Daring Bakers -2nd Challenge: Tender Potato Bread

November 26, 2007 at 12:02 am | In Challenge, Daring Bakers, baking |
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My heart lept with joy when I read this month’s recipe challenge. I can’t think of anything more therapeutic than kneading bread. I knew it was going to be a good day in cooking school when the first task found on the board at the front of the classroom was “Baguette”, or any other type of bread. The smell of fresh yeast and the feel of dough on my fingers was a nice way to get the day underway. It also meant fresh bread with lunch…

Tender Potato Bread LoafThis month’s challenge was hosted by Tanna of My Kitchen In Half Cups. The recipe was taken from: Home Baking: The Artful Mix of Flour & Tradition Around the World, by Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid. The key ingredient to this challenge was potatoes. Mashed, to be exact. Again, I followed the directions, using 12 grams of mashed potatoes – 8 grams were suggested for beginners and I figured I could handle a stickier dough. Ah! Well..sticky it certainly was. I titled my early post on the DB website as: The Blob!

One of my personal goals with this challenge was to learn toPotato Bread Rolls work with less flour. I knew I was usually using to much flour when making bread and wanted to get out of that habit. So, with the memory of Chef Tony’s voice still ringing in my ears, blasting us wussy culinary students who whined about sticky dough and fingers, I went easy on the flour and used approximately 7 cups of the 8-1/2 cups top recommended. The results were quite comical. My pastry scraper worked overtime with this recipe. The dough kept sticking to my hands and pulling into long strands when I tried to knead and turn it on the board (It’s alive! It’s alive!). But the results were well worth it: a tender, surprisingly light and slightly chewy bread.

Potato Bread ToastsWe had to produce a loaf and had a choice between rolls or a foccacia. I chose the rolls. Luckily, my mother was visiting that week and we finished the bread while it was still fresh. It made great toasts and even better French toasts. I’m looking forward to making this recipe again…though perhaps with a bit more flour?…(Sorry, Chef…) ;)

Tender Potato Bread Recipe (Courtesy of Tanna’s site)

24 Comments »

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  1. Wow, they really look great. A good way to start the week !

    Comment by foodie froggy — November 26, 2007 #

  2. Your breads look wonderful! Great job!

    Cheers,

    Rosa

    Comment by Rosa — November 26, 2007 #

  3. This was my 2nd DB challenge too!!
    Making the bread was really great wasn’tit??
    You’res look very tasty!!

    Comment by Camila — November 26, 2007 #

  4. I couldn’t hold off from adding more flour..and more flour…and more flour. It was just so liquid I didn’t feel I could gather it off the counter-top, never mind form it into a bread-like shape. I admire your tenacity (literally) in sticking to the recipe (and the dough). hee hee.

    Comment by Annemarie — November 26, 2007 #

  5. Your bread looks tasty!

    Comment by April — November 26, 2007 #

  6. The bread turned out terrific! I have a new-found respect for kneading by hand :)

    Comment by Shawnda — November 26, 2007 #

  7. I’m with you! A good day is a day that starts with kneading bread!! Nice job on this month’s challenge!!

    Comment by breadchick — November 26, 2007 #

  8. Great job on this challenge!! Your bread looks great.

    Comment by Deborah — November 26, 2007 #

  9. Hi Liz,

    Your breads look great.

    I smiled a bit when I read your description of kneading as a therapeutic process. :)

    For me, the constant, steady whirr of the Kitchen Aid is more therapeutic.

    Congrats on our second challenge!

    Julius from Occasional Baker

    Comment by Julius — November 26, 2007 #

  10. Oh, I bet it did make good french toast…yum.

    Comment by peabody — November 26, 2007 #

  11. Oooh! Pretty and delicious looking :) I rather found the kneading process here an exercise in patience (of which I have very little to begin with). You did a great job there and the rolls are particularly tempting!

    Comment by Jen — November 26, 2007 #

  12. THose look great!!!

    Comment by Tina — November 26, 2007 #

  13. YUMMY looking bread! love the rolls.

    Comment by Gigi — November 26, 2007 #

  14. yes… you did a great job. Keep up the good work.

    Comment by Iisha — November 26, 2007 #

  15. You did a great job on the challenge and you would make your professor proud!

    Comment by Tartelette — November 26, 2007 #

  16. You did a wonderful job on your breads! Great job on your 2nd challenge.

    Natalie @ Gluten A Go Go

    Comment by Sheltie Girl — November 27, 2007 #

  17. Your bread turned out beautiful!
    I too had a blob that was sticky but that turned into delish bread. Great job!
    xoxo

    Comment by Gabi — November 27, 2007 #

  18. Pretty loaf, but I’m smitten over your rolls! They’ve got great color! And I’m glad I’m not the only one who hears the voices of chef-instructors past when I’m alone in the kitchen. ;)

    Comment by Julie — November 27, 2007 #

  19. I’m betting Chef Tony would applaud your success with this one. Beautiful!

    Comment by Dolores — November 27, 2007 #

  20. Your do-over looks great! The blob has been tamed!

    Comment by chronicler — November 28, 2007 #

  21. @foodyfroggy: Thanks!
    @Rosa: Thank you!
    @Camila: Hey, gald you joined too. It was fun.
    @Annemarie: I could have easily added a couple more cups of flour, I think…
    @April: It was very nice, indeed
    @Shawnda: Kneading is great, once you get the hang of it… :)
    @Breadchick: Bread is fun…
    @Deborah: Thanks!
    @Julius: Well, some of us are tactile and some of us are aural in nature. I”ll have to try the Kitchen Aid method. :)
    @peabody: It was really nice with the maple syrup
    @Jen: Thanks! Patience paid off in this case.
    @Tina: Thanks!
    @Gigi: Thank you!
    @Isha: Thanks!
    @Tartelette: Thanks. I hope so…
    @Natalie@gluten-a-go: Thanks Natalie!
    @Gabi: I felt like I was trying to knead Jello at times..it was wild…
    @Julie: Funny how these voices become engrained, don’t they?…It’s like having a little ghost on your shoulder keeping you in check…
    @Dolores: Thanks!
    @Chronicler: Well, I certainly showed him who the boss was… :)

    Comment by pixeltheatre — November 28, 2007 #

  22. I definitely should have added more flour to my first attempt. I’m thinking that the whole thing required quite a bit of flour but would still remain sticky, as I found out from my second go.

    Your loaf and rolls looks really great and the french toast must have been amazing with this!

    Comment by Christina — November 30, 2007 #

  23. Thanks Christina. I agree. There’s sticky and sticky… :)

    Comment by pixeltheatre — November 30, 2007 #

  24. The toasted bread looks really yummy. I hadn’t thought of that, but now I think I will have fat toasts for breakfast. I really needed my bench scraper to keep that dough in line.

    Comment by Molly — December 1, 2007 #

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