Homemade Potato Bread

1. Stage

Cook, peel, and mash the potato: You will need 6 to 8 ounces of mashed potato for this potato bread recipe. That's between 3/4 cup and one cup of mashed potatoes. The easiest way to cook the potato is to poke it all over with the tines of a fork and microwave it on high, 4 minutes on one side, and 4 minutes on the other side. Let it cool. Then, peel and mash it with a fork. Or, you can boil the potato. Peel the potato, cut it into large chunks, cover it with water in a pot, bring to a simmer, and cook for 10 minutes or so until a fork easily goes through the potato, drain, cool, and mash. (You can save the water the potato was cooked in and use it for part or all of the liquid in the recipe.)

2. Stage

Heat the milk, whisk in mashed potato: Pour two cups of milk into a medium saucepan with the salt and sugar. Heat on medium heat until the milk starts to bubble at the edges. Then, remove from heat. Stir to dissolve the salt and sugar. Whisk in the olive oil and the mashed potato. Pour into the mixing bowl of a stand mixer (or just a large bowl if you don't have a mixer), and let cool until it is still warm, but not too hot to touch. (If the mixture is too hot—over 130°F—it will kill the yeast in the next step.)

3. Stage

Add yeast and 2 cups of flour: Stir in the yeast. Stir in 2 cups (272g) of the flour. Use a stand mixer, such as a KitchenAid (recommended). Attach the mixing paddle, and mix on medium-high speed for 4 minutes. This will help break up any potato lumps and incorporate the mashed potatoes into the dough. (If you are using a bread machine, put the milk potato mixture, the yeast, and all of the flour into the bread machine and knead for 8 minutes. Skip the next step and proceed to Step 5.)

4. Stage

Add the remaining flour and knead: Swap out the mixing paddle for the dough hook on your mixer. Add enough of the the remaining 3 cups (408g) of flour to make a loose dough and mix on medium-low speed for 8 minutes. The dough should be tacky, but not sticky.

5. Stage

Let the dough rise: Rub the inside of a large bowl with some olive oil. Transfer the dough from the mixing bowl and put it into this large bowl (You can use your mixing bowl if you clean it, and coat the inside with oil.). Gently coat the top of the dough with a little olive oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a dampened towel (to prevent the dough from drying out). Place in a warm spot for 2 hours or in the refrigerator overnight. The dough should at least double in size. You'll know when it has risen sufficiently when you press into the top with your fingertip and the indentation remains for awhile.

6. Stage

Divide the dough and place in loaf pans: Press down on the dough with your hand to deflate it. Turn it out onto a clean, lightly floured surface and knead a couple of times. Cut the dough into two halves (a pastry scraper comes in handy for this). Rub a little olive oil inside of two 8x4-inch loaf pans . Place a dough half in each and press the dough into the bottom of the pans.

7. Stage

Let the dough rise again: Coat the top of the loaves with a little olive oil. Cover the loaf pans with plastic wrap and put in a warm place for 45 minutes to an hour or longer, until the dough has doubled in size.

8. Stage

Preheat the oven: Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and set a rack in the middle.

9. Stage

Bake the loaves: Remove the plastic wrap from the loaf pans and gently place the loaf pans in the oven in the middle rack. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes until the crust is golden brown and the internal temperature is between 190° and 200°F. Start checking the bread after 35 minutes, note that your bread may take as long as 55 minutes.

10. Stage

Cool the loaves: While the bread is still warm in the pan, use a dull dinner knife and run along the edges of the pan, between the pan and the bread to loosen the loaves from the pan. Turn out the loaf pans onto a rack. Let cool completely before slicing. Did you love the recipe? Give us some stars and leave a comment below!