Whenever we visit my father in law, the kids talk for weeks about the potato bread. My father in law buys commercial potato bread and it really does make a great, sturdy slice of toast.
Inevitably, when we get back, the kids ask me to buy potato bread and then I don’t because I usually bake my own bread. Then they ask me to make potato bread, but I also never had a good potato bread recipe so I still don’t. I once made a Onion Bread with potato and my Easter Bread also has a little bit of potato, but neither really seemed like the potato bread my kids ask for.
Then I read this month’s Cook the Books Club pick:
The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club by Helen SimonsonMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
A delightful little post WWI read. I loved immersing myself in the lives of Constance and all of the motorcycle ladies!
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It was a nice little historical fiction that managed to combine levity with the harsh realities facing survivors of WWI.
There was some food mentioned in the novel, but nothing really struck me as something I wanted to make. Since some rationing was still in place just after the war, when this story took place, I started wondering if I could find any recipes specifically from that era.
After some searching, I came across this gem!
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is a fun historical read, compiled in 1918 to deal with rationing due to The Great War (WWI). It's like stepping into a time capsule and enjoyable to cookbook and history enthusiasts.
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This fascinating little cookbook, published in 1918, was just what I was looking for with hundreds of war time recipes. I started reading and was so pleased when I found this recipe for potato bread!
There was a little learning curve involved with this one. The recipe left some details out (like oven temp and cooking time). Additionally, since the potato takes the place of cooking liquid, it takes a lot of muscle to work all the flour in. My stand mixer was taking too long, so I ended up finishing by hand. The last learning curve was the proofing time. This bread has a very long rise time. I under-proved it the first time, so the bread was a bit dense (but still tasty). In later breads, I got the one you see here, which my kids said was the breadiest bread they’ve ever seen, since it looked like a cartoon drawing of bread!
This potato bread was just what I was looking for. It is sturdy, yet soft and absolutely delicious as toast!
Potato Bread
Adapted from the “Win the War” Cook Book
2 pounds potatoes
4 ½ teaspoons active dry yeast
¼ cup warm water (about 110 degrees F)
6 - 7 cups all purpose flour, divided
1 tablespoon salt
Boil the whole potatoes until soft. Set aside until cool enough to handle. Peel the still warm potatoes, then press through a ricer. There should be about 2 ½ cups (packed) potatoes.
Next, place the water and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer and stir to mix. Set aside for 3 minutes or until the yeast just begins to bubble.
Add the potatoes and ½ cup of the flour to the yeast mixture and stir to mix. Cover and set aside in a warm, draft free area for 15 minutes or until the sponge is light.
Uncover and add the salt and 4 cups of flour. Knead with the paddle attachment until incorporated. Switch to the dough hook. Continue adding flour until it becomes difficult to incorporate more flour. Check if the dough is still sticky, if so, knead another cup of flour in by hand, until a stiff, tacky dough is formed.
Place the dough in a greased bowl and cover. Set in a warm, draft free area for 90 minutes or until doubled in size.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Form the dough into two loaves and place in lightly greased 9x5 inch loaf pans. Cover and allow the bread to rise for 30-45 minutes or until doubled in size.
Bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes or until the top is browned and reaches an internal temperature of 190 degrees F on a thermometer.
Cool before slicing.
Makes 2 loaves
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