Potato Bread

5 from 1 ratings

This foolproof potato bread is soft, fluffy, and has a perfect crust. Mashed potatoes, butter, and eggs make it a rich, delicious sandwich bread!

Prep Time30

Cook Time30

Proof1 30

Total Time3

Course: Bread

Cuisine: Irish

Diet: Vegetarian

Servings: people

Author: Chef Lindsey

Ingredients

3 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 large eggs
¼ cup whole milk
2 ½ teaspoons active dry yeast 1 package
1 ¾ cups mashed potatoes cooled
6 tablespoons unsalted butter cubed

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Make the potatoes:

Place your washed potatoes in a pot. They can be whole or chopped.
Just cover the potatoes in water. This will help prevent the potatoes from absorbing too much moisture.
Bring to a boil and cook until fork tender. Drain the liquid and mash the potatoes while still warm.
Cool the potatoes at room temperature and place them well-wrapped in the fridge.

Make the dough:

In a small bowl, add active dry yeast. Set aside.
Warm milk in a small saucepan or microwave. Add a little cold milk to the warm milk until it reaches 100-110°F.
Measure a ¼ cup of the milk into the bowl with the yeast. Stir the yeast mixture gently and allow it to bloom for 10 minutes before adding it to the dough.
While you wait for the yeast to bloom, combine the all-purpose flour, salt, and sugar in a medium mixing bowl and set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the eggs and the cooled mashed potatoes. Once the yeast is bubbly, add the yeast as well.
Mix on low with the paddle attachment to create a smooth paste.
Add all the dry ingredients, switch to the dough hook attachment, and then mix on low for 15 minutes until a smooth but thick dough forms.
Add the butter all at once and mix on medium for 10 minutes—or as long as your stand mixer can handle!

Proof and shape:

Turn out the dough into a lightly oiled large bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Unlike the potato rolls, I bulk-proof this bread, especially with dry active yeast. My dough was absurdly cold, so I preheated my oven to 100°F, turned it off and then popped my dough bowl in. It warmed and doubled in about an hour.
Turn dough out onto an unfloured surface and pre-shape into a round. Bench rest for 10 minutes.
Final shape into a loaf by pulling it into a rectangular shape. Fold the top half of the dough down toward the center, rotate 180°, then fold the other side down, pressing. Perform 2 thumb folds by rolling the dough around the thumb of your left and then sealing the dough with the heel of the right hand. Start on the right side of the log and move across to the left.
Repeat once more. This dough stretches fairly easily, so you can scrunch the log shorter while performing the second thumb fold to keep it from getting too long for your pan.
Place seam side down in a 9x5 inch loaf pan sprayed with nonstick cooking spray or buttered.
Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm spot. Let it proof until the dough has risen above the pan and feels light and airy.

Time to bake:

Preheat the oven to 350°F convection or 375°F conventional (no fan).
Remove plastic from the surface and bake for 30-35 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 185°F.
Turn out onto a wire cooling rack immediately and let cool completely before serving. Try not to let your toddler sneak a piece!
Slice and serve. I used it to make pesto chicken salad sandwiches. They were pretty bomb!

Notes

Yield – 1 9x5 loaf

Presentation – Brush the potato bread with a little bit of butter out of the oven for a shiny crust.

Technique – When boiling your potatoes, don’t salt the water. Salted water plus salted dough equals an overly salted loaf.

Variations – When it comes to mashed potatoes I feel there is always the debate of skin or no skin. The great thing about this bread is you can use either to make a delicious loaf of potato bread.

Storage –Store well-wrapped at room temperature for up to 5 days or frozen for up to 2 months. There are no preservatives, so it will have the best texture if consumed within 2-3 days.

Nutrition