Potato Bread Recipe with Sourdough (Kartoffelbrot)

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

We are celebrating here. With potato bread and champagne, great combination, try it!

Potato bread makes use of potatoes to replace some of the wheat flour. The addition of potatoes keeps the bread moist and prevents it from crumbling.

Usually, potato bread recipes use either raw or cooked potatoes. In this recipe, I’ve combined both methods and also included rye flour (my favourite).

Potato bread just out of the oven
Potato bread just out of the oven

Sourdough

  • 15g wheat sourdough starter from the fridge
  • 150g white bread flour
  • 150g water

Mix ingredients in a bowl, cover with cling film and keep at room temperature overnight  – approximately 16 hours.

Wheat Sourdough
Wheat Sourdough

Sponge

  • 100g white bread flour
  • 1oog water
  • 1/2 tsp dry yeast (or 1g fresh yeast)

Mix ingredients in a bowl, cover with cling film and keep at room temperature for 2 hours, then transfer to the fridge for 14 hours.

Wheat Sponge
Wheat Sponge

Final dough

  • 300g wheat sourdough
  • Sponge as above
  • 170g white bread flour
  • 50g spelt flour (or use 220g white bread flour if you don’t have spelt at home)
  • 200g strong rye flour
  • 200g water, lukewarm (cooled down potato cooking water can be used)
  • 70g potato (scrubbed, unpeeled, grated)
  • 70g potato (peeled, boiled, mashed)
  • 1 1/2 tsp salt
Mashed and Grated Potatoes
Mashed and Grated Potatoes

How to make pototo bread

  1. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl, mix together and knead for 12 minutes. It’ll be a little sticky, but the gluten strands make it easy enough to handle.
  2. Cover the dough with the bowl and leave to rest for 30 minutes.
  3. Fold the dough like an envelope – take each corner, fold it to the middle and shape the dough into a ball. Cover the dough again.
  4. Leave to rest for 30 minutes, then flatten and fold again.
  5. Leave to rest for another 30 minutes.
  6. Flatten and fold again, shape into a boule, then place (seam-side up) in a well floured proofing basket.
  7. Cover the proving basket with a polythene bag.
  8. Leave to rest for several hours, depending on the temperature in your kitchen. Alternatively, proof in the fridge overnight.
  9. Preheat the oven to 220°C.
  10. Line a baking tray with baking paper.
  11. Carefully turn out the dough onto the baking tray and place in the oven.
  12. Bake for 15 minutes then turn down the temperature to 180°C and bake for a further 40 minutes.
  13. Cool on a wire rack.
Potato bread - Just before baking
Potato bread – Just before baking

Great with Kerrygold butter and honey but potato bread goes well with most toppings.

Also great with this amazing Omelette Arnold Bennett!

Potato bread - Lovely with just butter and honey
Potato bread – Lovely with butter and honey