You Say Potato, I say Bread

It´s Daring Bakers time again … but this time we bypass the the sweets and venture into the savory side of the kitchen. For November, Tanna of My Kitchen in Half Cups has us roll up our sleeves for our first no sugar, non-dessert baking challenge: Tender Potato Bread from the book Home Baking by Naomi Duguid and Jeffrey Alford. And, a savory bread was a much craved break from all of the sweets the Daring Bakers have been indulging in lately.

November has been a busy month for me, and, to be honest, I almost contemplated missing out on the Daring Bakers' Challenge again. In addition, I am not supposed to be eating yeast with my yeast-intolerance. But, I decided that I just could not skip out on two months in a row and, as Tanna had graciously chosen such a wonderful sounding recipe, I just had to bake the bread. Fatefully, I had a few friends over for a pre-Thanksgiving feast last week and, as no one else was going to bring the bread, decided that this would be the opportunity for me to test out the bread and not have it go to waste (there would be no way my roommate and I could polish off all that bread).

As with all Daring Bakers challenges, the recipe must be followed exactly. Otherwise, how would we be able to compare and learn from the baking process? Tanna's only other orders with this recipe were that we knead the dough by hand (no Kitchen Aids allowed!) and that we use our creativity in deciding what to make of the versatile dough. She offered limitless suggestions such as loaves, dinner rolls, braids, but it was the thought of a tender potato focaccia that made me pause to catch my breath.

And so, dressed appropriately in sweats (I knew I'd get messy with this project), I started baking. Although the directions to "mix & stir yeast into cooled water and mashed potatoes and let stand 5 minutes" had me slightly bemuddled since yeast typically requires warm water to proof, I still forged ahead and followed them precisely. Tanna warned in her recipe that the dough is a very soft dough, and she was not kidding. Potato adds extra moisture, so using them in a dough will make a very wet, sticky dough. The recipe is also quite adaptable for any level baker, with a note at the beginning of the recipe suggesting that beginners use 8 ounces of potatoes while experienced bakers use 16 ounces. I went for the full 16. And, this was a really, really sticky dough.

After kneading and kneading, adding flour after more flour (in total I ended up using about 7 of the suggested 6 1/2 - 8 1/2 cups), the dough finally became smooth, supple and elastic, so I set it aside to rise. An hour later, I came back to find the dough almost bursting out of the bowl! I guess it was needless of me to worry about mixing the yeast with cool water, as this bread was quite the riser. Keen on making focaccia, I scraped and smoothed every last bit of dough onto my baking sheet. After the second rising, I generously brushed the top with brown butter and sprinkled with fresh rosemary, Maldon sea sat and sliced red onions; and into the oven it went. I have to admit that with such a lucious nutty and rosemary aroma wafting from the oven, anxiously awaiting its arrival was the most difficult stage of baking the bread.

But, it was completely worth it. Simple and homey, soft and chewy with a wonderful flavor, this was a great focaccia. It was moist and fluffy, and I loved the nuttiness from the brown butter paired with the rosemary and red onions. Perfect comfort food for a crisp fall day. Now, how about a sweet potato focaccia?

Again, I was not able to capture great photos of the bread in the midst of its rising and baking, as my camera is in repair and I am technogically inept. I did, however, manage to get a few rough shots (and boy are the rough) with the use of another, albeit ancient, camera.

Thank you, Tanna, for encouraging us to partake in such a fun challenge. Head over to Tanna's for the full recipe .

Be sure to check out the Daring Bakers Blogroll to read all the other DB's creative potato bread stories. Just make sure you're comfy, perhaps with a steamy mug of hot chocolate, as there are over 400 of us now!



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