A very late post

I am working on a birthday present for a friend and am posting MUCH later then I should be.  My Beloved is out of town again so going to bed is not so......  I just do not like it.  

Remember, I read cookbooks?  I have reading Flour by Joanne Chang.  I have gotten ideas from her.  So far, I have not tried any of the recipes.  When I see recipes for potato bread, most potatoes are boiled.  She used baked so I figured I would give it a try.

Potato Bread

1 pound russet potatoes, baked, cooled and peeled.

sourdough starter

1 cup flour

3/4 cup water

1 cup plain hempmilk or water

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup olive oil

2 teaspoons salt

4 cups flour

I baked my potato the day before.  I have made enough gnocchi and lefsa to know that handling hot potatoes is just not fun. 

The eight hours before or the night before, mix the sourdough starter, 1 cup flour, and 3/4 cup water in a large bowl.  Cover and let sit.  When you are ready to bake, take out two tablespoons of the mother, and put it in the refrigerator for your next batch of bread.

Put the potato in a bowl and mash.  Add the olive oil and mash some more.  It is okay to have lumps.

Add the potatoes, hempmilk, and sugar to the starter.  Mix well.  Add two cups of flour.  Mix in until it looks like pancake batter.  Cover and let sit until bubbly.  

After two hours, add the salt and two cups of flour.  It should be dough enough to turn out and start kneading.  I found this dough very soft and sticky, reminiscent of lefsa.  Do not worry about lumps!

When the dough has been kneaded smooth, gather up into a ball and put back into the bowl.  Cover and let rise until double.

Punch down, and let rise until double again.

Butter or grease a loaf pan (or two depending on the size of loaves you wish.  My loaf was quite large).  Shape the dough into the shape of a loaf.  Put in the pan and let rise for 45 minutes to an hour, covered.

Put the loaf into a 350 degree Fahrenheit oven for 1 hour.  (I do not preheat)

Yumminess.  This was cut while still warm and butter was added.  It is a very nice toast or sandwich bread.  It would be lovely made into rolls.

By the way, my wooden bread bowl saved my bottom!  I reached for my sourdough jar in the refrigerator and I had forgotten to put anything in it.  It was empty.  I had read a long time ago in Bread Alone that a wooden bread bowl would collect the yeastie beasties if not washed with soap.  I have not washed my wooden bowl with soap so I added 1 cup of flour and 3/4 cup of water.  You know what.  It worked.  I was ecstatic!  Good bread too!