Stay Tuned

Rankin' Rankin

We don't know where Paul Rankin gets the time to do all the things he does. A pair of restaurants to run, appearances on the telly, a new series of Gourmet Ireland in the pipeline, and now here is a new range of Rankin Selection breads, baked by Irwin's of Portadown in County Armagh, and available through Dunne's Stores.

The good news is that these are traditional Irish breads - soda farls, fadge (potato bread), brown soda and stoneground wheaten bread, rather than some rinky-dink Mediterranean imposters with semi-dried tomatoes shoved into them. And the soda farls and fadge are good breads, with a true Northern Irish typicity, the sort of breads that are always enjoyable. The brown soda and wheaten breads are less interesting than these two, and whilst well-made they are underwhelming on the flavour front. But do try these potato breads, which cry out for some smoky bacon and a freshly fried egg.

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