Georgina Campbell
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Situated just off the Newport Road and near the riverside walk linking Hotel Westport and the Demesne to the town, Pat O’Reilly’s popular bakery is handier to the town centre than it seems – and when you get there it feels like landing into an aromatic Parisian favourite, and what a lift that is.
Sourdough bread is the speciality and Cornrue has a dedicated following of locals who pop in to collect a loaf or two – and fans also include appreciative chefs and restaurateurs (including the wonderfully scenic Misunderstood Heron food truck/café out at Killary Harbour) who are proud to support this flavoursome local treat and shout it out on their menus.
Cornrue is listed with Real Bread Ireland a fast-growing network of like-minded bakers that encourages home baking and provides a very useful reference for discerning shoppers who value the special qualities of bread made simply with flour, water and fermentation (yeast or natural fermentation) and salt.
So this may not be the place to find traditional Irish soda bread, which does not come within the definition because it contains the chemical raising agent, bicarbonate of soda. But plenty of other delicious loaves do qualify for the ‘Real Bread’ title, including Sourdough Rye, Sourdough Granary, Multi-seed Wholemeal Spelt, White Farmhouse, Walnut and Cinnamon Stick and Foccacia among others, so plenty to try until you settle on a favourite.
Cornrue is also a member of The Gourmet Greenway, a food trail devised by the Mulranny Park Hotel and local producers to highlight the diversity and quality of food producers along or near the Great Western Greenway. Following the Gourmet Greenway is a great introduction to the region, as seen through food, and the Mulranny Park offers Gourmet Greenway Getaways to prove the point.
