Monday, January 11, 2016

Rose's Sweet Potato Loaf


This slice of sweet potato bread looks almost exactly like the slice from the same bread I made almost ten years ago.  It's nice to know that some things never change.  I also thought--10 years ago--that this loaf would make great hamburger buns.  I still think so, but haven't tried it yet.  Maybe in another 10 years.


I think this was labelled as a yam, not a sweet potato, but, according to multiple internet sources, it's a sweet potato.  Real yams aren't sold in most American grocery stores, even though a sweet potato labelled as a yam is sold.  I started to read about the Great Yam Conspiracy, but then decided it wasn't that interesting.  But I got a huge one, so I could feed the rest of it to granddaughter Lily, who is just starting to enjoy mashed and pureed foods.  Anyway, I used buttermilk in place of some of the water, and I think buttermilk just added to the flavor.


The deep orange flesh of the yam/sweet potato colors the dough, but the rich color of the vegetable is muted by the time it mixes with flour.  To my surprise, I didn't have any dry milk.  I must have finally used up a package and unceremoniously put the empty package in the trash.  You'd think a person would remember that--kind of like finishing up a bottle of Tabasco sauce, but I don't think I've actually done that.


The dough was very soft and sticky, so I worked in more flour than I usually would.  It didn't take too much flour to become manageable, although it was still soft.


It was a below-zero day outside, so I brought out my Brod & Taylor folding bread proofer, and the lucky bread dough cozied up in 80-degree surroundings.  I'm sure it was very happy.


After baking and the butter glaze.  We went out for dinner just 10 minutes after I took the bread out of the oven, and didn't get back until after the requisite cooling time.  That was lucky because the bread smelled so good that I probably wouldn't have been able to wait.  As it was, three hours later, it sliced perfectly.  It tasted like an old-fashioned, State Fair medal-winning white bread, except that it had a more complex flavor (and it wasn't white).

I hope it doesn't take me 10 years to bake this again.



4 comments:

Vicki said...

What a lovely color! Mine is pale because I used a "sweet potato" which was long, slender and very light in color. Good to know it can take more flour for kneading. I won't be so timid next time. My son was watching football whilst picking up his King Cake and telling me about the game played in zero weather in Minneapolis so of course I thought of you!

Matthew said...

Looks great Marie. I make this recipe into rolls for Thanksgiving and they have always been a hit.

faithy said...

Looks wonderful! Making into rolls is a good idea!

Misha Barton said...

This looks wonderful and Thanks for sharing and for your hard work. May have to try this one.