Rosemary-Garlic Potato Bread

Sorry for the hiatus, been kind of lazy lately in updating my posts. I do have a bunch of good recipes lined up though, so keep checking back over the next couple weeks!

I've always loved potato bread growing up, for its soft and fluffy texture and slightly sweet taste, much better than white bread. Potatoes interact very well with yeast, and add a moistness (sugar from the potato starch allows the bread to hold moisture) and lightness to bread that flour alone cannot achieve. As with all homemade breads, this takes a good while to see through from start to finish, so leave this for a lazy weekend activity.

Active prep time: 50 min
Inactive prep time: 2 1/2 hr
Cook time: 40 min
Servings: 1 loaf, ~12 slices

Ingredients:
2 teaspoons instant yeast
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons butter
1 1/4 cups water
3 cups bread flour
1/2 cup instant roasted garlic mashed potato flakes
1 Tbsp fresh rosemary, roughly chopped

Equipment:
2 mixing bowls
Loaf pan or baking sheet

Preheat an oven to its 'warm' setting (170 deg) and then turn off. Take 1/2 cup of the water needed and heat until warm about 110-115 degrees F. Mix this with the yeast and the sugar in a mixing bowl. Place in the warmed oven for 10-15 minutes, allowing the yeast to activate, resulting in bubbling at the surface.



While the yeast is proofing, mix together 2 cups of flour needed and the 1/2 cup instant mashed potato flakes in the second mixing bowl, and set aside. Melt the butter, salt and remaining water (3/4 cup) to 110-115 degrees, and add to the first yeast mixture. Then add the flour/instant mashed potato flakes to the liquids. Mix to incorporate the ingredients, and transfer to a flat, floured surface. Knead the dough for 10-15 minutes, adding up to a cup of bread flour, little by little, as the dough takes up flour from the flat surface. I think I ended up using a total of ~2.5 cups of bread flour. After kneading, the dough should be slightly tacky (think post-it note); mold into a rounded shape, and place in a greased or oiled mixing bowl, smooth side up.


pre-kneading


ready for rising

Cover the bowl with greased/oiled saran wrap, or a moist towel, and place in the warm oven (you may have to rewarm the oven by this point). Keep the door closed, and allow the dough to rest for 1 1/2 hours. Once it has risen, punch dough down and let rest 5 minutes. Then, place the dough in a loaf pan or, if you want to make a free-form bread, re-round the dough and place back into the mixing bowl. Back into the warm oven, and allow to rise again, for about 45 minutes. When the dough has risen appropriately, it should resemble something close to the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man from Ghostbusters.


see the resemblance?

If baking free-form, GENTLY transfer the risen dough to parchment paper, taking care not to deflate the air bubbles. Bake for 40 minutes, and let cool somewhat before slicing.

Can't really beat some warm, homemade potato bread with a little butter spread on top!

Almond Raison Challah to warm your spirits

The problem with comfort baking/eating is that it's often in the form of a pint of ice cream or a really fudgy brownie, or both. And once you've done that, well honestly, that's one more thing you need comforting for. If you have the time for it, like a Saturday or Sunday afternoon or night, making homemade bread not only takes your mind off your problems, but also gives you a warm and fresh product as reward for your time and efforts. And you'll have the benefit of knowing that you didn't just put a cup of cream or butter into your body...

Today I'm making an almond raisin challah bread. I made some plain challah for the first time a few days ago, and I think the addition of almond extract and raisins will add an extra depth and texture to an already yummy bread. Kinda reminds me of the raisin bread pastries that they have in Chinese bakeries. So delicious.

Basing off a challah recipe from allrecipes.com as well as one found on google, and reading up on bread making tips, I took some liberties in crafting my own recipe:

Active prep time: 1 hr
Inactive prep time: 2 1/2 hrs
Cook time: 30-40 min

Ingredients:
1 cup warm water
1 package (2 1/4 tsp) active dry yeast
Pinch sugar
1 whole egg
1 egg yolk
3 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
1/3 cup honey
1/2 tsp almond extract
3/4 tsp salt
3 1/2 cup bread flour, plus extra for dusting
2/3 cup plumped raisins

Egg wash:
1 egg, lightly beaten with 1 Tbsp honey

Equipment:
1 small saucepan
2 large mixing bowls
Slotted spoon
Thermometer
Whisk/fork
Measuring cups
Loaf pan
Aluminum foil

Place raisins in a small saucepan, cover with water, and bring to a boil. Remove the saucepan from the heat and let the raisins stand for 5 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to drain and remove the raisins, and set aside.

Pour 1 cup of the raisin water into a mixing bowl. If you do not have enough raisin water, just add plain water until the total volume reaches 1 cup. Use a thermometer to check that the temperature is between 100-110 degrees F. If you do not have a thermometer, the water should be warm/slightly hot but not scalding. Add a pinch of sugar and sprinkle in the yeast. Stir to dissolve, and let rest for ~10 minutes, until the mixture is foamy. The sugar is used to "proof" the yeast, which basically serves as a way to check that the yeast is active: sugar provides a source of food for the yeast, which will foam as they consume the sugar. If your mixture does not foam, either the yeast is dead/expired, or your liquid was not at the correct temperature range.

Mix in egg, yolk, butter, honey, and almond extract. Stir in flour, one cup at a time. After the 2nd cup, add the salt and continue to mix. Once all the flour has been incorporated, turn dough out onto lightly floured work surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. The dough should be tacky to the touch (like the back of a post-it) but not sticky. Place dough in a greased glass or ceramic bowl, turning to grease dough all over. Cover bowl with greased plastic wrap or a warm damp kitchen towel; place a bowl with boiling water onto the lower rack of your oven. Place the bowl with the dough on the rack above, and close the oven door, letting the dough rise until doubled in size, ~1 1/2 hours.





Punch down dough, transfer dough to work surface, let rest for 10 minutes, then knead in raisins. Divide dough into quarters; roll each quarter into 18-inch long ropes. Make a four-strand braid, pinching the ends together and tucking underneath. Place braid in greased loaf pan, cover with greased plastic wrap, and place back in oven to let rise another hour.


feel like some kind of girl scout

Remove dough from the oven and preheat to 375 degrees (350 if using a metal pan). Whisk egg and honey together to make the egg wash, and brush this over the loaf. Bake for 30-40 minutes; about halfway through, cover challah with foil to prevent over-browning. Let cool for 15 minutes before slicing.

Remy no!

Whew, finally done! Mmm I love challah. Quick note though, if you can't finish off the bread within 2-3 days, I would suggest slicing the bread (wait until it's fully cooled), placing in an airtight bag, and placing in the freezer for future use. Unfortunately for non-preservative filled foods, they go moldy/stale pretty fast. I like to use a little ghetto trick to make my 'airtight' bag: place contents in the bag, and ziplock almost all the way. Suck out all the excess air from the opening, and then seal shut. I know, real sanitary right? Probably shouldn't use that technique of raw meats with their blood juices and all...



Not sure what happened to the raisins in that cut. Still delish.