theory is disputed because although white flour existed in the 17th century,<ref name=BBC/><ref>Template:Cite web</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; 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>"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 status by the European Commission.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
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Template:Irish cuisine Template:Irish bread Template:Waterford