Our daily bread

[desperance]

Tragically, I don't in fact bake every day; but I'm aiming at twice a week. One regular sourdough country loaf, the one I love, and one batch of Something Else, because otherwise I'll only ever bake the same thing and it's a shame to be a rut.

Today's new thing is purely because yesterday was yogi day, and people came, and I made pork stewed in cider with mushrooms and shallots, and braised savoy cabbage, and champ; and there was just exactly enough champ left over to build a bread around, because I have been reading for years about how a dollop of mashed potato will soften a loaf but I've never had a dollop spare when I've been baking, and I wasn't going to make mash just for the sake of a dollop. Other recipes speak of potato flour, which I do not have; and we will not speak of those that advocate for instant granules.

But anyway: potato achievement unlocked; let baking begin. I am making (up) a sourdough potato rosemary bread, where the sourdough starter is more for flavour than lift, because I've used regular yeast as well. At the moment it is rising into two boules, which I shall shortly slash and bake. I thought I'd report in now, in case it all goes horribly wrong at the last minute...

In other news, dinner tonight will be giant mushrooms stuffed with devilled pork. Spicy kale and potatoes on the side. And, hopefully, rosemary potato bread.

Comments

[clanwilliam]

As one of those who has used Smash to make bread (Alan Bellingham's Hungarian loaf), I can assure you that it works just as well and makes no difference to the flavour compared with regular mash.

If I was actually making potato bread, I'd use real potatoes, naturally.