The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

100% Whole Wheat Sweet Potato Pecan Bread

Janetcook's picture
Janetcook

100% Whole Wheat Sweet Potato Pecan Bread

                    

 

I couldn't resist posting today's bake for a couple of reasons.  The first being that this formula has won lots of praise from those for whom I currently bake.  The second reason stems from the fact that it is a result of good old tweaking.  It was inspired by a recent post of hanseata's.  

I generally follow a new formula pretty closely when I first bake it but, depending on how the loaf turns out, subsequent bakes find me tweaking away a bit here and a bit there.  I have always found Karin's breads to be excellent and her Pumpkin Whey Bread was no exception but this loaf has ended up with its own section in one of my bread binders- right next to its original format.

At the same time of Karin's post several other people blogged about breads using similar ingredients and so those found their way into my new formula along with ideas out of my Flavor Bible.

The end result being a bread containing:

 

sweet potatoes

maple syrup

and

toasted pecans

                                                                             

No crumb shot since this loaf and the others all were given to other households.  Reports were of a nice soft moist crumb full of flavor.

Before finding TFL I never would have tried altering a recipe to such a degree.  Now I never know if a formula will stay in its original form in my records or if it will lead me to something totally unexpected.  This loaf was one of the latter and the adventure was quite fun.

                           

 

Comments

Mebake's picture
Mebake

Oh, this has to taste fabulous! it is made by you, and it contains delicious well paired ingredients. Did you use whole grain flour in this?

Mm.. this bread must be extremely delightful toasted with some butter. Well done, Janet!!

-Khalid

Janetcook's picture
Janetcook

Hi Khalid,

Thank you for your high praise which I do not deserve and I blush….

Yes, it is all with freshly milled whole wheat - spring white whole wheat which has a bit milder flavor than red whole wheat.  (I edited the title to reflect this.  Thanks for asking the question.)

Take Care,

Janet

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

boules of all time with ingredients that just scream fall harvest and Thanksgiving too!  It has to taste great!  One of those great bakes Janet that deserves its own binder if you ask me.  Well done and happy baking.

Janetcook's picture
Janetcook

Hi Mr. D,

My husband would kill me if each of my formulas had its own binder :O  The ones I have already fill one small bookshelf :)

You are very right about the ingredients.  All inspired by the season which is one of the fun things about baking.  My loaves change throughout the year.

Thank you for your kind comment.

Take Care,

Janet

Floydm's picture
Floydm

YUM!  That looks/sounds amazing.

Janetcook's picture
Janetcook

Thank you Floyd.  The 'looks' are attributed to people here (Phil in particular) who have encouraged me to turn up the heat while baking. :)

Janet

golgi70's picture
golgi70

Really beautiful and I wish we coulda seen the crumb.  Crust looks good enough to eat alone.  And nice spring in  the oven.

Nice bake

Josh

Janetcook's picture
Janetcook

Thanks for the kind words Josh.  Spring was a bit taller than I expected so I probably could have proved this loaf a bit longer.  Hard to know when the 'perfect' moment is.

Janet

golgi70's picture
golgi70

You hit it at the perfect moment.  But I do feel the crumb tells more but thats not available so lets just judge this book by its cover.  Perfect.

Nice Bake, 

Josh

Janetcook's picture
Janetcook

Sounds good to me :)

wassisname's picture
wassisname

Brilliant Janet!  This one is getting bookmarked.  You've hit on one of those combinations that are hard to come up with until you do, and then it makes perfect sense!  Thanks for sharing.

Marcus

Janetcook's picture
Janetcook

HI Marcus,

Thank you for your generous comments Marcus.  Almost everything I know about baking bread I have learned here from bakers such as yourself.

Janet

pmccool's picture
pmccool

And pretty to look at, too!

Paul

Janetcook's picture
Janetcook

Hi Paul,

The Flavor Bible has become a good source for how to blend spices etc. in bread.  Simple and straight forward.  My kind of book!

