Leftover Sweet Potatoes Bread Recipe

Got leftover cooked sweet potatoes? This recipe turns them into a golden, tasty sandwich bread.

Makes 1 large or 2 small loaves

Ingredients:

1 cup milk

1 tablespoon sugar OR 2 teaspoons honey

1 ½ teaspoons salt

2 tablespoons butter

¼ cup warm water

4 teaspoons dry active yeast

1 ½ cups cooked, mashed sweet potatoes

1 cup corn meal

2 ½ cups bread flour OR all-purpose flour

1 ½ cups whole wheat flour

Heat the milk, sugar or honey, and salt in a small saucepan, stirring to dissolve the sugar or honey. Add the butter and stir until it melts.

Combine the water and yeast and stir to dissolve the yeast.

Add the hot milk mixture to the sweet potatoes and mash with a fork to combine. Test the temperature with a clean finger: it should be warm, but not hot. If it’s hot, let the mixture cool for a few minutes before mashing in the water and yeast mixture.

Mash in the corn meal.

Add the flour 1 cup at a time, kneading to incorporate each addition before adding the next.

Continue kneading (by hand or with a stand mixer) until the dough is fairly smooth and no longer sticky. It will be a fairly stiff dough, but it should not be dry.

Shape the dough into a ball and drop it into a greased mixing bowl. Flip the dough over – the top surface is now oiled. Cover the bowl with a damp kitchen towel and let the dough rise in a warm place until it doubles in size, 1 ½ to 2 hours.

Press the dough down. Shape it into an oblong and place it in a large loaf pan. Alternatively, shape it into 2 oblongs and use two small loaf pans.

Let rise again until not quite doubled in size, about another hour. 45 minutes into the hour, preheat the oven to 400F.

Use a razor or a serrated knife to make a half-inch deep vent slice the length of the dough. Bake the bread for approximately 40 minutes, until deeply browned on top, pulling away from the edges of the pan, and an internal thermometer registers 200F.

Remove the bread from the pan and rub it with butter while it is still hot. If you want a soft, sandwich-style bread crust, cover the loaf with a damp kitchen towel while it cools. For a crunchy crust, let it cool uncovered.

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