Sunday, July 13, 2014

Sister Jennie's Potato Bread (Bernard Clayton)

This is such a lovely bread. I like it's soft and moist texture, thanks to the star of the ingredient, mashed potatoes. I used 2 medium-sized Russet Potatoes, which makes slightly more than a cup of mashed potatoes. If you have some potatoes in your pantry and have some spare time on a weekend, make this bread, it is really nice!


The full recipe makes two really nice loaves.


The star of the ingredient : Mashed Potatoes.

And do not throw away the water from boiling the potatoes, use it to replace the water in the recipe. I used in total 4-1/2 cups of flour and used the stand mixer to do the kneading, which took about 15-20 minutes. The dough is a little sticky, so a light sprinkling of flour is needed to prevent sticking. After the first rise, the dough is bearable to work with, as it is no longer sticky but soft. 


During baking, keep a close watch, as it will turn brown quite quickly before the bread is done baking. I tent the bread with foil at about 25 minutes after it went into the oven, and continue baking for another 20 minutes until the bread is done. I like the nice golden colour of the crust.


Lovely bread with wonderful moist texture.


And soft!


Makes the perfect sandwich bread. And great with just a spread of salted butter, don't forget that cup of coffee or tea!


Our breakfast sandwich, with ham, slices of cheese and lettuce green! Yummilicious! We even had it with Sunny Side-up Eggs made into sandwich with lettuce green and our favourite mayonnaise-mustard-tomato sauce. 


Sister Jennie's Potato Bread
(adapted from "Bernard Clayton's New Complete Book of Breads")
1 cup plain mashed potatoes (instant flakes and water are fine)
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt (I use 1/3 teaspoon, as butter is salted)
1 package dry yeast (2-1/4 tsp)
1/2  cup hot water (120F -130F) (I use water from boiling the potatoes)
4 to 5 cups bread or all-purpose flour, approximately (I use in total 4-1/2 cups)
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature

Baking pans : 2 medium (8" x 4") baking pans, greased or Teflon

In a large mixer or mixing bowl combine the potatoes, eggs, 1/4 cup sugar, salt, yeast, warm water, and 2 cups flour. Stir into a rough batter. Kneading will come later.
Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and set aside until the batter doubles in volume, 1-1/2 hours.
Meanwhile, cream the butter with the remaining 1/4 cup sugar. Set aside
Remove the plastic wrap and beat down the batter. Stir in the creamed butter and sugar. Add the balance of the flour, 1/2 cup at a time, using a wooden spoon or a mixer flat beater. When the batter gets heavy, replace the beater with a dough hook. The dough will be a rough, shaggy mass that will clean the sides of the bowl. If the dough continues to be moist and sticky, sprinkle with small amounts of flour.
Place the dough in a mixing bowl and pat with buttered or greased fingers. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave until the dough has risen to above twice its original volume, about 1-1/2 hours. You can test if it has risen by poking a finger into it; the dent will remain if it is ready.
Punch down the dough, turn it out onto the work surface again, and knead for 30 seconds to press out the bubbles. With a sharp knife, divide the dough in half. Shape into balls. Let rest under a towel for 3 to 4 minutes.
Form the loaves by pressing each ball into a flat oval, roughly the length of the buttered pan. Fold the oval in half, pinch the seam tightly to seal, tuck under the ends, and place in the pan, seam down.
Place the loaves in a warm place, cover with wax or parchment paper, and let rise to double in volume, above the edge of the pans, 40 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 375F, 20 minutes before baking.
Bake the loaves until they are golden brown, about 40 minutes. Turn the loaf out of its pan and tap the bottom crust with a forefinger. A hard, hollow sound means the bread is baked. If not, return to the oven for an additional 10 minutes. If the tops of the loaves appear to be browning too quickly, cover with a piece of foil or brown sack paper. Midway during baking and again near the end of it, shift the pans so the loaves are exposed equally to temperature variations in the oven.
(If using a convection oven, reduce heat 50 degrees).

Remove the bread from the oven. Turn out from the pans and place on a metal rack to cool before slicing.
This loaf will keep well for several days at room temperature. It will keep for 4 to 5 months at 0 degrees in the freezer.
It makes fine toast.

