Hamelman Potato Bread (as Levain baguettes, of course)
I've been keeping a low profile recently doing the same old, same old things. Mostly minding my own business and occasionally commenting on baguettes and not much more. Needed a break. But my wife recently piped up and asked if I would make a potato bread. There's a first time for everything, I suppose.
Jeffery Hamelman's potato bread formula in his book Bread uses commercial yeast. Around these parts, with few exceptions, that just won't do anymore. Hence, time for an alfanso-style remake. And a search of the internet seemed to indicate that there was no prior lone wolf out there who made these as baguettes before me. So I'll assume the mantle for now.
Using the Hamelman "standard" of 15% pre-fermented flour, I made a 2 step (actually more from multiple previous leftovers) 125% hydration liquid levain, using 75% bread flour and 25% rye. By the end of the final build the thang was gurgling away with big frothy bubbles, something any mad scientist would have been proud of. FYI - no IDY was harmed in the making of this bread! The roasted yellow potatoes were peeled, cubed and baked in a 425dF oven for 30 minutes. Then riced. 25% of total flour.
I made the mistake of autolysing just the flour and water, which comes to about a 55% hydration - not very accommodating for incorporation of the other ingredients. And something I won't repeat again. Because of the extra effort to get the levain, potato and salt sufficiently ready for French Folds, I did a total of 400 FFs, with a 5 minute break in between to let the dough relax a bit, now the standard M.O. for me. Letter Folds, totaling three at 40, 80 and 110 were easier with each set as the dough became more comfortable and relaxed as it rose.
An all-day sleep in the refrigerator prior to a late night divide, pre-shape and shape. The dough was incredibly compliant and soft - so easy to work with. As this is a 63% hydration dough, I was conscious of ensuring a good seal. Onto the couche, and tucked back into the refrigerator for an early morning bake. 450dF oven, 14 minutes of steam, 14 more for the baguettes, and a 4 more with 2 additional minutes venting for the batard.
The bread itself is soft and light with a surprisingly not-too-forward potato taste. Thanks to the potato, the bread takes on a lovely rust and golden color. Not a particularly open crumb - on the baguette, but I'm past those days now where that is a be-all and end-all qualifier. A good addition for my recipe box.
700g x1 batard, 400g x2 baguettes
Crumb shot added for those few (and you know who you are!) perversely interested in what's going on in the innards of these beasts. I don't know what a potato bread should look like inside, tight or open, but at 63% hydration plus the potato added to the flour, it would seem as though it should be somewhat dense. A pan de cristal it is not!
Comments
alfanso:
Looks excellent, well done. I occasionally make Portuguese sweet bread, which is basically a potato bread with sugar and some extra fat. I've never noted a "potato flavor."
I've also made potato gnocchi ... it seems that adding potato results in a near infinite ability to absorb water, so I'm interested to learn about the relatively low hydration.
I might add some potato to the next batch of SD I make.
Cheers-
Dave
but only in the vaguest terms, not even knowing what its ingredients are. Thanks for that piece of information. As a lover of gnocchi with a gorgonzola sauce, I've made them a number of times, using the old trick of making the gnocchi grooves by running the dough down the back of a fork's tines.
I was also surprised at how subtle the potato flavor is, especially when Mr. Hamelman points out that roasting brings out a more robust flavor than just boiling - although next time maybe I'll boil them and use the water for the hydration.
Lower hydration doughs seem to be more prevalent in his work than other author/bakers, although I've still only scratched the surface of his Bread book. And I am also surprised at why he chooses to call for 63% hydration. This is the same as in his olive bread, but that one was pretty darn hard to mix by hand, this one being easier, I guess due to the potato.
Thanks Dave, alan
Here's the recipe that I've used over the years. It uses commercial yeast, and as you can see it doesn't use ingredient mass (uses volume instead). Despite this I've never had a bad result with the recipe (the same cannot be said for my SD efforts, particularly when I started).
-Dave
++++++++++++++++++
6 ½ cups flour (910g) (to date I've only used all-purpose (AP) flour ... I plan on trying *some* bread flour in near future)
½ cup mashed potato, unseasoned (115g)
2/3 cup potato water (159g)
½ cup milk (125g)
½ cup butter
3 eggs
2/3 cup sugar
1 tsp grated lemon peel
¼ tsp ground mace
1 packet of active dry or instant yeast (Reinhart recommends Instant because there is more yeast cells in it when compared to other forms of commercial yeast)
Confectioner’s sugar (optional - dust top of bread after baking)
In a mixing bowl combine ½ cup flour, sugar, lemon peel, mace, and dry yeast. Feel free to experiment with the type of flour used, to date I have only made this bread using the cheapest store brand all-purpose flour … the bread always rises to double or triple its original volume and is always delicious.
