Recipe Courtesy of Bake from Scratch Magazine
There isn’t anything quite like the proud feeling I get when I bake a loaf of bread at home. And I don’t mean a quick bread; (although I love making those as well!) I mean a yeast-based dough that has to rest for a few hours, then be punched down and kneaded, then rested again before baking in a hot oven. I know it sounds time consuming and overwhelming, but the hands-on time is actually very minimal and so are the ingredients that you need.
One staple I recommend having if you are interested in learning how to bake from scratch is, well….a subscription to the marvelous magazine aptly named Bake From Scratch. Filled with all sorts of baked goods from savory breads to sweet breakfast pastries, to even cookies, pies, cakes—it covers the classic techniques you’ll need to become a master home baker, as well as newer techniques so that even the accomplished baker can learn a thing or two. Take this Sweet Potato Boule for example. If you aren’t familiar with a boule, it is a rustic, round loaf of yeasted bread. With a crunchy exterior and tender interior, this type of French bread is one of my favorites. It can be flavored with your favorite herbs, cheeses, seeds, oats, dried fruits—it is quite versatile.
For this slightly sweet and lightly orange-hued version, the star ingredient is mashed sweet potatoes. The sweet potatoes go right into the dough along with bread flour, salt, yeast, and warm water. And that’s it for ingredients! After the dough rests at room temperature covered for a couple hours, it then goes into the fridge overnight for its second resting period. The next day, it gets formed and then rises again at room temperature before being baked in a Dutch oven. With the lid on the Dutch oven, baking the bread in a super hot oven helps to achieve the aforementioned crusty yet tender loaf of bread. Such a fun recipe to make! And like me, you’ll deserve a proud pat-on-the-back when this loaf of bread comes hot out of the oven.
(To view this recipe, click on the following link: https://www.bakefromscratch.com/sweet-potato-dutch-oven-bread/ )
‘Sweet Potato Dutch Oven Bread’
Ingredients:
- For more information on Bake from Scratch magazine and their Dutch oven bread ideas: https://www.bakefromscratch.com/dutch-oven-bread-variations/
- *Specific recipe below courtesy of the Sept/Oct 2018 issue of Bake from Scratch Magazine:
- https://www.bakefromscratch.com/sweet-potato-dutch-oven-bread/
- 4 cups bread flour
- 1 1/2 cups lightly mashed baked sweet potato
- 1 Tablespoon kosher salt
- 2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
- 1 1/2 cups warm water (105 degrees to 110 degrees F)
- corn flour, for dusting
Directions:
- In a large bowl, place bread flour, sweet potato, salt and yeast. Add 1 1/2 cups warm water, and stir by hand until fully incorporated and a sticky dough forms. (Alternatively, place bread flour, sweet potato, salt and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add 1 1/2 cups warm water, and beat at medium speed until a sticky dough forms, about 30 seconds).
- Cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free place for 2 hours. Then, refrigerate for at least 2 hours (preferably overnight).
- Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface, and gently press down just to level and even it out. Starting on the left side and working clockwise, fold edges of dough toward center, pressing lightly. Turn dough ball over, and using both hands, cup dough, and repeat until you have a smooth, tight, sealed round.
- Heavily dust a sheet or parchment paper with corn flour; place dough on parchment, seam side up. Cover and let rise in a warm draft-free place for 1 hour.
- When dough has 30 minutes left to rise, place a 6- to 7- quart Dutch oven and lid in a cold oven. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.
- Carefully remove hot Dutch oven from oven, remove lid, and quickly turn bread into Dutch oven so seam is now on the bottom. Score top of the bread as you wish (careful not to touch the hot Dutch oven). Cover with lid and place back in the oven.
- Immediately reduce the oven temperature to 450 degrees F. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove the lid, and bake until an instant-read thermometer inserted in center registers 190 degrees F, 10-15 minutes more. Immediately remove loaf from Dutch oven, and let cool completely on a wire rack.
Tagged: bake, Bake from Scratch, Bake from Scratch Magazine, baking, ball, boule, bread, bread flour, dutch oven bread, flour, French, homemade bread, mashed sweet potatoes, round bread, salt, sweet potato bread, sweet potato dutch oven bread, warm water, yeast
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