BBD#17 - Baked Potato Bread

Baked Potato Bread

What will Jackie make for Bread and Potatoes, the theme for Bread Baking Day #17?

I’ve baked bread with potatoes on several occasions before, but usually the potato component consists of instant potato flakes that pop up in a recipe every now and then. AK wondered if I could concoct a loaf that tasted like a baked potato with all the trimmings: sour cream, chives, butter, garlic and bacon. As it turns out, Floyd at The Fresh Loaf already worked this combination out, so I took his recipe and ran with it.

Update: Roundup posted here (large breads) and here (small breads)!

Baked potato bread

Inspired by Floyd’s creation

Makes two small (one pound) or one large loaf

Ingredients

– 1/2 cup mashed potatoes: I used three small red potatoes and mashed them with the skins on so the loaf will have some flecks of red in it
– 4 – 4 1/2  cups bread flour
– 1 1/4 cups plain whole milk yogurt + whey*
– 2 tsp instant yeast
– 1 1/4 tsp salt
– 1/2 cup chopped fresh chives, or scallions: I used scallions
– 2 tbsp butter
– ~4 cloves garlic, minced
– 1/4 cup cooked bacon, optional**

*The original recipe calls for 3/4 cup water and 1/2 cup sour cream. Since I make my own yogurt at home, I simply skimmed off the whey (liquid) to substitute for the water and used plain whole milk yogurt in place of the sour cream. You could probably use buttermilk here as well.
**I left it out because I wanted to try this loaf. A good number of you will probably argue that the addition of bacon is, in fact, not optional. ;)

Directions

I started by boiling the cleaned potatoes. Once they were done, I mashed them and added the garlic, which was sauteed in the butter, along with the scallions (or chives) and let that cool until slightly warm.

These mashed potatoes, um, nearly didn't make it into the loaf.

Next, I mixed the mashed potatoes with the yogurt, yeast, salt and two cups of flour in a large mixing bowl until combined. Gradually add more flour until you get a soft dough – it will be sticky and wet but workable. You may be tempted to cuss because of the stickiness; trust your instincts. Knead for five to ten minutes until the dough starts to take shape, place in a lightly-oiled bowl, cover, and let rise for 90 minutes or until roughly doubled in bulk.

I shaped the dough into a boule, but a sandwich loaf should be pretty good too. My boule was left to rise in a makeshift banneton for around 45 minutes.

Slash and bake with steam (on a preheated baking stone, or if you’re like me and don’t have one (!!), in a lidded Pyrex bowl) at 425F for eight minutes, then without steam for an additional 22-27 minutes (total baking time: 30-35 minutes) or until the crust is a caramel brown and the loaf sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.

Smells like a baked potato, looks like a bread. Tastes like a baked potato AND a bread = win!

Baked potato bread crumb.

* * *

This loaf goes to the host of this month’s Bread Baking Day, Lien at Notitie van Lien; BBD’s founder, Zorra of 1x umrühren bitte, AK for suggesting the baked potato bread concept, Floyd at The Fresh Loaf for inspiration, and Susan at Wild Yeast for Yeastspotting.

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Tags: potato, scallions, yogurt