User Contributed Dictionary
Etymology
Contraction of fardel.Pronunciation
- IPA: /fɑ:l/
Noun
farl- A quarter of a thin oatmeal or flour cake.
- Any such cake or bread, now particularly used for Irish specialities as soda farls and potato farls.
See also
Extensive Definition
A farl (reduced form of the Scots
fardel) is a term used in Ireland and
Scotland
for some roughly triangular flat breads and cakes, traditionally
made by cutting a round into four pieces.
In Ireland it generally refers to soda bread and
potato bread or cakes (potato
farls). While soda bread can be made like normal breads, it is
made into farls for use in the Ulster
fry. A farl is a flat piece of bread about 3/4 inch thick with a
rough quarter circle shape.
A farl is made by spreading the dough on a
griddle or skillet in a rough circular shape. The circle is then
heavily cut into four equal pieces and cooked. Once one side is
done the dough is flipped to cook the other side.
In Scotland today the word is used less than in
Ireland, but a farl can be a quarter piece of a large flat scone, bannock or
oatcake. It may also be
used for shortbread
when baked in this particular shape.
The word may be related to fallaid in some way. However,
the Dictionary of the (Lowland) Scots
Language says that farl is a shorter form of fardel, the word once
used in some parts of Lowland Scotland for "a three-cornered cake,
usually oatcake,
generally the fourth part of a round". In Old Lowland Scots fardell
meant a fourth or quarter.