Monday, October 20, 2008

Parmesan potato bread

Parmesan potato bread

Daylight Saving Time started on the weekend here and I’m so sleepy... I love this time of the year – the feeling of longer days, especially on the weekends, is fantastic – but the first week is a tough one. :S

A slice of this insanely tender bread – one of Nic’s wonderful recipes – is certainly a great way of starting one’s day, even if the sun hasn't come up yet.
The cheese flavor is very subtle, so spread some butter, jam, Nutella or whatever strikes you fancy. Next time I make this recipe I’ll sprinkle some parmesan over the bread before baking it. Yum!

Parmesan potato bread

Parmesan potato bread

224g/8oz baking/russet potatoes
2 tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup (240ml) milk (low fat is fine), room temperature
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons salt
½ cup (120ml) water
4-5 cups (560-700g) all purpose flour – I used 4 ¼ cups
1 cup (100g) Parmesan cheese, grated
1 egg + 2 tablespoons water (for egg wash)

Peel potatoes and cut into even chunks. Boil potato pieces in a small saucepan until tender. Drain cooking liquid and completely mash potato (a ricer works well here) until smooth. Transfer potato to a large mixing bowl and stir in butter and milk, mixing until well combined.
Stir active dry yeast and sugar into the potato mixture. Let stand for 5-10 minutes, until mixture is slightly foamy. Add in salt, water and 3 cups (420g) of flour. Mix until smooth, either stirring with a wooden spoon or using the dough hook attachment on an electric stand mixer. Stir in parmesan cheese and gradually add in additional flour in ¼ cup (35g) increments until dough comes together and pulls away from the sides of the mixing bowl. If using an electric mixer, continue to knead at medium speed for about 5 minutes until dough is smooth and elastic. If mixing by hand, turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 5-7 minutes, until dough is smooth and elastic.

Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 45-60 minutes, or until doubled in size.
Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and gently deflate. Divide in half, shape into long, oval loaves and place on a baking sheet generously sprinkled with cornmeal or lined with non-stick baking paper (if using regular baking paper, brush it lightly with butter or oil) – you can made small slits on the surface of each loaf.
Cover with a clean dish towel, and let rise for 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 190ºC/375ºF.
Stir together egg and water with a fork and lightly brush mixture over the risen loaves.
Bake for 30-40 minutes, until bread is a dark golden brown and the bottom sounds hollow when tapped. An internal read thermometer inserted into the center of each loaf will read 90-93ºC/195-200ºF.
Transfer loaves to a wire rack to cool.
Cool completely before slicing.

Makes 2 large loaves

Parmesan potato bread

35 comments:

Erin said...

This is a seriously lovely loaf of bread! I wish mine would come out so gorgeous and shiny. I bow down to you oh master of kneading ;)

Arundathi said...

that is beautiful! gorgeous color :)

Peter G | Souvlaki For The Soul said...

Double Yum Patricia! Love the use of the potatoes and cheese.

Snooky doodle said...

this looks so nice. I m jealous since i m a freak at bread making . I m also a bread addict though. i m drooling . Great looking bread.

Anonymous said...

I'm drinking my morning tea and I wish I could have a slice or two of this tasty tender bread !...

Anonymous said...

That loaf of bread looks so gorgeous Patricia! I agree that potatoes somehow make bread really gorgeous to eat :)

My Sweet & Saucy said...

I love potato bread and with parmesan added I bet it tastes even better!

jasmine said...

What a lovely loaf...must bookmark this recipe.

j

Anonymous said...

Patricia, your bread is always perfect. That berry jam looks like the perfect accompaniment!

Anh said...

Wow wow wow! This makes me drooool!

Lydia (The Perfect Pantry) said...

Daylight Savings Time doesn't start for two more weeks here, but I am not looking forward to it. Maybe a loaf of this bread would ease the way into the dark days of winter.

Manggy said...

Hee, I just amused myself thinking this would be an awesome entry for a paper chef challenge with potatoes, parmesan, and nutella as the secret ingredients. Looks beautiful (love the smooth top)-- great rebound after the great Jamie Oliver disaster of 08!

Karen Baking Soda said...

That looks definitely yummy! Love the flavour combo

Meeta K. Wolff said...

what a sensatioanl idea for a bread parmesan and potato. I love the golden color!

