Potato Bread

Finally baked my first bread!! Can't tell you how excited and anxious I was. I spent most of the day in the kitchen staring at the dough, waiting for it to rise:) and even throughout the baking.
It's true, 'Nothing compares with the aroma of freshly baked bread'.



Ingredients:
4tsp active dried yeast
1cup lukewarm milk
225gms potatoes, boiled (reserve 1cup of the cooking liquid)
2tbs oil
4tsp salt
7-8cups strong white bread flour (I used about 7 1/2cups)

Method:
Mix the yeast and milk in a large bowl and keep aside till the yeast has dissolved and become frothy, about 15mins.
Mash the potatoes well. Add the potatoes, oil and salt to the yeast mixture and combine thoroughly.
Stir in the reserved cooking water. Add the flour in six separate batches to form a stiff dough.
Transfer to a floured surface and knead till well combined and smooth, about 10mins.
Return to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and keep in a warm place till almost double in size, about 1 1/2hrs.
Knock back (punch down),cover and leave to rise again for 40 mins, or till doubled in size.
Grease two 9 x 5in loaf tins. Divide the dough into two parts and arrange in the two tins.
Leave the dough uncovered till it has risen above the rims of the tins, about 1 1/2hrs.
Preheat the oven to 200˚C/ 400˚F. Bake the dough for 10mins, then lower the heat to 190˚C/ 375˚F.  Bake for about 40mins or till done. Cool on a wire rack.



Verdict:
The bread looked perfect, had a great crust and was soft on the inside.
My only complain was that I could not taste any potatoes, the bread tasted like simple white bread. Nevertheless we enjoyed every bite.
P.S.: I did build some muscle kneading the dough :).

Note:
Recipe is adapted from Cakes and Bakes 500.
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Sending this to Susan's 'Yeastspotting' and to 'BBD#17- Bread and Potatoes' hosted by Lien.

11 comments:

  1. congrats on baking your first bread!! no one will say that was your first attempt...in my first attempt i got a sad looking flat one..never had the courage to try after that!!

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  2. Bread looks really great n soft...Wat a gorgeous slices dear:)

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  3. Hm... potato bread :-) yums, reminds me of home...

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  4. Congratulations on your first bread! And what a stunner it is, fantastic. We're honored that you sent it in for BBD17!
    You're right that a potato bread made with mashed doesn't really taste like potatoes, but it makes is soft and fluffy and that can be a very good thing too.

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  5. Hey, thanks for your lovely compliment :-) T&T is so on, starting again 1 March. Stay tuned for the Blog of The Month, Tasty Curry Leaf will be the proud hostess :-)

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  6. Well done! Thanks for sending this to YeastSpotting.

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  7. gorgeous bread with potatoes,so glad the first bread bake turned out perfect:)

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  8. Great job on your first loaf of bread! I'm a new yeast baker also; it's lots of fun, isn't it? I love how fluffy the potatoes make the loaf.
    Nancy

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  9. I can't believe this is your first bread! Your very talented, well done!

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  10. Poornima, congrats on your first loaf of bread. You watch, in a year you'll be opening your own bakery!

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  11. You did a great job! Can't wait until next months theme.

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Poornima