Yeast Potato Bread
2 servings
120 minutes
The recipe is taken from the book "Home Bakery: The Complete Guide to Baking from the Pros". "This is the original potato bread recipe, before it was converted to sourdough. Its texture is airier, cleaner. But everything changes after adding nigella seeds and replacing regular flour with whole wheat. Sourdough potato bread has a rubberier, thicker crust and a richer flavor - with a predominant note of spice. This bread is beautiful in its simplicity, decorated with chunks of potato and rosemary.
1
Preheat the oven to 220 degrees. Place diced potatoes on a baking sheet and drizzle with 3 teaspoons of olive oil. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and bake in the oven for 15 minutes or until a knife passes through the potatoes almost freely. Let cool. At this stage, the potatoes should be cooked halfway since their cooking will continue with the dough. If overcooked, they will crumble when trying to mix them into the dough. Imperfect execution is often a sign of handmade work. If potato slices fall out while slicing bread, it is clear that this is a human-made task.
- Potato: 125 g
- Olive oil: 20 ml
- Sea salt: 8 g
2
To knead the dough by hand, mix wheat sourdough, both types of flour, yeast, salt, and water in a large bowl. Stir with a large spoon until the mixture forms a dough, about 10 minutes. Place the dough on a clean work surface and knead by hand for about 15 minutes to form a smooth ball.
- Wheat sourdough: 110 g
- Whole grain flour: 225 g
- Fine flour: 225 g
- Fresh yeast: 5 g
- Sea salt: 8 g
- Water: 300 ml
3
To knead the dough using an electric mixer, place the starter in the mixer bowl and attach the dough hook. Add flour, yeast, salt, and water. Mix on low speed for 4 minutes, then scrape the dough from the bowl's sides and continue on high speed for another 6 minutes — or until the dough is smooth (it won't be elastic).
4
When the dough is ready, mix in the potato and rosemary - by hand or very gently using a mixer on the lowest speed.
- Potato: 125 g
- Rosemary: 4 pieces
5
Slightly spray a suitable container with vegetable oil and place the dough in it. Cover with plastic wrap and leave for an hour to ferment at room temperature (approximately 20 degrees).
- Olive oil: 20 ml
6
For the folding, place the dough on a lightly floured surface and stretch it into a rectangle about 2.5 cm thick. Fold one third up with your hands, then repeat with the remaining third. Turn the dough ninety degrees and fold it into three layers again. Place the dough in an oiled container and let it ferment for another 30 minutes.
- Whole grain flour: 225 g
7
Use a dull knife or divider to split the dough into two equal portions of 500 grams each. Take one portion and shape it into balls.
8
Line two small bread baskets with waffle towels, lightly sprinkle with flour, and place the bread in the baskets seam side up. When using cane baskets, towels are not needed; just sprinkle the baskets with flour. Alternatively, place the dough on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper seam side down. Put the dough in the refrigerator loosely covered with a plastic bag for an hour.
- Whole grain flour: 225 g
9
Preheat the oven to maximum temperature. Take the dough out of the fridge and let it sit in a warm, humid place at about 25 degrees for 1 to 4 hours until it increases in volume by two-thirds. If the dough springs back when lightly pressed with a finger, it's ready to go into the oven. Make slashes and place the bread to bake.
10
Spray the oven with water and reduce the temperature to 220 degrees. Bake the bread for 20 minutes, then turn the bread or trays and bake for another 10 minutes. Watch carefully to prevent burning. Check readiness by tapping the bottom: if the sound is dry, the bread is done. Total baking time should not exceed 40 minutes.
- Water: 300 ml