Sweet Potato Everything Bread... Necessity Breeds Invention

I had this big fat sweet potato staring at me for a week. As some people in this household are not to fond of them, and I wasn't having a taste for it. I wanted to use  the sweet potato in  another way. I also had some Poppy Seeds that have been whispering for me to use them, every time I open my cabinet. 

Sweet Potato + Poppy Seeds + Yeast =A beautiful relationship

I call this my Sweet Potato Everything Bread. I'm feeling pretty confident as a baker now, where I can take liberties with a recipe base and expand. One of my first Daring Bakers Challenges a few years back was a great Potato Bread which I have used from time to time and seems almost fail proof. Using that recipe as a base I decided to switch out the white potato for sweet. Unfortunately I did not have the total amount of All Purpose Flour and didn't want to use more  Whole Wheat Flour , which was also required. I looked on my shelf and found some King Arthur's Rye Blend Flour and used some of that with the other two flours. I figured if anything it would be a great experiment. I also made an egg wash with some honey . The bread was topped with Poppy Seeds, Sesame Seeds, Dried Minced Onion and Sea Salt. The recipe yielded enough for a 20 rolls and 1 medium sized loaf of bread to slice. Certain Someone, who is very picky about bread was pleased with the results. He liked it. I take that as a  huge compliment because Europeans are finicky about their breads and are often disappointed with the  commercial findings here in the United States. The loaf and rolls have a tender crumb that would be great with jams or savory items.

Sweet Potato Everything Bread

12 oz of sweet potato pieces

4 cups of water

1 Tablespoon and 1 tsp seas salt

2 Teaspoons Active Dry Yeast

6 Cups All Pupose Flour

2 Cups Rye Blend Flour

1 cup Whole Wheat Flour

1 tablespoon butter at room temp/softened

Egg Wash

1 egg

1 teaspoon of milk or cream * Cream gives more glaze

1 teaspoon honey

Topping

2 Tablespoons Poppy Seeds

2 Tablesppons Dried Minced Onion

2 Tablespoons Sesame Seeds

1 teaspoon Sea Salt

Boil the sweet potato chunks with skin in the 4 cups of water and 1 teaspoon of the salt. Cook until tender. Drain the sweet potato, but save the water! Do not throw away the cooking  water as it will be used in the recipe. Peel of the skins and mash the sweet potato. Run  the sweet potato with the 3 cups of the cooking  water ( you may  have to add more water to make up difference) in a blender to make a smooth liquid mixture. Pour warm mixture into the mixing bowl of a stand mixer. Cool down until lukewarm .Add the yeast to sweet potato water and mix gently. Let rest for 5 minutes. It will start to bubble slightly on the surface.

Whisk together the all Purpose Flour and Rye Flour in a separate bowl to combine.  Add a few cups of this flour blend to the yeast , sweet potato mixture. Add the butter and salt and with the paddle attachment slowly blend to incorporate. Continue to add the remaining flour and the whole wheat flour as well. Switch to the dough hook. The dough will be sticky still but will start to take hold as more flour is added. It will still be a stickier dough however. With the dough hook , beat for several minutes ( about 8-10 minutes) until the the dough starts to hold its shape .Turn out into a clean bowl or container with lid. Cover and let rise in a  warm place for 2 hours or until double.
 On a clean counter surface which is lightly floured,  turn out the risen dough and punch down and knead to shape. Place the rolls or loaves into the respective baking  tins and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise again for approximately 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 450F
Mix the Seed Topping ingredients.
Mix egg,milk, and honey for egg wash.
After second rise, brush the formed dough with the egg wash and sprinkle with Seed Topping.
Bake at 450F until golden for about 30-40 minutes depending on size and shape of dough. If the topping starts to brown to fast . lightly cover with foil.
Remove from oven and let cool on wire baking racks for 1 hours or more to let bread rest.

 

I submit this to BYOB