Potato Garlic Bread (Sour Dough)

A tender and chewy loaf made with leftover mashed potatoes and roasted garlic.

*submitted to YeastSpotting
now on YeastSpotting 

Christmas dinner was great.  We had Swedish meatballs with mashed potatoes and maple glazed carrots.  While the potatoes were great, they just weren't as good once the meatballs were gone.  So my goal was to use the left over mashed potatoes and that's where this recipe comes in.

The basic recipe comes from Peter Reinhart's:  The Bread Baker's Apprentice, Rosemary Potato Bread.  I have made it a few times and it's delicious so I was excited to try it again with my own twist.  This time I added a bunch of roasted garlic and used sourdough instead of commercial yeast.  I think it turned out fabulous.  The bread is tender with a chewiness that I love and a wonderful garlic flavor that is, surprisingly, mild.  This bread is great on its own, spread with butter or cheese, and makes great sandwiches.  Here is my recipe.

Ingredients:
* as with most of my breads I use weight measurements for most of my ingredients

14 oz barm (50%flour 50%water)
14 oz bread flour
.38 oz (1.5 tsp) salt
1/4 tsp coarse cracked black pepper
6 oz (1 cup) left over mashed potatoes
.5 oz (1 Tbsp) olive oil
1/4 tsp crushed dried rosemary
1 oz water
20-30 cloves roasted garlic (about 2 bulbs)

*if you do not want to spend the time on sourdough, omit the barm but add an extra 7 oz flour and 7 oz water as well as about 1-2 tsp instant yeast.  Then the first rise will only be 2 hours and the final only 90 minutes..

The night before feed the sourdough starter (that is kept in the refrigerator).  Take out 4 oz and add 5 oz water and 5 oz flour to make 14 oz barm.  Stir these together until all of the flour is hydrated and then cover and let sit overnight (about 10 hrs).  It should be very bubbly.

In the morning  mix the barm with the flour, salt, pepper, mashed potatoes, oil, rosemary, and water.  Stir (in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment) until all of the flour is hydrated and the ingredients come together in a ball (about 1 minute).  Then knead the dough for about 6 minutes (10 if by hand) until it is smooth, elastic, and tacky but not sticky.  Add the garlic during the final 2 minutes of kneading.  Finally, place the dough into an oiled bowl, roll to coat it with oil and cover with plastic wrap.  Let the dough sit at room temperature for 4 hours (while I went to the gym and had lunch).

After 4 hours the dough should be doubled in size, cresting above the bowl (if not, your room maybe too cool so let it sit longer or put it in a warmer place).

Separate the dough in half and shape each half into rounds.  Let these sit on parchment paper covered with plastic wrap for about 2 hours until the are almost doubled in size.  Then gently slide the dough (parchment and all) onto a baking sheet (score if you want to but it is optional) and bake in a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes, then rotate the pan 180 degrees and bake for 20 minutes longer until browned all over.  I baked my loaves separately because I didn't have enough room to put both on my baking sheet, if your pan is bigger you can bake them together.  I also had to cover the dough with aluminum foil after the first 20 minutes to keep the top from getting too dark (this depends on each individual oven).

Let cool for at least 1 hour before cutting and serving.  This bread will make your whole house smell so good (like fresh bread and roasted garlic).  Enjoy.