Savory Sweet Potato Bread

There was a bread i baked last year called "Pumpkin Bread" from LA Bakery, but it was a real pain, it used sweet potatoes and pumpkin seeds. If you want I can dig up the formula.

Makes 3 One Pound loaves

Day One:

2 pounds yams/sweet potatoes

7 oz raw shelled pumpkin seeds

12 oz cold water

8 oz 100% Sourdough Starter

5 Tablespoons raw wheat germ

1 Teaspoon ground cumin

1 lb 2 oz unbleached bread flour

7 oz whole wheat

1 tablespoon sea salt

Bake yams at 400 degrees F until very soft, about one hour

Chill in fridge until cold, collect 10 oz of pulp, 1 1/4 cups, and discard the rest (the easy way- top with brown sugar, sour cream, and butter)

Toast pumpkin seeds at 350 degrees until puffed and lightly brownedPlace water, starter, wheat germ, cum, yam pulp, and flours in a mixing bowl, mix on low for 4 minutes. Dough should be wet and sticky

Add salt and mix on medium speed for 7 minutes, add the toasted pumpkin seeds and mix on low until evenly incorporated, about 2 minutes

Desired dough temperature is 70-72 degrees

Knead a few minutes by hands, let rise in a tightly covered bowl for 6-10 hours

Day 2:

Shape the dough and let it ferment, in a plastic bag/whatever you normally do, in the fridge for 6-10 hours

Day 3:(for me)

Preheat the oven to 500

Remove the shaped loaves from the fridge and allow to rest for 1 hour, or until it grows to 1/2 original size

Score, load the loaves and reduce oven temperature to 450 and steam as normal over a 5 minute period

Bake for 20 minutes, rotate if necessary and bake for 10 more minutes for a grand total of 35 minutes.

Notes: I guess you could make this in two days if you wanted to, it fit my schedule better to do it in 3 days, also the crumb is fine and soft, great for sandwichs and spreading with butter. I could not find untoasted wheat germ, so I used toasted wheat germ. You can also do the potatoes in the microwave.