Cookie baker Lynn said...

Gorgeous loaf! It must taste amazing with potatoes and cheese in it. I will seriously have to try this.

Katie said...

This looks so good. I really need to try my hand at making bread!

LyB said...

I love baking bread. Just the smell of it is enough to make my mouth water! This one must smell fabulous with the cheese in it, it sounds delicious!

Vera said...

Beautiful bread!

Emily Rose said...

What a beautiful loaf! I made the brownie-roll out cookies that you posted a few weeks ago and I just wanted to let you know that I loved them- mine weren't as pretty as yours though- you can check them out on my blog! Thanks for the link to the great recipe!

pam said...

What a pretty loaf of bread!

Susan from Food Blogga said...

I love potato and parmesan pizza, so I know I'd adore this bread. And what a lovely golden sheen it has too.

Gigi said...

ooo, i am having soup right now and a piece of your bread would simply divine! yummy!

Marysol said...

So here I was, fighting a cold when I stumbled onto your fluffy, fresh out of the oven parmesan and potato bread. Suddenly, all I want to do is skip sleep altogether and bake bread. And it's all your fault.

Emily said...

Everything you make looks so delicious!
Get some rest.

Anonymous said...

Oh my goodness I love it, what a wonderful bread and with the cheese..vavoom.

Peabody said...

Oh I love a good potato loaf, this looks like a keeper.

Anonymous said...

Your bread looks so wonderful! Love the addition of parmesan.

Patricia Scarpin said...

Erin, you are just adorable!
xoxo

Arundathi, thank you!

Pete, I was very interested in the recipe exactly because of these two ingredients.

Snooky Doodle, I can't live without bread, too. :)

Vanille, I wish I could share it with you, my dear!

Lorraine, and so tender! :)

Melody, it does! Parmesan makes anything better. :)

Jasmine, you must! :)

Syrie, that berry jam is one of my favorites!

Anh, hahha, you are too kind, my dear.

Lydia, you have it during the winter? Really? We only have it here on spring and summer.

Mark, indeed! My revenge. ;)

Baking Soda, thank you!

Meeta, thank you, darling!

Lynn, you definitely should. After that gorgeous braided bread you made... :)

Katie, you do! It's really relaxing and therapeutic, and the results are super yummy. :)

LyB, anything with Parmesan has my undivided attention. :)

Vera, thank you!

Emily, I was so glad to see your cookies! Thank you for letting me know!

Pam, thank you!

Susan, now you've got me craving potato and parmesan pizza. ;)

Gigi, I bet your soup was delicious, sweetie!

Marysol, I'm guilty as charge! :D

Emiline, this is my way of resting. :)

Cathy, cheese is always welcome around here. ;)

Pea, it is!

Linda, thank you, darling!

sunita said...

That is one beautiful bread :-)

Deborah said...

Potato bread is my favorite and this has me wanting some!!

MyKitchenInHalfCups said...

It's beautiful!
The shape reminds me of a potato and seems just perfect!
Potato bread is just so good and parmesan would just add to it's goodness.

Anonymous said...

wow, even I can smell that bread from here, and its waking me up - instantly!!! I'd love if you could send this in for my Vegetarian Thanksgiving recipe carnival pat!:)

Anonymous said...

It is rather interesting for me to read that post. Thanx for it. I like such topics and everything that is connected to them. I would like to read a bit more soon.

Sukanya said...

Thank you, thank you, thank you. I just baked my first two loaves of potato bread following your recipe and it came out awesome. First I was hooked by the pic of your lovely loaf. And I had all the ingredients. So I set off to bake and came out smiling till my mouth ached :-) . This is the first time I ever baked bread of any kind!!

I have a convection microwave oven and wondered how well it would bake. Plus I had to add more flour while I was kneading the dough since it was too sticky. But it turned out great. The bottom of the loaf wasn't browned, but it was completely cooked.

I don't use eggs, so I used a cornstarch based glaze and it turned out pretty well. Thanks tons for this recipe.

Patricia Scarpin said...

Dear Sukanya, thank YOU for coming here to let me know how your bread turned out - I'm so glad to hear the recipe worked out for you!
And your first bread? I'm so honored! :)

The amount of flour may vary because of the different types of flour in different countries.

Thank you!

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