Luck of the Irish: Paddy the Baker
When Paddy Winston and his wife and five kids arrived in Sydney two and a half years ago from Ireland, little did they know that Paddy was destined to become a successful baker.
Paddy had run an advertising business in Dublin, but once the economic crisis hit, the family decided to pack up and move to Australia.
It didn’t take him long to notice that Sydney lacked good quality traditional Irish breads.
“I took some time off, then set about baking from my home in Bundeena,” he says. “My mother taught me. I always envied my mother’s cooking skills as a kid.
“All the breads are made from natural ingredients,” says Paddy. “There’s no yeast. The raising agent is a mixture of buttermilk and bi-carbonate which means you don’t get that swelling effect you often get with yeast. It helps you live longer by reducing cholesterol and blood pressure and it’s low GI.
“And the kids will love it, just don’t tell them it’s so healthy!”
The most popular in the range is the traditional soda bread (with the cross in the top). This is the most common bread in Ireland, developed in the 1840’s using bi-carbonate of soda instead of yeast as it was cheaper and more available. Its shape comes from being cooked in a skillet and the cross on top was to let the fairies out.”
A one kilo loaf sells for $10, but as Paddy points out, its density means it is both nourishing and satisfying.
“And it freezes well,” he adds.
I first discovered Paddy’s breads at the Northside Markets a couple of years ago when he was still baking fresh daily from his home in Bundeena. So successful has he been, that he re-located to a shop- front on the Kingsway at Miranda last July; and he’s also opened a wholesale bakery down the road.
“I started with 500 – 600 loaves a week,” he says. “And now we’re baking thousands a week, including a range of excellent sourdoughs made by my partner Wade Younger.”
Starting with traditional brown brown/wheaten bread, Paddy’s range has grown to include a Healthy Spelty Soda, Paddy’s Posh & Seedy, Spotted Dick, Potato breads, Soda Farls.
“Paddy’s Spotted Dick is the one your granny used to make and you would be picking out the sultanas when she wasn’t looking,” he says.
“ Tatti Scones, potato cakes or potato farls whatever you call them they’re yum! Serve them with your bacon and egg and your hangover will instantly lift.
“Paddy’s Posh & Seedy is a bread to show off to the neighbours. Serve it at your next get together and elevate your social standing. Some treacle gives it a richness and pumpkin and sunflower seeds make it seedy. Wade’s Guinness and Rye sourdough is proving very popular.”
“Paddy’s Soda Farls are Irish fast food. They’re flattened and cooked on a griddle so you have something to serve an unexpected guest. Or you can serve them fried as part of an Ulster Fry or just toast them and serve them with a nice jam.”
Or a cup of green tea – for St Patrick’s day.
Postscript: According to the Irish Nobel prize-winng poet Seamus Heaney, “…Patrick wasn’t ever a spiritual figure for me. He was a creature of legend, the man who lit the fire on the Hill of Slane and challenged the Druids, the man who banished the snakes, a figure who appeared on banners on St Patrick’s day.” (from Stepping Stones – Interviews with Seamus Heaney by Dennis O’Driscoll).
Paddy the Baker’s Irish Breads
I first discovered Paddy’s breads at the Northside Markets a couple of years ago when he was still baking fresh daily from his home in Bundeena. So successful has he been, that he re-located to a shop- front on the Kingsway at Miranda last July; and he’s also opened a wholesale bakery down the road.
“I started with 500 – 600 loaves a week,” he says. “And now we’re baking thousands a week, including a range of excellent sourdoughs made by my partner Wade Younger.”
Starting with traditional brown brown/wheaten bread, Paddy’s range has grown to include a Healthy Spelty Soda, Paddy’s Posh & Seedy, Spotted Dick, Potato breads, Soda Farls.
“Paddy’s Spotted Dick is the one your granny used to make and you would be picking out the sultanas when she wasn’t looking,” he says.
“ Tatti Scones, potato cakes or potato farls whatever you call them they’re yum! Serve them with your bacon and egg and your hangover will instantly lift.
“Paddy’s Posh & Seedy is a bread to show off to the neighbours. Serve it at your next get together and elevate your social standing. Some treacle gives it a richness and pumpkin and sunflower seeds make it seedy. Wade’s Guinness and Rye sourdough is proving very popular.”
“Paddy’s Soda Farls are Irish fast food. They’re flattened and cooked on a griddle so you have something to serve an unexpected guest. Or you can serve them fried as part of an Ulster Fry or just toast them and serve them with a nice jam.”
Or a cup of green tea – for St Patrick’s day.
Postscript: According to the Irish Nobel prize-winng poet Seamus Heaney, “…Patrick wasn’t ever a spiritual figure for me. He was a creature of legend, the man who lit the fire on the Hill of Slane and challenged the Druids, the man who banished the snakes, a figure who appeared on banners on St Patrick’s day.” (from Stepping Stones – Interviews with Seamus Heaney by Dennis O’Driscoll).