*************************



22 comments:

  1. Look awesome!
    I never made bread with potatoes and look amazing!!
    xo

    ReplyDelete
  2. I like to add potato puree in the bread dough too. Your bread looks very soft and moist.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi Joyce, nice potato loaf bread with golden crust and looks moist and soft. Perfect with any sandwich filling or spread ... yummy!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I loved bread made with the addition of potatoes, sweet potatoes or pumpkin mash, like you said they made the bread soft and moist. Your loaf looks awesome.

    ReplyDelete
  5. What a heavenly cake Joyce. I just love potato bread. Yours looks so yummy. I want to stick my finger in that first picture and "steal" just a morsel:) Maybe when my daughter comes to visit next month I will be able to talk her into baking me some potato bread. Fat chance, but I can dream, lol...Thank you so much for sharing, Joyce...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. HI Joyce!
      I'm so excited! I baked a chiffon cake for the Bake-Along. Could you please pop by my blog and make sure I did it correctly?

      Delete
  6. Hi Joyce, this is great. The bread looks so soft and the addition of potato mash makes it moist too. Very sedaplicious. Will bookmark this wonderful recipe of yours and will try it soon. Thanks for sharing and enjoy your beautiful Sunday with your family. Cheers :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. wow thats one beautiful bread!!!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hi Joyce, your potato bread looks amazing and beautiful! Love the brown crust!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hi Joyce,
    I love to bake with potato. I found that adding the water from boiling the potato to the dough will give a softer and nicer bread. Your bread looks so inviting with that nicely brown crust. You and your family must be so happy enjoying the sandwich with sunny side-up egg and kopi o :p
    mui

    ReplyDelete
  10. Ooh Joyce, I've never tried potato bread before. This looks like the crusty bread we can find in the stores. But I believe the moisture from the potatoes would give the bread extra softness. I like the browned crust alot too. Nice :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. I have never made potato bread, but boy does it look perfect for sandwiches and toast…I would love a slice right now with my morning tea! Lovely!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Hi, Joyce, potato bread is simply soft and delicious...

    ReplyDelete
  13. Joyce, this really looks healthy! It will be wonderful to go with a cup of coffee.
    How I wish we are neighbour, I can go over and steal a few slices for my breakfast tomorrow :P

    ReplyDelete
  14. Hi Joyce , I would love to have a hunk of that bread to spread gobs of butter and jam ... hmmmmmmm good .

    ReplyDelete
  15. hi joyce, your bread looks so light n fluffy. Makes me want to try too! I

    ReplyDelete
  16. What beautiful bread. It looks delicious. When it gets cooler, I need to give it a try. Thanks for sharing:)

    ReplyDelete
  17. Beautiful loaf of bread...it sure looks so soft...delicious!
    Have a great week Joyce :D

    ReplyDelete
  18. Woohoo. We love potato bread here. Such a treat.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Hi Joyce,

    Like your freshly made sandwich with two slices of super-soft homemade potato bread... Can't find this sandwich anywhere except at your home :D

    Zoe

    ReplyDelete
  20. Joyce, this recipe is joining a long list of bread recipes I have bookmarked. My list is getting very long hah..hah...

    ReplyDelete
  21. Joyce, your potato bread looks wonderful, delicious, airy and fluffy. For months I've been trying to learn how to bake with yeast. Nothing is working out. I'm researching and reading about working with yeast. Why is whole wheat rolls so difficult?! Last time I made spelt rolls, they were so dense and not edible. Then I made half bread flour with spelt rolls and they ended up becoming bird food for the park! I've baked for several years mostly sweet breads, cakes, muffins, cup cakes and pies with success. I don't want to give up on yeast breads. I kneaded with my KitchenAid dough hook and waited for the bread to rise, etc. Flour and yeast are fresh, I also use vital wheat gluten. The yeast I have are Red Star quick rise and active dry. I did well with pizza dough and that's with bread flour. A few days ago, I tried white whole wheat bread for sandwiches and failed. The bread was wrinkled and hard as a brick. I'll keep trying and I'll bog about this when I finally get it right, lol! All the food you post look amazing! :)

    ReplyDelete