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Monday, November 26, 2007

HOT POTATO!

This month has both been fast and slow at the same time. I can't believe it is almost December! My favorite month! :-D which also means that it is time to reveal Novembers Daring Bakers Challenge - completed I might add. This month hosted by Tanna from My Kitchen In Half Cups


Our wondrous recipe this month was : Tender Potato Bread
When I saw this, I had definite mixed feelings about this little gem (though little it was not). I have the most massive amount of passion for baking breads. It's what I live to do BUT! I have not had luck with potato in bread before. I've only tried one time, and that one time was enough to make me not want to do this again by my own will. So I was more than a little hesitant about it, but was amazed that I didn't need all that much flour to make it less sticky. I have to say though that I found this bread more enjoyable the day after it was baked.
We were allowed to put whatever toppings we wanted, so I went searching in my cupboard for anything I could use to make it more appealing. I made rolls in a 9 inch pan, topping it with mozzarella cheese and poppy seeds. I served this with some homemade vege soup I made.
Here it is pulled apart, yummy yummy yummy!!! Kinda drooling remembering how moist and tender the crumb was. :-D
I also made a cheddar and mozzarella potato loaf too. I guess I should've rolled it up a little tighter so that there isn't a crater inside my bread. lol. Now I know. It must've been good because my husband asked me to make it again ;-) Another mission down. This is a keeper!
Tender Potato Bread(from Home Baking: The Artful Mix of Flour & Tradition Around the World by Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid; who also wrote Hot Sour Salty Sweet)
Ingredients:
-4 medium to large floury (baking) potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks.Tanna Note: For the beginner bread baker I suggest no more than 8 ounces of potato; for the more advanced no more than 16 ounces. The variety of potatoes you might want to use would include Idaho, Russet & Yukon gold, there are others.
-4 cups(950 ml) water reserve cooking water
-1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon salt
-2 teaspoons active dry yeast
-6 ½ cups to 8 ½ cups (1 kg to 1350g) unbleached all-purpose
-1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened1 cup (130g) whole wheat flour
Making the Dough (Directions will be for making by hand):
Put the potatoes and 4 cups water in a sauce pan and bring to boil. Add 1 teaspoon salt and cook, half covered, until the potatoes are very tender.
Drain the potatoes, SAVE THE POTATO WATER, and mash the potatoes well. Tanna Note: I have a food mill I will run my potatoes through to mash them.
Measure out 3 cups(750ml) of the reserved potato water. Add extra water if needed to make 3 cups. Place the water and mashed potatoes in the bowl you plan to mix the bread dough in. Let cool to lukewarm (70-80°F/21 - 29°C) – stir well before testing the temperature – it should feel barely warm to your hand. You should be able to submerge you hand in the mix and not be uncomfortable.
Add yeast to 2 cups all-purpose flour and whisk. Add yeast and flour to the cooled mashed potatoes & water and mix well. Allow to rest/sit 5 minutes.
Note about Adding Yeast: If using Active Dry Yeast or Fresh yeast, mix & stir yeast into cooled water and mashed potatoes & water and let stand 5 minutes. Then add 2 cups of flour to the yeast mix and allow to rest several minutes. If using Instant Dry Yeast, add yeast to 2 cups all-purpose flour and whisk. Add yeast and flour to the cooled mashed potatoes & water and mix well. Allow to rest/sit 5 minutes.
Sprinkle in the remaining 1 tablespoon salt and the softened butter; mix well. Add the 1 cup whole wheat flour, stir briefly.
Add 2 cups of the unbleached all-purpose flour and stir until all the flour has been incorporated.Tanna Note: At this point you have used 4 cups of the possible 8 ½ cups suggested by the recipe.
Turn the dough out onto a generously floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes, incorporating flour as needed to prevent sticking. The dough will be very sticky to begin with, but as it takes up more flour from the kneading surface, it will become easier to handle; use a dough scraper to keep your surface clean. The kneaded dough will still be very soft. Place the dough in a large clean bowl or your rising container of choice, cover with plastic wrap or lid, and let rise about 2 hours or until doubled in volume.
Turn the dough out onto a well-floured surface and knead gently several minutes. It will be moist and a little sticky.

33 comments:

Mila said...

God!!! The muzarella cheddar made me drewallover my keybord!!! looks so yummy!!!
congratulations

Rosa's Yummy Yums said...

Wow, both breads look hyper scrumptious! Great job! I am now salivating ;-P...

Cheers,

Rosa

April said...

Your variations look wonderful!

Shawnda said...

The mozzarella and poppy seeds sounds like a great choice!

Emily said...

It looks so good! Congrats on another great challenge.
I love any form of potatoes.

breadchick said...

