Sandwiches are high on the list when it comes to ways to use up Thanksgiving leftovers. However, if your gatherings are anything like ours, any kind of bread or roll from the Thanksgiving meal is usually devoured day of. Enter mashed potato bread. Use up a leftover the next day AND have bread for those turkey sandwiches.
From AnkarsrumUSA recipe developer, Carmi Adams:
I use potato flour in my Homemade Hamburger Buns, so I thought, why not mashed potatoes in a bread? Everyone makes their mashed potatoes a little different, but for this recipe I stuck to a simple peeled/boiled potatoes, salt, butter, whole milk, mash. I even tested with instant mashed potatoes, and just followed the directions on the back of the box. Now, if you like a little sour cream, heavy cream, cheese, etc. in your mashed potatoes, it’s not going to make too much of a difference in the bread.
Two important tips though for the mashed potatoes: 1) Warm up the leftover mashed potatoes. Warm (not too hot, don’t want to kill the yeast) mashed potatoes are much easier to incorporate into bread dough than cold. 2) Hold back just a little bit of the flour to see if you need it all. This is because everyone’s leftover mashed potatoes aren’t going to be the same consistency, and we want to avoid adding too much flour if someone has a thicker style of mashed potatoes.
I rarely use rolling pins for shaping bread loaves. Usually hands work just fine, unless the recipe calls for precise dimensions. Just use the loaf pan as a general guide. Pat dough out into a rectangle. Roll up tightly, making sure to avoid rolling in air pockets. Place seam side down in loaf pan.
Did you know that you can temp bread just like you would meat to see if it is done? This is especially helpful when trying out a new recipe. Just use a kitchen thermometer and stick in the middle of the loaf, about half way through. Most bread needs to be around 190° F. For this one aim for 195º- 200º F.
May your Thanksgiving holidays be full of delicious leftovers and spent with those you love. Happy Thanksgiving and happy baking!!
Mashed Potato Bread
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Inactive Time: 2 hours 15 minutes
80 g. (1/3 cup) warm water
86 g. (6 Tbsp.) unsalted butter, melted
1 large egg, room temperature
230 g. (1 cup) mashed potatoes, warmed
9 g. (2 1/4 tsp.) instant dry yeast
360 g. (3 cups) all purpose flour
6 g. (3/4 tsp.) kosher salt
Grease a 9×5 inch loaf pan. Set aside until ready to use.
Add the warm water, melted butter, egg, mashed potatoes and yeast to the stainless steel bowl with the roller/scraper attachment. Mix on medium speed (3 o’clock) until potatoes are thoroughly incorporated with the rest of the ingredients.
Decrease speed to low (1 o’clock). Slowly add the flour in, holding back about 30 g. (1/4 cup) to see if needed. Add in salt. Flour will take a little bit of time to mix in because the mashed potatoes make the dough a little stiffer. Move the arm to the middle of the bowl occasionally, if needed, to help incorporate flour in. Dough should be soft, but not sticky. If sticky, add in rest of flour. Lock arm in place about 1 inch away from side of the bowl. Increase speed to medium-low (between 2 and 3 o’clock) and set timer to knead for 10 minutes.
Once kneaded, shape dough into a ball. Cover and let rise until doubled in size, approximately 1 1/2 hours.
Once risen, turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Shape into a rectangle about 9×12 inches. Roll up into a tight log, and place seam side down into prepared loaf pan. Cover and let rise until doubled in size, approximately 45 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350º F.
Once risen, uncover loaf and bake for 35-40 minutes, until top is golden brown and internal temperature is between 190º -200º F.
Let bread cool for 10 minutes in loaf pan. Remove from pan and finish cooling on a wire cooling rack. Do not slice until fully cooled.
Yield: 1 loaf bread
WHOLE WHEAT VERSION
-Replace the all-purpose flour with 339 g. (3 cups) whole wheat flour. If milling at home, use a hard wheat.
-Mix the warm water, melted butter, egg and half the whole wheat flour together. Cover and let sit for 1 hour. This will soften the bran and begin gluten development, and is a helpful step when dealing with whole grain bread.
-Once the mixture has sat for an hour, add the yeast and mashed potatoes. Mix. Slowly add the rest of the flour and then salt. Knead for 8 minutes.
-Follow rising, shaping, and baking instructions above.
