Did you know there is a foodie holiday dedicated to potatoes in August? It’s called “National Potato Day” and it is being celebrated mostly in the US. Well… since I learned about that “holiday” several years ago I am celebrating this day as well ;) It gives me the chance to create something with these veggies and try something new here and there. I think January 1st is “Bloody Mary Day” – another foodie holiday I should consider celebrating… what do you think? ;P Anyway. Today I wanted to show you something made with potatoes and since this is one of my favorite bakes, I have this delicious and super easy Spelt Potato Bread for you. Fresh from the oven! Well almost… ;)
To be completely honest – I am not a bread baking “king”. It means I do like to bake my own bread from time to time, but whenever I do so, the recipe should be simple and easy. Like this spelt potato bread recipe, for example. Many bread recipes are quite complicated. You need a pre-dough plus sourdough plus whatever ;) Then you have to mix everything in a certain way, sometimes you have to knead at a specific speed, the dough needs an exact temperature range to rise properly and of course, that can take hours or days. Do not forget the maintenance of the sourdough for weeks in advance if you want to do everything from scratch. Also, your oven should be able to heat up to 1000°F with an option of adding steam and stuff like that (I might exaggerate here, but it really feels like that sometimes). Well… if I read “make the pre-dough” I normally skip the recipe already ;P
Well. This does not mean I am not doing complicated bread recipes at all – the bread made with those recipes is normally really great because of all the time and effort you invest – but I rather choose the easier way. You’re still baking your own bread when using an easy recipe and that is already great I think ;P I really admire all bakers that bake bread on a regular basis and those who are able to create great sourdough bread. Hats off! Even with all that lockdown time and working from home, this would normally be too exhausting for me ;P
But… as you can see – baking delicious bread can also be easy and not as difficult. This potato bread here is the perfect example. Yes… this bread also takes a long time from start to finish, but the time needed to actually do some work is really small. What you need is patience. The time the dough needs to rise is quite long. But I don’t mind waiting for several hours. There is so much you can do while waiting… you can do the laundry, walk the dog, or sort tax documents. One of my favorite things to do. Well, not really ;P
Anyway. I think you should bake this bread and see for yourself how easy it is to prepare. It might not look like a fancy artisan bread from the organic bakery around the corner, but the crust is nice and crunchy and the texture of the bread is really great. Very fluffy. And thanks to the potatoes in the dough, the bread also stays fresh for a long time. That’s why I love baking potato bread – easy or complicated. Does not matter ;P
INGREDIENTS / ZUTATEN
1 1/3 cups (320g) lukewarm water
0.4 oz. (12g) fresh yeast
17.6 oz. (500g) spelt flour
0.4 oz. (10g) salt
320g lauwarmes Wasser
12g frische Hefe
500g Dinkelmehl (Type 630)
10g Salz
DIRECTIONS / ZUBEREITUNG
2. Crumble the yeast and mix it with the lukewarm water – let it stand for about 5 minutes so the yeast can bubble up a bit. Mix the flour with the salt in a large bowl, add the yeast water and knead for about 2 minutes to form a smooth dough. Add the mashed potatoes and knead for another 3-4 minutes. Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel and let the dough rise at room temperature for about 4 hours.
3. Grease a loaf tin lightly. Knock the air out of the dough, shape it into a loaf, and place it inside the loaf tin. Brush the dough with some water, cover, and let rise another 20 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 480°F (250°C). Place a heatproof bowl with water on the bottom of the oven. Make several cuts in the risen dough with a very sharp knife and place the tin in the center of the oven. Reduce the temperature to 450°F (230°C) and bake the bread for about 45-50 minutes. Check after 30 minutes, if the surface gets too dark, cover with aluminum foil and continue baking. Take the finished bread out of the oven, remove it from the pan and let cool on a wire rack.
2. Die Hefe zerbröckeln und mit dem lauwarmen Wasser verrühren – etwa 5 Minuten stehen lassen. Das Mehl mit dem Salz in einer großen Schüssel vermischen, das Hefewasser dazugeben und für etwa 2 Minuten zu einem glatten Teig verkneten. Den Kartoffelbrei dazugeben und weitere 3-4 Minuten durchkneten lassen. Die Schüssel mit einem sauberen Küchentuch abdecken und den Teig für etwa 4 Stunden bei Zimmertemperatur gehen lassen.
3. Eine Kastenform leicht einfetten. Die Luft aus dem Teig Boxen und zu einem Laib formen, in die Form setzen, mit etwas Wasser befeuchten und abgedeckt noch einmal 20 Minuten gehen lassen. In der Zwischenzeit den Ofen auf 250°C (480°F) vorheizen. Eine feuerfeste Schüssel mit Wasser auf den Boden des Ofens stellen. Den gegangenen Teig mit einem scharfen Messer mehrmals einschneiden und dann in die Mitte des Ofens stellen. Die Temperatur auf 230°C (450°F) verringern und das Brot für etwa 45-50 Minuten backen. Nach etwa 30 Minuten checken, sollte die Oberfläche zu dunkel werden, mit Alufolie abdecken und weiterbacken. Das fertige Brot aus dem Ofen holen, aus der Form lösen und auf einem Kuchengitter abkühlen lassen.
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Here is a version of the recipe you can print easily.
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Easy Peasy (Spelt) Potato Bread
- Prep Time: 00:35
- Cook Time: 00:50
- Total Time: 06:00
- Yield: 1 1x
- Category: Bread
- Cuisine: Germany
Description
Simple and easy to prepare – Potato Bread is one of our favorite bakes stays fresh for days
Ingredients
7 oz. (200g) potatoes (mealy), boiled
1 1/3 cups (320g) lukewarm water
0.4 oz. (12g) fresh yeast
17.6 oz. (500g) spelt flour
0.4 oz. (10g) salt
Instructions
1. Boil the potatoes (skin on) in some salted water until done, drain, peel, and weigh about 7 oz. (200g) into a bowl. Mash with a potato masher while still warm and then let cool down.
2. Crumble the yeast and mix it with the lukewarm water – let it stand for about 5 minutes so the yeast can bubble up a bit. Mix the flour with the salt in a large bowl, add the yeast water and knead for about 2 minutes to form a smooth dough. Add the mashed potatoes and knead for another 3-4 minutes. Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel and let the dough rise at room temperature for about 4 hours.
3. Grease a loaf tin lightly. Knock the air out of the dough, shape it into a loaf, and place it inside the loaf tin. Brush the dough with some water, cover, and let rise another 20 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 480°F (250°C). Place a heatproof bowl with water on the bottom of the oven. Make several cuts in the risen dough with a very sharp knife and place the tin in the center of the oven. Reduce the temperature to 450°F (230°C) and bake the bread for about 45-50 minutes. Check after 30 minutes, if the surface gets too dark, cover with aluminum foil and continue baking. Take the finished bread out of the oven, remove it from the pan and let cool on a wire rack.
Notes
Enjoy baking!
