I didn’t devise this recipe based on my potato bread recipe that rather but this is rather my own creation that’s not based on any recipe I’ve ever made before. I must admit I was a little concerned that my bread might flop, but I’m happy to say that I’m grinnin’ ear to ear over just how delicious it is.
It doesn’t taste anything at all like sweet potatoes though in case you’re wondering. It’s a dense bread that’s soft on the inside, but not so soft that you can’t make a sandwich with it. It doesn’t really taste sweet at all, and it’s hard to describe how it tastes other than totally yummy! You really have to try it for yourself, especially during the holidays. It’s such a festive bread I think…perfect for Thanksgiving. I added rosemary on top of my bread before baking it, but if you prefer something else like oatmeal, wheat germ, or some other spice, it would taste just fine.
Just a heads-up, if you make this bread and follow my recipe, you’re going to end up with enough bread to make four really large loaves. Unless you’re cooking a holiday dinner for a large group of people, you’ll need to cut this recipe in half. I wanted to make a loaf for my co-worker who gave me the sweet potatoes, and I wanted some for us, but I made a little boo-boo by using all the sweet potatoes for the bread. I was going to save some of the mashed sweet potatoes and use them as an accompaniment for tomorrow’s meal, but I forgot and used all of it. Oops!
It’s okay though. We eat a lot of bread so it won’t go to waste. I used some of the dough to make sweet potato rolls, and I’ll probably take those in to another gal at work. The two you see in the picture below were eaten by yours truly…except I ate mine smothered in butter. Yummmmmmmm!!!!!
This bread will also make a great gift to give to friends and family during the holidays. If you want to make a huge amount of bread like I did, you’ll have plenty for yourself and plenty to give away. Also, if you’re attending a large holiday dinner and need to bring something, this would be a wonderful choice.
Sweet Potato Bread (Yield: 4 very large loaves)
Ingredients:
- 7 sweet potatoes (I used 5 large ones and 2 small ones)
- 4 tsp. yeast
- 1 tsp. sugar
- water
- 6 tsp. salt
- 3 tbsp. salted butter
- milk (about 1 cup)
- 2 cups oatmeal (not quick cook)
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups stone ground wheat flour
- 4 cups bread flour (approximate)
- 1 cup mashed potato flakes
- olive oil
- Optional: rosemary for the top of the bread
Note: If you don’t have bread flour, you can just use all-purpose flour instead. Wheat germ, oatmeal, sesame seeds, poppy seeds, or herbs de Provence would also taste wonderful on top of the bread.
Instructions:
- Peel the sweet potatoes, then wash them and dice them into small pieces.
- Put the potatoes in large pot with water on high heat. Cook until the potatoes are soft and tender.
- Mix all the yeast, the sugar, and about 1/2 cup lukewarm warm together in a small bowl until the yeast dissolves. Set it aside in a warm place until it gets foamy and rises up.
- When the sweet potatoes are done, drain the liquid and put the potatoes in a very large bowl, and then add the butter, salt, milk, and mashed potato flakes.
- Use your electric mixer to mash the potatoes and mix everything together. If the mashed potatoes are too leaky, add more mashed potato flakes. If they’re too dry, add more milk.
- Now add the yeast mixture and oatmeal to the mashed potatoes and stir until well mixed.
- Add the 2 cups of all-purpose flour and stone ground wheat flour to the mix in one cup at a time by hand. Add water when needed.
- Add the bread flour 1 cup at a time, mixing by hand. (You don’t have to use all 4 cups of bread flour, but I mistakenly put too much water in my bowl so I had to add more flour to compensate.)
- When the dough is the right consistency (not too sticky and not too dry), flour your surface and then knead the dough about 10 minutes or so.
- Split the dough in half and knead a minute or two more.
- Oil two large bowls. Place the 1/2 of the bread in each one, spread some more olive oil on the outside of the bread.
Here’s a picture of half of the dough oiled and already starting to rise. You can also see how the consistency of the dough should look:
- Cover the bowls with a plastic bag, and then cover the plastic bags with one or two towels.
- Put the bowls in a warm place and let it rise until it’s doubled in size.
- After the bread has doubled in size, flour your counter top and punch the air out of the dough. Then knead it again for a few minutes.
- Shape your dough into whatever shape you like.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Oil your baking pans, and then put the shaped dough in the pans.
- Set the pans uncovered on top of the stove where it’s warm and let the bread rise again.
- After the bread has doubled in size (or nearly doubles), brush the dough with olive oil.
- If you like, you can sprinkle rosemary or some other topping on the bread.
- You can also score the bread with a knife if you like.
- Bake until golden brown.
Now that you’re finished baking the bread, it’s time for you to kick back and enjoy some for yourself. Take a break and enjoy every bite! You deserved it!
