April 29, 2010


Sweet Success! I have to admit that I was a little disappointed by my last bread semi-failure. It wasn’t horrible. It was edible. Sort of… I think that I was in too much of a hurry to let it rise all the way and (I know this is blasphemous) I didn’t realize that you actually have to knead the bread a lot. I got a lecture about this from my Mom – don’t worry. Anyway, Eliza (a great friend of mine) wanted to help me out and she gave me the following recipe that she made up. I waited until I had adequate time and felt relaxed. I followed her recipe carefully. I let the dough rise for the right amount of time and I kneaded the bread until my forearms ached. The result: fluffy, delicious, flavorful bread. I may have conquered this loaf, but I have a long way to go. I'm considering getting professional bread baking lessons – I’ll keep you updated.


Sweet Potato Bread

Sweet potatoes are an excellent source of vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin B6, and fiber. Delicious orangey tubers give rise to yummy bread.


  • 1 cup warm water (about 115°F)


  • 1 package active dry yeast (7g)


  • 2 teaspoons salt

  • 1 tablespoon honey

  • 1 tablespoon butter, melted


  • 1 medium sized yam or sweet potato, baked, peeled, and mashed (3/4-1 cup equivalent)

  • 1 cup whole wheat flour


  • 1 ½ cup all purpose flour plus more for kneading

1. Measure the water into a glass, measuring cup and add the yeast. Stir until the yeast has dissolved.


2. Pour into a mixing bowl and stir in salt, honey, and butter.


3. Add the whole wheat flour and 1 cup of the all purpose flour, stir with a spoon until incorporated.


4. Add the sweet potato and stir again. (you can bake potato in the oven for 30 minutes at 425 to get the perfect consistency!)


5. Add the remaining ½ cup of flour and mix with your hands to form a soft ball of dough. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead until the dough becomes elastic and less sticky, about 5 minutes. More flour should be added as necessary to keep the dough from sticking.


6. Lightly oil a bowl and place the dough inside. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and set in a warm spot to rise. Allow the dough to rise to double (1 hour).

7. Once the dough has doubled, punch it down and turn out onto a floured surface. Knead again for 5 minutes until smooth and shape into an elongated oval. Place the dough into an oiled bread pan, cover with plastic wrap and set in a warm place to rise. The dough should double in size once again.


8. While the dough is rising, preheat the oven to 425°F.


9. Once the dough has doubled put the pan into the oven and bake for 25-45 minutes (this will depend greatly on your oven) or until browned.


Cool and slice, serve with butter and jam or peanut butter.


Preparation Time: 4 hours


Makes: 1 large loaf





Copyright 2010, E. Lagerquist, Original recipe

2 comments:

  1. Sounds yummy! I'm going to try it when I have the time! You have to talk to Louis- he makes/bakes his own pizza dough like once a week, so he can give you some tips too!!

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