It’s been a while since I made bread. So I was excited to see this week’s Tuesdays with Dorie Baking with Julia recipe was “rustic potato loaves” (p 138). Mostly because I loved the sound of a potato bread but also because we were being given permission to make something “rustic” looking. All right then. My kinda challenge!
It’s a quick and easy to make bread, requiring only a little bit of pre-planning (you need to make sure you have the potatoes cooked and cooled before you start) and only 2 short rises (1x 40 minutes, 1x 20 minutes), then it cooks for just under an hour. It doesn’t rise so much actually, even during the first one and I was a little worried that I had over-kneaded it. I used the Kitchen Aid but my little Artisan was struggling with both the quantity of dough (and I only made 1/2 the specified quantity for one loaf instead of two) and the texture (once it actually came together it was pretty stiff). I probably only kneaded for about 8 minutes with the mixer, then a couple of minutes by hand just to get it smooth.
As you can see, I had a little trouble with the seam splitting – it’s supposed to, just not this much. No matter, it’s meant to be rustic, right?
I actually love the way it looks but was concerned that it might be under-baked on the inside (though I did the “tap to see if it sounds hollow” test as well as test its internal temperature with a digital thermometer…). The proof, as they say, is in the slicing…
Yup, pretty good crumb and pretty, to boot. I love the flecks of potato skin through the bread. I didn’t think it tasted as strongly of potato as I was expecting (that’s ok, actually!) and the texture was lighter and softer than I expected as well. It was lovely fresh, still warm (my neighbours, who always seem to appear as if by magic when I am photographing my food outside, concur) and it was great a few hours later served with a little butter. The next day, it made great toast. I’ll be remembering this for a “quick” bread (as opposed to a quick bread) in the future and can see all sorts of possibilities for playing with flavours – rosemary potato bread perhaps – and colours (wouldn’t chives look fab in this bread?). A winner all round!
This week’s Tuesdays with Dorie, Baking with Julia hosted by Dawn of Simply Sweet and you can find the recipe posted on her blog. Tuesdays with Dorie participants do not publish the recipes on our blogs except if we happen to be the host for the week, rather, we prefer if you purchase Baking with Julia for yourselves which you can do here on Amazon or Amazon Canada. Or for free worldwide shipping, buy from The Book Depository. Then join us, baking along at Tuesdays with Dorie. Go on, you know you want to.
Perfectly rustic and marvelous, Mardi! Mine looked even MORE rustic 😉
Your bread looks beautiful!!!! A beautiful crust that gives a nice rustic look!!!
I love this recipe too, easy and very tasty, definitely a keeper!!!
This looks amazing! I love good bread.
I was surprised how quickly this one went – must have been that tablespoon of yeast. I had set aside much more time than I needed to get this one done – happy surprise!
Your bread looks lovely – nice crumb. You’ve conquered macarons, meat, yeast… What’s next?
This was a happy surprise for me too 🙂
I love the rustic look, myself…remind one you’re not eating anything with the word “Wonder” in it. 🙂
I’m not sure I would have ever guessed this was a potato bread. Nice, delicious, if *perhaps* a tad sweet for me. But toasted beautifully.
All around, a winner.
We happened to pair this with apple cider (of the alcoholic variety, bien sur!), more as we had with some cheese as apero.
Exactly, the seam splitting makes your lovely loaf look really rustic and extremely scrumptious. Well done! 🙂
It did rise remarkably quick. Well done on a beautiful loaf!
Your bread looks wonderful. I love fresh baked bread with a few pieces of hard cheddar. So good!
This bread looks delicious. I like the way the seam split, it definitely looks rustic, pretty 🙂 I haven’t made bread in a while either, this make me want to break out the yeast!
Love the look of this bread.
Can’t wait to TASTE it!
I love the rustic look too! Your bread looks great. And it is really a good bread and quick. I would make this again in a heartbeat.
Love how your loaves turned out! Great post!
Your bread looks just perfect. I often wonder what my neighbors think as I am taking my food outside and start snapping photos!
My neighbours are fabulous taste testers!
I actually like when seams open, it gives them a more rustic look, and extra crusty skin! It looks so great Mardi!
Love the way your bread looks, Mardi. Each loaf develops in its own unique way, which is half the fun of baking bread.
Your bread looks beautiful! The seam splitting just makes it even better actually. I made the last hunk of mine into garlic croutons for salad and they were amazing – if you have any left I would definitely suggest it!
What a perfect bread for croutons!
Love making rustic bread. Yours look perfectly delicous.
Your bread is absolutely beautiful! I too loved the specks of potato peel.
I think it looks lovely and the potato peel did give it a wonderful flecked quality. Your story about your neighbours made me laugh – they have caught on to the availability of treats!
Indeed they have!
Well, baking like you do, no wonder your neighbour appears each time your bring your delicatesses outside… 🙂
Your bread looks beautiful, Mardi.
I preferred to peel the potatoes (even if I do love the peel when I roast them) and add whole what flour and ground flax seeds…
This bread is a winner: my favourite so far.
I like the idea of adding in flax seeds!