Summary

Recipe Story

While the recipe calls for this one to be baked in the oven, this is a recent development: Irish kitchens didn't usually have ovens until the late nineteenth century, so stampy in its most authentic form would have been either a griddle bread, or would have been baked inside a covered pot either hung over the coals of the kitchen fire, or resting in them. Making stampy is a little labour-intensive -- grating the potatoes and letting their starch settle out takes a while -- but the result is worthwhile. Stampy cakes hot out of the oven and slathered with butter are rich and flavorful. Speaking of butter why not splurge on Irish butter?

Ingredients

How to make Stampy-Irish Potato Bread

Peel and grate the raw potatoes; transfer them to the center of a clean tea towel, and while holding the cloth over a bowl, wring hard to extract the starchy liquid. Leave this to settle until the starch separates and rests at the bottom of the bowl. This will take at least 2 hours.

Transfer the grated potatoes to another bowl.

Meanwhile mash the cooked potatoes with the butter and cream. While waiting for the starch to settle, sit the mashed potatoes on top of the grated ones in the bowl to prevent them from browning.

When the starch has settled, pour off and discard the surface liquid and add the remaining starch to the mashed and grated potatoes, mixing well.

Season with salt and freshly ground pepper.

Preheat the oven 400F.

Mix the caraway seeds through the sugar and add these to the potatoes.

Sift the flour and mix this in to make a soft pliable dough.

Turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead lightly.

Place on a preheated baking sheet and cut into 8-16 slices.

Bake for 35-40 minutes.

Serve hot with butter.