Monday, November 26, 2007

In the nick of time


I made it, but just barely! For some reason I thought I had a few more days until the Daring Bakers deadline for this month. Fortunately I saw a post on Eva's blog this afternoon and, after a few choice words, ran to the kitchen and began baking. Luckily for me this challenge was a bread challenge. I feel pretty comfortable with making most breads. I had not however, ever made bread using potatoes in the dough. Our challenge, brought to us by "bread head" Tanna of "my kitchen in half cups" fame, was to make Tender Potato Bread. No big deal, or so I thought before I actually began to make the bread. I must admit working with the potato dough was a bit more difficult than I anticipated. First of all I wasn't really sure if I was using too much/not enough of the potatoes. The recipe said to use 4 medium potatoes, or 8 oz of mashed potatoes. I put my potatoes through a ricer and they came out very fluffy. I measured out 8 oz (and then added a bit more) and added it to the water. My dough was very sticky when I turned it out to knead. I think I should have mixed in more flour before beginning the kneading. The dough rose nicely. Mine was doubled in size in just over an hour. Then the recipe said to knead the dough for a few more minutes and then make your loaves or rolls. This is where I had some trouble. My dough was still very sticky and I found it difficult to get a nice loaf shape. It took a little patience but I did get the dough into a pretty good loaf. With the rest of the dough I made rolls. I topped half with rosemary and left the other half plain.

The only other problem I had was caused by my dirty oven. I used the bottom oven because I was using the top oven as a proof box. The recipe called for the oven to be set at 450. I guess the last time I used that oven I made some sort of fruit dessert that cooked out all over the bottom. All of a sudden my kitchen was filled with smoke and a burning smell. Thankfully the fire alarm didn't go off. After carefully scraping out the bottom of the oven with a spatula, I was ready to bake some bread! I took Tanna's advice and turned the oven down after 10 minutes. I left it at 425 and my bread cooked much quicker than the time stated in the recipe. The finished product was a delicious light flavored, soft bread. I think if I make it again I'd put Asiago or Guyere cheese on top of the loaf.
Woohoo I made it! Just under the wire, baked and posted in record time! Thanks Tanna for a delicious savory DB challenge and for helping me get my oven clean:) Next month I"ll try not procrastinate!


**UPDATE I used my rosemary rolls to make a sandwich for lunch today and OMG it was one of the best sandwiches ever! I used turkey and baby swiss with peach chutney... Wow... The rosemary roll was so good with the turkey and chutney. Now I wish I'd made all my rolls with rosemary instead of half plain:( Oh well I guess it's an excuse to make more!

23 comments:

Anonymous said...

Your rolls and loaf both look so scrumptious! And kudos to still finishing the challenge today! I probably would have just cursed at myself and pouted in a corner ;-)

Unknown said...

oh goodness i have had several cooking experiences with fire alarms so i feel you, hahaha, the bread looks wonderful, the first picture made me drool

... said...

your tpb looks amazing. you couldn't tell that you just made it. that's looks picture perfect

Peabody said...

Oh no about the smoky oven...but you got some great looking bread.

slush said...

Your rolls and loaf look ever so good. How did you get them so shiny!

And I love a fellow procrastinator!!!

Great job! xo

April said...

All of your variations look wonderful!

breadchick said...

Beautiful breads! Great job on this month's challenge, despite the smokey oven.

Gabi said...

Your load is gorgeous and you made it in lickety split time. Fabulous job!
Once my ex-boyfriend's mum put a plastic bowl in my oven (for some unknown reason) and I turned the oven on to preheat without checking- your smoking oven story had me laughing to remember trying to clean gooey melted burning smoking plastic out without the alarms going off! hahaha

Sara, Ms Adventures in Italy said...

Yum...they look golden and delicious...!

MyKitchenInHalfCups said...

Well, anytime I can help clean the oven just let me know!
Your first photo is WOW! Beautiful!
Delighted you didn't miss this one Paula. Potato is a very interesting ingredient in bread and it does make a dough more challenging.
Happy you baked with us.

Cynthia said...

Gosh your potato breads are outstanding.

Helene said...

Oh Paula, you did a fantastic job! The breads all look wonderful and that sandwich makes me hungry again...and I have got a couple hours to go until lunch time. I hope everything is well for you and your husband!

Jen Yu said...

Yay for sandwiches! I too adored this bread with sandwich fixins. Yours look wonderful and yummy. Great job (they are so pretty).

-jen at use real butter

Deborah said...

Wow - that's the spirit!! Baking it the day we post!! It looks amazing.

Nora B. said...

hi! It's good that you didn't miss out. Although the dough was sticky (I had a bit of trouble shaping it too), the taste and texture of the bread makes it all worth it.

p/s: I hope that you second oven is ok now.

Christine said...

Your loaf and rolls are wonderful! Great job with shaping the sticky dough.

Christina ~ She Runs, She Eats

Anonymous said...

I hate it when the oven starts to smoke ... that happens to me sometimes! Your rolls and your loaf are just beautiful!

Eva said...

Haha, I'm glad to hear that the most forgetful person on earth actually helped you to make the deadline (even while not being aware of it at all..;-)
Lovely rosemary rolls!

Julie said...

You're right--this bread really did make awesome sandwiches! Your projects look delicious, especially your little rosemary bun!

Unknown said...

emmmm...that sandwich looks SO good (drooling..) I really like the glossy sheen on your rolls

Lesley said...

That's one great looking sandwich!! Great job!

Sheltie Girl said...

Wonderful job on the bread. Your loaf looks scrumptious.

Natalie @ Gluten A Go Go

Dolores said...

I'm glad you got this in under the wire... your bread looks yummy. Can I have a sandwich? :)