Heat potato water, milk, and butter to about 120dF (49dC), add to dry ingredients and mix for 2 minutes.
Add the eggs, mashed potato, and another ½ cup flour; mix for 2 minutes.
As the mass is mixing, continue to add the flour until it is all incorporated into a soft dough.
Knead until the dough is smooth and it passes the windowpane test … this will depend on the type of flour used (all purpose vs. bread flour). If using an electric mixer, this can take between 5 and 10 minutes.
Once the dough is formed set it aside to bulk ferment “until doubled” (depending on temperature this could be about 90 minutes).
After bulk fermentation, gently stretch or roll the dough out and form a rectangle of about 10 inches (25.5 cm) by 16 inches (40.5 cm).
Roll the dough into a cylindrical shape and place it, seam side down, into a greased/oiled “10 inch tube pan” (I use a Bundt pan). Pinch the ends together to form a continuous ring.
Let the formed dough proof “until doubled” (depending on the temperature this could be about 60 minutes).
Bake the bread at 350dF (177dC) for 40 minutes, or, until the center of the dough is 205dF and the crust is browned to your liking.
I have used potato water and it makes a great bread, but haven't tried adding actual potatoes. something more to add to the list for the future.
Good to see a post again, had missed them.
happy baking!
Leslie
I may do the same in addition to the potatoes themselves. One other point that I didn't make in the post was how the finished product maintains a soft quality to it, apparently due to the potato addition. For those who crave a crunch to their crust, as I do, this may not be the right bread. OTOH one bake does not make me a know-it-all about potato bread in the slightest!
Thanks for your continued good words of support, alan
You have a gift that you can turn any dough into an amazing baguette. You should turn your experiences into a book! The pictures alone would make it with the price!
part of the fun of it all is finding breads not "yet" made as baguettes and then doing it, as with this and a few others. And the opposite, finding a baguette "only" formula and changing it to a batard.
With no false modesty, I really don't get what I am doing that a lot of others find so hard. Other than putting the time in and paying attention to details. I have few special skills in life - even just last month I gave up trying to use contact lenses when the frustration of getting the lens to sit on the eye surface correctly was too overwhelming for me to continue with. I swear I'm not doing anything so extraordinary, and some of my best other life skills include taking out the garbage, lifting heavy objects and walking the dog. Not much after that!
Thanks, alan
Glad these were a success and I am glad you took the time to document it!
with a few pictures is part of the overall fun, as I suspect the same is true for may others on TFL.
Thanks, alan
Thanks for this ..what gorgeous loaves and I bet they are delicious too. Can't wait to try it.
It is a relatively easy formula to run - in truth, they almost all are. I have a tendency to use the general guidelines of the formulae. After that, with just enough experience to "know" what I can get away with, I perform the method "my way". We should all be able to leave our personal mark on how we make bread with our own unique changes.
This is a fun website to hang around, so you should enjoy being her - and keep posting yourself!
Thanks, alan
These look great!
Just a few pieces of advise from someone who uses potatoes fairly often in my breads; next time don't bother peeling them. I find adding some of the peel really makes for a rustic bread and saves a step to boot. I usually mash them instead of using my ricer for bread so you get some potato chunks showing up in the bread but it's just a preference. I have used leftover mashed potatoes as well which also works fine.
Either way, these look spot on with an excellent crust.
I find the potatoes also tend to make the crumb softer and they stay fresh longer as well.
Regards,
Ian
with one exception. My wife had surgery on her lower small intestine a few years ago which has caused an occasional bowel obstruction from the surgical scars. The pain is overwhelming and trips to the ER are not an option. Because of this she is generally peel and high fiber averse now, still slowly working her way back to trying things here and there even 4 years later. The benefit for me is that I get all of the baked potato and apple peels! So I'm in your court here, but I bake for her as well as for me.
And yes, I had the inkling since these finished baking that the crust and crumb were indeed softer.
Thanks, alan
shot on this one, We love potato in bread and oat too. Something about both of them just makes the bread better . Well done and happy baking.
or something like that...
potato you want to get it into the autolyse for sure. Then you lynhave to do 40 slap and folds to get everything mixed instead of 400 and the crumb won't be over worked from the get go. Still, the crumb looks perfectly fine for sandwiches.
Happy baking
I have never imagined this bread shaped as baguettes. Did the baguette shape made the crust crunchier than the batard?
As I discovered, the potato acts as a "softener" to the dough and subsequent bread. I was surprised that the baguettes were not any crunchier than the batard. I was also concerned with getting them a shade darker for a first run.
As this was a new thing for me, using potato, all bets were off as to the final product, including whether the baguettes would bloom well or not. As it turned out - "no worries, Mate", as a number of my Brit co-workers were apt to say.
Thanks, alan