Harvest Sweet Potato Bread

 

Recipe adapted from King Arthur Baking

Husband-Tested in Alice's Kitchen

Makes 1 (9" X 5" loaf)

This bread is just so dang delicious that it could be considered dangerous to have about.  That's all there is to it.  I've made it three times now within a month's time and it turns out perfectly.  I love the texture and the slight sweetness of it.  It's great on its own, but would make a stupendous sandwich bread or toasted, it would go very nicely with a cup of hot tea. The original recipe gave only directions for making this in a bread machine, but since I no longer have one, I had to make do.  So, below, you will find exactly how I made it.  If you wish to make it in a bread machine, I left a link to the original recipe above.  I have contacted King Arthur with questions about making this vegan and I'm awaiting their answer.  When I know, I'll update this post.

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour plus more for kneading

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 Tablespoon vital wheat gluten (Optional.  I didn't have any, and as you can see, the bread turned out great.)

1/2 cup mashed sweet potato (I can usually get enough for three recipes by boiling and mashing one large sweet potato.) 

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

2 teaspoons instant yeast

1/2 cup chopped toasted walnuts or pecans (I've tried both with good results.  I'm thinking hazelnuts would be lovely in this bread.)

1/4 cup milk (I've used unsweetened almond milk and also tried oat milk with good results.)

3/4 cup water

3 Tablespoons honey (I'm thinking if you wish to make this vegan, you could probably use maple syrup instead.)

1/2 cup mashed sweet potato

1/2 cup raisins or dried currants (I've tried golden raisins and then another time, I used dried currants.)

4 Tablespoons unsalted butter (I don't know if you can substitute vegan butter, but I'm thinking it would work.)

In a large bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, the whole wheat flour, the salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, yeast, and nuts.  Set aside.

In a medium saucepan, combine the milk, water, honey, sweet potato, butter, and raisins.  Heat until lukewarm, about  90-110 degrees F.  Pour the lukewarm liquid mixture into the flour mixture.  Stir until all the flour is incorporated and you have a sticky dough.  Turn it out onto a well floured counter/board.  Knead for 5-7 minutes, adding a bit of flour as you go to keep it from sticking.  (You may need a bench scraper to begin.) Spray a bit of oil into a large bowl. (I used coconut oil, but canola or any unflavored oil would be fine.) Place the dough ball into the bowl and turn it so that it is lightly coated with the oil.  Cover with a piece of oiled plastic wrap and then a towel.  Let the dough rise for 60-90 minutes (It always takes 90 minutes for me.) It should look well-risen and puffy.  Punch down the dough a bit and then shape it into a loaf shape.  Place it in a greased 9-inch by 5-inch metal loaf pan.  Again, cover with the oiled plastic wrap.  Allow it to rise again for 60 minutes.  Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  When the hour is up and the oven is preheated, place the loaf pan in the oven and bake for 35-45 minutes or until the internal temperature of the bread is about 190 degrees F.  Remove the bread from the oven and turn it out of the pan onto a cooling rack.  Let it cool completely before slicing.  Store, well wrapped for 5 days on the counter or for up to 3 months in the freezer.

**NOTE:  I contacted King Arthur about veganizing this recipe.  It looks like it won't be a problem at all.  Here's the exchange:

Q: I was wondering if maple syrup could replace the honey and vegan butter could replace the butter. I have successfully made this with unsweetened almond milk and again with oat milk. I'd like to be able to "veganize" this bread.

---

A: Hi Alice! Yes, you can absolutely use those substitutions without changing the consistency of the bread. Good luck and happy baking! Geoff@KA