Thank you for your comment!

Janet

proth5's picture
proth5

What more can I say?

Pat

Janetcook's picture
Janetcook

Waiting to see some of your pretzels and the arm muscles that result from your workout with the dough :)

Janet

Darwin's picture
Darwin

Looks great and sounds perfect for this time of year.

Janetcook's picture
Janetcook

It was indeed inspired by the time of year and Karin's post :)

Thanks for your comment.

Janet

varda's picture
varda

and I love the "hat."   Glad you posted.  -Varda

Janetcook's picture
Janetcook

Hi Varda, 

The 'hat' has become my favorite scoring for boules.  Trick is getting it in the right spot so it doesn't pop off.  This one was scored a bit high and the loaf a bit under proved.

Janet

Isand66's picture
Isand66

Beautiful loaf Janet...Can you share your formula?  It sounds like the loaf I baked a few weeks ago but mine was a bit too high hydration and flat while yours is nice and round  and "well figured".

Regards,
Ian

Janetcook's picture
Janetcook

Hi Ian,

Glad you chimed in here.  I was thinking you were one of the people who inspired this loaf but I couldn't remember.  I knew it all started with Karin's post followed by several other posters at the time so now my mystery has been solved :)

Formula: 

Flour:  100%   (15% used in leaven)

Milk:      60%

Yeast Water:  10%  (used in leaven builds)

Salt:      2.4%

Butter:     5%

Maple Syrup:   5%

Penzey's Baking Spices:  1.4%

Canned Sweet Potato Puree:    40%

Pecans:     10%

IY:   .2%   (Due to cinnamon in the spice mix which slows down fermentation)

I mixed as I usually do in the evening.  Dough sat out for a couple of hours and then I put it into the refrigerator overnight.  In the morning it had 2-3 more hours to ferment at room temp. before shaping and proving and baking.

I left the dough softish in the evening.  What I would describe as medium firm.  Like a sandwich loaf of Peter Reinhar's.

I used my freshly ground whole grains so they absorb more moisture as they sit over night giving me a nice supple dough in the morning.

Hope this helps with your next attempt.

Take Care,

Janet

 

Isand66's picture
Isand66

Thanks Janet.  I'm thinking of converting my recipe over to make rolls for Thanksgiving with a couple of twists and will use yours to combine with mine.

Regards,
Ian

Janetcook's picture
Janetcook

Your are more than welcome Ian.  

I think the ingredients will make a great roll for your Thanksgiving meal. 

Take Care,

Janet

PiPs's picture
PiPs

Just fantastic Janet,

cheers,

Phil

Janetcook's picture
Janetcook

Hi Phil,

Thanks for your praise.  I get to bounce it back onto you though as you are one of the ones inspiring me to bake hot!

I have been a people have indeed liked the results.

Take Care,

Janet

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

I thought for sure this formula had YW in it!

Janetcook's picture
Janetcook

Thanks for pointing out my omission.  I just went back and edited.  A comment here though about the outcome.  If I had not included the YW  the rise etc would have been the same. (Note that I did include IY at ,2% due to the cinnamon.)

 I use the YW primarily to keep my leaven on the sweet side.  It gives me more wiggle room when my timing gets interrupted. The long overnight bulk fermentation with my freshly ground grains creates high loaves all on its own too.

Take Care,

Janet 

 

gmagmabaking2's picture
gmagmabaking2

We are going to try to come close to your perfect loaf.  Beautiful! Hope we get something even half as spectacular. Great baking, Janet.

Diane

Janetcook's picture
Janetcook

Hi Diane,

Thank you for your high praise.  I look forward to seeing your end results.  

What a fun process this has been - all starting with Karin's Pumpkin Whey post…they Ian's loaf that gave me the idea of the pecans and maple syrup.  I can't wait to see what you and your sisters add to the list :)

Have Fun, (I know I don't have to tell you that because I know you always have fun with your baking!)

Janet