That stuffed bread is so wonderfully good looking! I've seen a few of those today and I'm definitely trying that next time I make this dough. Great job on your challenge this month!

slush said...

I made a cheddar loaf as well and didnt roll tight enough. BUt it tasted fantastic. Yours look ever so good. Great job! And my husband asked me to make it again too. WOO!

Peabody said...

Love the cheese oozing out of it.

Jen Yu said...

Nice job - the cheeses are a great touch to both breads. I'm sure they were delicious!

-jen at use real butter

Gigi said...

ooh, love all the cheesy bread! Great job.

Helene said...

The flatbread is out of this world, bravo!! The cratter gives me the creeps everytime I look at it...ehehehe!!

Princess of the kitchen said...

The bread looks great! Well done! I am slowly doing the rounds and checking out everyones bread. All so diffferent

Cherry said...

I love cheese and bread! This combination makes me a happy girl =D

ostwestwind said...

Your variations look wonderful, I can smell it throuth the monitor.

Unknown said...

Mila - Thanks for drooling!I have a tendency to do that also when looking at everyones foodblogs. lol

Rosa - looks like everyone is salivating at this months recipe huh? Good choice I say.

April - thanks for checking out my bread! :-)

Shawnda - Thank you. I usually overload the poppyseeds, so this time I tried not too.

Emiline - thanks! Are you gonna join? You really should, you're so creative!

Breadchick - I say you really can't go wrong with stuffed breads, except if you have a crater the size of my loaf! lol, well it still tasted yummy.

Slush - Yeah I agree, it's funny that the men really love this recipe.It's like meat and potatos, without the meat and in bread.

peabody - Cheese, it's a wonderful thing.

jen yu - yeah I'm kinda hooked on cheese lately. When I love something, I really love it till I've had too much. lol

gigi - thanks for stopping by!

Tartlette - yeah I agree, it's like it's going to suck you into this deep cave you can't get out of!

cherry - I hope everyone loves cheese and bread as much as we do. Something I can't live without for sure!

ostwestwind - Thank you! Like Emeril says, I wish they would make smell-a-vision

Sheltie Girl said...

You did a wonderful job on your bread. I like the crater too...looks like you could slice off a large chunk and fill it with something yummy.

Natalie @ Gluten A Go Go

Christine said...

Valerie, I love your version with poppy seeds, it makes it look "friendlier" somehow! I love the crumb of your bread with the small holes, but it's all uniform in the way a loaf bread should be. Well done!

My loaf had a small crater, too. I'm not sure why exactly but it was probably due to not rolling it tightly enough, I guess.

Christina She Runs, She Eats

Gretchen Noelle said...

How great that you loved the recipe! Congrats on your first DB challenge! The cheesy breads look great!

Julie said...

Oh my happy mozzapoppy bread!!! It looks so yum. I could squoosh a whole bun into my mouth. The crater bread looks good, too! I don't think you can really avoid the crater, though. I'm no bread scientist, but I think the crater happens when the cheese moisture released during baking turns into steam and makes a pocket. If I'm not mistaken, it's also how all those other little holes in bread are made--that, and the pockets that are left in there when bread is well-kneaded. I'd eat that crater bread just like that, though--so yum!

steph- whisk/spoon said...

shoot--those pull apart rolls look awesome!!

marias23 said...

Wow, what a great combination of toppings and fillings! :)

Dolores said...

I'm a little late to your party, but I'm with the others... drooling over your mozzapoppy bread.

Anonymous said...

Your fillings are interesting. I think you did a great job!

Clumsy Cook said...

The poppyseeds were delicious on this bread weren't they!! Mmmm

Robyn said...

OoooOOOoooooo! Your bread looks wonderful!

Marye said...

nice job! The crater looks like you meant it..just call it rustic and smile!
It looks fabulous.

Deborah said...

I like the crater - a little pocket of goodness!! Great job!

MyKitchenInHalfCups said...

Holy Toledo that is something of a crater! But the crumb looks lovely as does the pull apart. Pull-aparts are just fun as well as good! I'm thrilled that you enjoyed the potato bread and had a more positive experience. I'm learning to relax with the wetter doughs but it's still tempting to fight them.
Congratulations!

Tablebread said...

Beautiful bread! I love your first loaf that is truly amazing!

Bev and Ollie "O" said...

The bread and it's toppings and fillings look scrummy!

I must say that mine didn't last til the next day woth my greedy hubbie so I will have to bake again to see how it is the next day..... x

Half Baked said...

The crater looks delicious to me! great job on your bread!

Cheryl said...

Another beautiful person that believes in the blessed combination of bread and cheese. Delicious.

creampuff said...

Look at that gorgeous, cheesy centre! Well done!