Potato Bread

In spite of the extra time it takes to boil and mash the potatoes, we find ourselves making this bread frequently because it is such good eating.

Ingredients

1 medium-large potato, about ½ lb (225 g)

2 tsp active dry yeast (¼ oz or 7 g)

¼ cup fresh yogurt or buttermilk (¼ oz or 7 g)

1 cup hot potato water (235 ml)

2 tbsp honey (30 ml)

2 tbsp oil (30 ml) optional

6 cups whole wheat bread flour (900 g)

2 ½ tsp salt (15 g)

Step 1

Peel the potato and trim off eyes and dark spots. Rinse under running water, cut into quarters, and boil until tender. Drain, reserving the water.

Step 2

Dissolve the year in warm water.

Step 3

Blend the liquids and the potato together. If you don’t have a blender, just mash your potato and mix it in. 

Step 4

Combine the flour and salt, and mix thoroughly.

Step 5

Combine the liquids and drys. The dough will probably be a little bit stiff; depending on how much water your potato contained, it might be quite stiff. Add water on your hands as you knead for about 20 minutes, so that you end with a supple, soft, very bouncy dough.

Step 6

Form the dough into a ball and place it smooth side up in the bowl. Cover and keep in a warm, draft-free place. After about an hour and a half, gently p[oke the center of the dough about ½ inch deep with your wet finger. If the hole doesn’t fill in at all or if the dough sighs, it is ready for the next step. Press flat, form into a smooth round, and let the dough rise once more as before. The second rising will take about half as much time as the first.

Step 7

Divide into two loaves, though if you have added extra potato or if your flour is very good, or if you are a super kneader, there may be more dough than you require for the two normal loaf pans. (if you have a scale, each loaf should weigh 800 g or a little more.) Make hearth loaves—this dough makes wonderful hearth loaves—or just form the usual two loaves, plus a few rolls or buns.

Step 8

Let the loaves rise in a warm, humid place until a gentle indentation of your wetted finger fills in slowly. Traditionally, potato bread has a dusty, floury crust. To achieve this effect, dust the loaf lightly with fine flour—pastry flour is best—just. before baking. The flour will stick if the bread has been proofed in a humid place; otherwise, spray the crust lightly with warm water before dusting the loaf.

Step 9

If you make hearth loaves, slash them before putting them in the oven; the tic-tac-toe pattern, or just three parallels, works well. We usually slash the loaves in pans, too, because this bread almost always rises very well in the oven.

Step 10

Bake in preheated 350° oven for nearly an hour.

Notes

If you have leftover mashed potatoes, you can use them in the bread. Use 1 to 1 ½ cups per recipe. If there is milk, salt, and butter in the mashed potatoes, you will probably want to reduce the bread’s salt measure slightly. Leftovers may hold extra liquid, so be alert to that.

For richer flavor and a little more rise, include an egg as part of the liquid measure. Beat it into the yogurt or buttermilk before adding the water.

For a close-textured crumb, particularly pale and milk-sweet, stir six tablespoons of powdered milk in the dry ingredients. This amount of milk exceeds the maximum we generally suggest for un-scalded milk or milk powder, but the conditioning effect o the potato counteracts the effect of the milk proteins, and the bread is light, airy, and delicious.

Sweet Potato Bread

Use sesame oil for the oil measure in the bread. Roll the dough in sesame seeds after shaping the loaf. This is particularly delicious bread.