Monday, November 26, 2007

The Daring Bakers: Tender Potato Bread

For my second Daring Baker's challenge (and number 13 in the series), Tanna, of My Kitchen in Half Cups, presented us with something savory (for which I thank her from the bottom of my heart): Tender Potato Bread, from Home Baking: The Artful Mix of Flour and Traditions from Around the World, by Naomi Duguid and Jeffrey Alford.

I grew up baking bread with my mom, but life, school, and career took precedence over bread baking for many, many years. Lately, I have felt a real yearning to start working with dough again, and have been filling up my freezer with all sorts of interesting flours that I've been hoping to experiment with. Someday.

Well, Tanna's challenge gave me the opportunity to take the leap. And the wonderful thing is, many things went wrong, but I was having so much fun creating this marvel that I didn't care! And the bread still turned out great!

Exhausted from Thanksgiving baking (more on that in a future post), not to mention desserts, I opted to bake two simple loaves, one a 9 x 5 inch and the other an 8 x 4 inch. I added about a cup more of flour than the directions called for, but still had a huge gooey mess on my hands that was absolutely impossible to shape. It was like a big pile of goo. I finally resorted to my KitchenAid with its dough hook (allowed for medical reasons).

Now, I'm sure you're wondering what medical reasons I could be talking about. Well, at Thanksgiving dinner, while removing a pecan pie from a tart pan, I cut the forefinger of my right hand so deeply with the edge of the pan that my finger continued to bleed for over two hours. I noticed something was amiss when I saw the blood running down the knife I was using to cut pie slices.

As if that were not enough, on Saturday I slammed the sliding glass door on the other forefinger, and opened up a nice little cut there, too. When I lost my band aids in my gooey potato bread dough and had to fish them out, I decided to pull out the KitchenAid.

At any rate, I can see from other Daring Bakers' pictures that I could have added even more flour. I literally had to pour the dough into the baking pans. No shaping of the loaves, let alone rolls, was possible. So I poured and hoped for the best.

There are a couple band aids in here. Luckily, I found them!
I was not disappointed. This bread is delicious - moist, with a lovely crumb that takes well to liberal buttering. The crust is chewy and crispy. The whole wheat flour and potato give the bread a depth of flavor usually lacking in white loaves. In fact, I'm thinking of having another piece as I write this, but have decided to wait and try a soy bacon - lettuce -and tomato sandwich for lunch. I can just imagine the mayonnaise sinking into the nooks and crannies of this tasty loaf!
Some notes: I used russet potatoes, and King Arthur brand unbleached all purpose, and whole wheat flours.

Happy Baking! And check out the wonderful creations of the other Daring Bakers!

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19 Comments:

Blogger Brilynn said...

I don't think you're the only one who had to pour their dough into the pans! It certainly was sticky! Well done!

November 26, 2007 11:38 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Your bread looks terrific! And get well soon - fingers are important in the cooking world :)

November 26, 2007 1:09 PM  
Blogger Deborah said...

I cut a finger preparing for Thanksgiving, so I know how difficult it is trying to knead bread with a cut finger!! Your bread looks great!!

November 26, 2007 1:53 PM  
Blogger breadchick said...

Ouch! I think quite a few people had to pour their dough into pans. Great job on sticking with it despite an injury. Nice job on this month's challenge!!

November 26, 2007 6:18 PM  
Blogger Miss Ifi said...

That is some sticky looking dough, still some beautiful bread!! Congratulations!!!

November 26, 2007 10:47 PM  
Blogger Chris said...

Your bread looks great. You'd never know the dough was poured. :)great job!

November 26, 2007 10:52 PM  
Blogger Peabody said...

Way to work through your injury! Great job on your bread!

November 27, 2007 2:50 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Love this post (except for your poor bleeding finger) and your enthusiasm for getting back to the bread game. The crust on your loaf looks wonderful!

November 27, 2007 9:22 AM  
Blogger Madam Chow said...

Thank you all for visiting! I learn so much and get inspiration from all your blogs!

November 27, 2007 9:31 AM  
Blogger Rowena said...

Yikes! Ouch on two accounts! At least the results turned out to your liking so that makes up for it all right? ;-)

Re: your comment on the Gold Bond stamps. I can imagine just how you felt when you stumbled upon them. I'm sure there are still some tucked away here and there in the kitchen of my parents' home. I think if I come across them on the next trip back, I'll turn them into a sort of bookmark keepsake.

November 27, 2007 10:17 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

So glad that you could reconnect to an activity you used to enjoy. Beautiful bread!

November 27, 2007 8:47 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Excellent results! That's something that I would do too, having to fish out bandages. That's so classic!

November 27, 2007 10:30 PM  
Blogger Rosa's Yummy Yums said...

Your loaves look great! Well done!

Cheers,

Rosa

November 28, 2007 4:03 AM  
Blogger Canadian Baker said...

Hope your fingers are feeling better. I agree, the batter sure was sticky but your bread looks great!

November 28, 2007 11:33 AM  
Blogger Helene said...

You are a trooper for working through your injuries. The breads look wonderful! Great job!

November 28, 2007 2:12 PM  
Blogger Gretchen Noelle said...

Bandaids in the dough! Wow...too funny! Hope you enjoyed the end product!

November 28, 2007 3:30 PM  
Blogger Christine said...

I read your post with my brother and we were both "OOOOHHHH"- and "EEEEWWWW"-ing! together! I hope you your fingers are okay.

Your bread looks great and sounds like it tasted good, even if the consistency wasn't what you were expecting. It's sort of similar to an english muffin bread that I read, it's not shaped but just plopped into the pan and there are decently placed holes in the crumb but it's spongy and tender.

Christina ~ She Runs, She Eats

November 28, 2007 6:32 PM  
Blogger Julie said...

Your poor fingers! I'm glad you didn't lose those in the dough, too! Your bread looks delicious!

November 29, 2007 5:03 PM  
Blogger Dolores said...

Hee Hee... there's a part of me that thinks you should have left the bandaids, and offered the finder a prize. :)

Your breads look great. I hope your fingertips have healed!

December 06, 2007 7:00 PM  

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