Rustic Potato Bread
Were my family the Tomatometer for bread, they would score this one a 100%. I thought it was impossible to beat my spelt-rye bread which is to me like Pilsen beer among bread: insurmountable, drawn to perfection and never disappointing, bread that you can eat daily and never tire of. (And I am not being biased here even though I am a Czech from Pilsen!). But potato bread was like discovering a jewel in a local brewery that takes you by surprise. The potato starch makes the inner part of the bread so soft and smooth; it sings the Ode of Joy on your palate! A one-and-a-half kilo loaf of bread was practically devoured in less than an hour by our family of four and hearing all the lip-smacking sounds of obvious delight, I thought I had a pretty good day.
Meditating about the bread, I think rustic is an apt description. I imagine women back in times, having a couple of cooked potatoes left from yesterday’s meal and because food couldn’t be wasted, they tossed the potatoes into the bread flour in the morning — and voilà, potato bread was born. The wet and mushy texture of the potatoes, seemingly at odds with flour’s fine and light structure, cracks the crust in a very beautiful, rustic way while leaving it pleasingly crunchy.
Ingredients:
- 300 g (10.5 oz) active starter
- 700 g (24.5 oz) flour (mixture of whole-grain spelt and spelt ground for bread, or random mixture of wheat, rye or spelt bread flour you find in your cupboard)
- 150 g (5.3 oz) cooked potatoes grated
- handful of caraway seeds (optional)
- 17 g (0.6 oz) salt
- about 500 g (18 oz) room temperature water (depending on the flour you use: spelt and whole-grain flour absorb more water than wheat flour)
Method
First mix the starter, white flour and 450 g water together and let it rest for half an hour to an hour. This is called autolysis, a process when flour enzymes are activated and start breaking gluten structures. Autolysis improves bread structure and taste.
After the autolysis, add the potatoes, and salt dissolved in 50 g water, rye four and caraway seeds (in case you are using them) and mix the dough in your stand mixer until smooth or with a wooden spoon for 10 minutes. Mixing it with a wooden spoon, bring the dough up towards yourself by pulling underneath it for about 10 to 12 times. Then move the bowl 90 degrees counter clockwise, and repeat this kneading process. Turn the bowl again and so on for the required time until the dough is smooth and silky.
Leave the dough in the same bowl but scrape off the dough off the walls and make a nice compact mass. Cover the bowl with a wet cotton cloth or plastic to prevent the dough from drying.
Bulk fermentation for 3 to 4 hours.
Wait for 45 minutes to one hour and then do stretch and fold procedure. Stretch and fold technique helps to develop gluten structures in the dough and therefore strengthens the dough and makes it more elastic. It improves the inside structure of your bread, making it fluffier, with more holes inside. Wet your hand and lay it underneath the dough, bring the dough up, stretching it as much as it goes, then fold the dough over the top. Move by 90° and proceed the same way, do about 4 S&F in total. Finally, flip the dough upside down. Do 3 times S&F during the bulk proof every 45 minutes.
Then leave the dough to rest until you see that it is ready for the next step.
When you see that the dough has doubled its size and there are bubbles beneath the surface, remove the dough from the bowl and pre-shape it in a ball.
Overnight option: After the last S&F put the dough in the fridge overnight. Take it out in the morning and pre-shape it.
Let it rest for 15 minutes, then stretch it on the working surface gently and shape the dough for the final rise.
Final proof 1 hour to 1.5 hour
Put the dough in a basket and cover it.
Heat up the oven for 250°C (482°F). Place a metal sheet or a baking stone on the middle rack and another container filled with water (old one preferably because it will be damaged after while but you can keep using it for bread baking) on the very bottom of the oven to keep your oven moisture.
Make a test whether the dough is sufficiently risen: gently poke the dough with your finger and let it go. The dough should be elastic and come back smoothly. Once the dough has risen, open the oven, take out the metal sheet and flip the dough over from the basket onto the sheet or transfer the dough onto a baking stone with a shovel. You can score the loaf with a sharp knife before putting it in the oven.
Close the door and wait (without opening the door!) for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes open the door quickly to let the hot moisture air out, remove the water container and turn the temperature down to 220°C (428°F).
Another 45 minutes and the bread is done. Let the loaf to cool on a metal rack and enjoy!
