Sweet Potato Bread

I love sweet potato fries. I have been making oven fries quite frequently, and the last time I made them, I tossed a whole sweet potato in the oven, as well. I wanted to make something with the baked sweet potato, so I decided to make bread. Although this is a yeast bread, it is very easy to mix together because it does not require much kneading.

This is a high hydration bread, so the dough is very soft and can get sticky. The trick is to not handle the dough too much. When mixing and kneading, gently scoop the dough onto itself instead of punching and pushing the dough around. The bread is yeasty, slightly sweet, and has a closed crumb. The color is more orange-y than pictured. 

Sweet Potato Bread
Makes one loaf

1 tsp yeast

2/3 cup warm water
1 medium sweet potato, baked
2 Tbsp turbinado sugar (or white sugar)
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp salt

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Add the yeast to the water, and let it sit for about 5 minutes.
Scoop out the sweet potato flesh and mash well with a spoon in a large mixing bowl. Add the sugar, salt, and oil. Add the yeast mixture and mix well.
Add the flour to the sweet potato mixture, and mix until a dough forms. Use your hands to gently knead the dough. It will be a very soft dough. Add a little flour if it gets too sticky. You want to knead/mix until the dough is uniform.
Place the dough in an oiled loaf pan. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rise in a warm place for about 60 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350 F. Bake for about 35-40 minutes.

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Honey Vanilla Oat Bread

Baked goods get eaten up so quickly in my house. The ginger cookies I made yesterday were gone in less than a day. Today, I threw a quick bread together, and it is almost gone, too (half of the fault is mine). Heck, I'm not complaining, though. It just means that I get to bake more! And experiment with my recipes.

Usually when I bake, I just toss things together if it's something I'm familiar with. I've made quick breads countless times, but have never written down a recipe. And since I'm eyeballing ingredients, I don't know the amounts I used. Oven time is also "whenever it's done". Some results are better than others, and it's a shame that I don't have the recipe to breads that turn out really well. Like this awesome pumpkin bread I made once...

This time, I measured ingredients out carefully and noted the oven time. Since I just pulled this recipe out of my head, I wasn't sure if it would turn out okay. Seems like I was successful this time.

This bread is hearty, nutty, and chewy. It's slightly sweet, and not overwhelmingly so. It would be perfect for breakfast or a snack with a cup of tea. Or maybe toasted with a drizzle of honey or a bit of jam.


Honey Vanilla Oat Bread

Dry:
1 cup oat flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour (or all purpose)
2 Tbsp flax meal
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
rolled oats (optional)

Wet:
2 ripe bananas (see note)
1/2 cup honey
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 Tbsp water

Preheat oven to 350 F
Combine oat flour, ww flour, baking powder and soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl (dry ingredients)
In a blender, blend bananas, honey, vanilla, and water until smooth (wet ingredients). Alternatively, mash bananas well and combine with rest of the wet ingredients.
Add the wet mixture to the dry, and mix until well combined. Spoon batter into a greased loaf pan. Sprinkle the top with some rolled oats, if you'd like. Bake for 28-30 minutes, or until a toothpick poked in the center comes out clean. It will become a dark golden brown.
Cool completely before slicing.

Note: Using bananas in this bread gives it a slight banana-y flavor. If you don't like the taste of bananas, you can sub 2/3 cup apple sauce for the bananas.

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Picnic Eats

For our picnic, I contributed two loaves of rustic bread and fruit tarts. The bread dough gets a long, slow rise in the refrigerator, which develops flavour and a beautiful crumb. If you want to make the bread in a day, skip the rise in the fridge and place it in a warm spot to rise for 1.5 to 2 hours. For the fruit tart, I made a lime curd and added strawberries. You can use different berries and other fruits, such as blueberries, raspberries, kiwi, peach slices, etc. I just used what I had.

Rustic Bread  

adapted from The Bread Baker's Apprentice

makes 3 loaves

 Ingredients

4 1/2 cups all purpose flour or high-gluten bread flour

1 3/4 tsp salt

1 tsp instant yeast

1 3/4 cup ice cold water

cornmeal or semolina flour for dusting

Making the dough

Combine flour, salt, and yeast in a large bowl. With a spoon, stir in the water a little at a time until it is absorbed. If you are using a stand mixer, use the dough hook on medium speed until the dough become smooth and sticky. If kneading by hand, knead vigorously for 5-7 minutes while moving the bowl in a circular motion with your other hand until the dough becomes smooth. The dough should be sticky, but able to clear the sides of the bowl. If it's too sticky, knead more flour into it. If it's too dry, add a teaspoon of cold water at a time to the dough.

Resting the dough

Place the dough on a well-floured work surface and cut the dough into 3 equal pieces. Flour each piece and gently round them into balls. Wrap loosely with plastic wrap and let it rest in the fridge overnight (at least 8 hours) or up to 3 days. If you want to bake the loaves on the same day, place the covered dough in a warm spot and let it rest for 1.5 to 2 hours.

Baking 

2 hours before baking the bread, remove the bread from the fridge and gently press the dough down to distribute the air bubbles. Cover the dough loosely in plastic wrap and let it rest for 2 hours. If your dough is already room temperature, skip the rest and shape your loaves.

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees with a baking pan on the top shelf, and if you have one, a baking stone. Have a cup of hot water ready.

After letting the dough rest, shape your loaves into either a long baguette shape or a round boule (ball). For the baguette, use a sharp knife to cut 3 diagonal slits. For the boule, cut an X on the top. Sprinkle some cornmeal or semolina flour on the baking peel, or on a pan if you aren't using a baking stone. Gently place the loaves on the peel or pan, and slide the loaves in the oven. Immediately pour the cup of hot water on the empty baking sheet on the top shelf. Be very careful of the steam and don't get water on the glass door.

Lower the temperature to 425 F and bake for 25 minutes or until the loaves are a nice golden colour.  

Fruit Tarts

 Lime curd

1/3 cup lime juice

2/3 cup sugar

3 large eggs

1 Tbsp lime zest

4 Tbsp butter,cut into pieces

Place lime juice, sugar, and eggs in a medium metal bowl and whisk until combined. Place the bowl over a pot of boiling water so that the bottom of the bowl is not touching the water. Stir constantly while the curd is cooking until it becomes thick, like sour cream. Remove from heat and pour through a fine strainer to remove lumps. Add the butter and zest and stir until butter is melted and combined. Cover with plastic wrap and keep in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Fruit Tarts

You can make one large fruit tart or many individual tarts with this recipe. I made 6 individual tarts about 3 inches in diameter. 

6 Tbsp (one stick) butter, softened
1 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
2-3 Tbsp ice-cold water
lime curd
assorted berries and fruits


Preheat oven to 425 F. 
Cut butter in small pieces and place in a medium mixing bowl. Add the flour and salt, and with a fork, cut the flour into the butter until the dough resembles small pebbles. Add water 1 tablespoon at a time until the dough comes together in a cohesive mass. It should not be very sticky, and should hold together when squeezed into a ball.
Generously flour your work surface and roll out the dough to about 1/3 inch thick. Cut circles slightly larger than your tart pans. Gently press the dough into your tart pan, making sure that it is molded into the pan. With a knife, trim off the excess dough at the edges. Poke a few holes on the bottom of the tarts with a fork. 
Bake for 20 minutes or until the crusts are a pale golden colour. Remove from the oven and let the crusts cool completely in the pan. 
Remove cooled crusts from the tart pan and fill with the lime curd. Arrange fruit on top of the curd. I used sliced strawberries and lime wedges.

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