Unleashing the Daring Baker within me!

The wait is finally over.. Baked the below weeks back and since all of us from the daring bakers post on the same day..I had to wait until this very day!!

My first challenge at Daring Bakers. Boy, was I glad to see what was in store.. This month’s challenge as per Tanna of “My Kitchen in Half Cups” was tender potato bread! She had chosen this recipe, for its myriad ways shaping the dough and provides oven times and temperatures for those variations.

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Wow, I have never baked bread ever ever before, always wanted try it though…but never got down to doing it…I had mixed feelings of whether I would be able to go ahead and knead, let it rise and bake and or just sit on the sidelines !!!

Anyway, I decided a day to bake, put my instincts together and plunged into it though had to keep my toddler from fiddling with the dough et al. which was already a sticky mess.

Here is a peek into my bread bowl!!!



I made a medium loaf, a few dinner rolls and a focaccia..

The boiled potatoes cooled soon to the required temperature.. I decided to use the second method of adding yeast, where the yeast was added to the flour and whisked.

The dough was sticky, very sticky at that and it did get me freaking out after a point because the stickiness just did not want to get any lesser!! Anyway as Tanna had mentioned that this would be a sticky one, I comforted myself. The dough scraper was a very handy tool in this case!

The dough rose well for all three. The second rising was uneventful too thanks to my baking stars.

The bread loaf turned out well..though I wanted a more brownish top..just like the rolls..





I loved the foccaccia the best! It looked great. Just couldn’t wait to take pictures and then dig into the breads!!



Get me into the oven quick!

Look at me now!


Like it was proclaimed, the bread was a little tender on the inside and crisp on the outside. The tenderness was just to the extent that we preferred. The bread was toasted and was a nice meal along with mayo coated pasta!

The rolls had a lovely brown to it. Were soft on the interior but a wee bit tough on the exterior..

Focaccia was the most devoured of all. I topped it with rosemary herbs, salt, olive oil and minced meat. Served with a hot caldo soup, this was the winner.

Ok here goes the recipe as was provided.
Makes 1 large tender-crumbed pan loaf and something more; one 10X15 inch crusty yet tender foccacia, 12 soft dinner rolls, or a small pan loaf

4 medium to large floury (baking) potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks

4 cups water (950 ml to cook potatoes in
from that 4 cups potato water you will need to reserve)

3 cups potato water = 750 ml for mixing into the dough

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons active dry yeast

6 ½ cups to 8 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened

1 cup whole wheat flour

Put the potatoes and 4 cups water in a sauce pan and bring to boil. Add 1 teaspoon salt and cook, half covered, until the potatoes are very tender.

Drain the potatoes, SAVE THE POTATO WATER, and mash the potatoes well.
Measure out 3 cups of the reserved potato water (add extra water if needed to make 3 cups). Place the water and mashed potatoes in the bowl you plan to mix the bread in – directions will be for by hand. Let cool to lukewarm – stir well before testing the temperature – it should feel barely warm to your hand. You should be able to submerge you hand in the mix and not be uncomfortable.

Yeast one of two ways:

Mix & stir yeast into cooled water and mashed potatoes & water and let stand 5 minutes.

OR

(Add yeast to 2 cups all-purpose flour and whisk. Add yeast and flour to the cooled mashed potatoes & water and mix well. Allow to rest/sit 5 minutes.)

Sprinkle on the remaining 1 tablespoon salt and the softened butter; mix well. Add the 1 cup whole wheat flour, stir briefly.

Add 3 cups of the unbleached all-purpose flour and stir until all the flour has been incorporated.

I used 7 cups of the possible 8 ½ cups suggested by the recipe

Turn the dough out onto a generously floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes, incorporating flour as needed to prevent sticking. The kneaded dough will still be very soft. At this point, add flour to the counter slowly, say a ¼ cup at a time.
The dough is then let to rise for about 2 hours or until doubled in volume.

Turn the dough out onto a well-floured surface and knead gently several minutes. It will be moist and a little sticky.

The dough was then separated for a medium loaf, dinner rolls and a focaccia. The loaf and rolls were given a greedy brush of butter for glazing!

For the foccacia, just before baking, the bread was dimpled all over again with fingertips.. Bake until golden, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a rack and let cool before serving.

Bake rolls until golden, about 30 minutes. 230-35mins, 250-5 mins (my bake time)
Bake the small loaf for about 40 minutes. 230-35mins, 250-5 mins(My bake time)

The corners should be firm when pinched and the bread should sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. Allow to cool before serving.

Always transfer the loaf and the others from the baking tray to a rack immediately for cooling otherwise moisture tends to get in.

A final glimpse!!




Ok Ok just one more!!


Thanks to Tanna, this was a wonderful experience!! And am definitely doing more of this...

Visit here for more potato bread by the Daring Bakers.