Potato loaf and fresh butter
I made a potato bread today, using Dan Lepard's recipe from The Art of Handmade Bread (AKA The Handmade Loaf) as the basis and tweaking it a bit. If memory serves me right, I used:
300 grams water
200 grams mashed potatoes
500 grams bread flour
1 tablespoon sourdough starter (cold from the fridge)
1 tablespoon honey
2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon instant yeast
I gave it quite a while, 10 minutes or so, in the mixer, then let it rise slowly most of the day, folding it a couple of times when I noticed it cresting over the edge of the bowl.. I shaped it an hour or so before I wanted to bake it, then baked it with steam at 465 for 15 minutes then 400 or so for another 20 to 30 minutes.
It has a relatively tight crumb but is really nice and soft. I'm thinking I may make this as rolls for my Thanksgiving day feast this year.
My kids and I also made fresh butter in Mason jars as discussed here.
The kids had a blast dancing around the living room shaking the jars (we put some music on) and the butter was truly delicious. It is well worth the effort!
Comments
Looks like it would make great toast, too, Floyd.
Thanks for the inspiration - I have half of pot of mashed potatoes left from dinner and was trying to think of something to bake for neighbors who are up for the holiday. Your potato loaf looks like the perfect gift (plus is sounds doable in a day).
Ahh...the butter. It's been years since we did that. It sure looks nicer than the stuff sold in sticks!
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving.
Hello Floyd:
Great looking bread! I am surprised that it is as good as it looks when you used only 1tablespoon of starter.
I would like to know how do you and your kids make the butter? It looks wonderful. At my house, I and my grandson made Ham fried rice, spaghetti meatballs, chicken tender( from chicken breast and not the junk food variety) and pizza together.(Those are his favorite foods).
He loves butter on all his bread and I think that If I would let him make butter for Thanksgiving, it will be his contribution to the table. He will also brag to his friends that he knows how to make butter! We make everything( well almost everything) from scratch for Thanksgiving day feast.
I believed in teaching kids on how to make good foods and butter will be the thing.
Your kids are lucky. Many young family are exhausted with work and do not have time teaching kids on making foods anymore.
Thanks, Floyd
mantana
Hi Mantana,
Thanks for your kind words.
The link above (repeated here) talks about different ways folks make butter. All we did was put about half a cup of heavy whipping cream in a mason jar and shake it for about 10 minutes. First it foams up and becomes whipping cream, then it breaks down, the buttermilk separates out, and you end up with a big ball of fresh butter. It is delicious.
Have a Happy Thanksgiving!
Hello Floyd:
Thank you very much. We will have fresh butter for Thanksgiving now. I didn't know that it is so easy.
mantana