Potato-Caraway Bread

By John, 25 August, 2013
Description

Potato-Caraway BreadThis wonderfully crusty, heavy bread is great for fall dinners. The flavors complement root vegetables and the crusty-craggy texture makes it look at home next to winter squashes and autumn colors.  

It's easy to make, and it's always a crowd-pleaser. It's a big loaf, but it keeps well, too. This is a most satisfying loaf!

It's also delicious toasted with butter or with apple-butter! 

Yield
12 Servings
Preparation time
5 hours
Ingredients
1 c Mashed Potatoes
1 pk Dry Yeast
2 1⁄2 c Warm water
8 c Flour
1 1⁄2 T Salt (kosher is good)
1 T Caraway Seeds
Instructions
  1. Mix the yeast with 3 Tablespoons of the flour and 1/2 cup of the warm water. Let it rest until foamy.
  2. In another bowl, mix the remaining water, salt, and some flour.
  3. Add the potatoes and the caraway seeds.
  4. Add the yeast mixture and the rest of the flour, and mix well.
  5. Knead well on a floured board until elastic.
  6. Form into a ball and coat the dough with soft butter or oil. Let rise until it doubles in bulk, maybe up to 2 hours.
  7. Punch it down, knead again for a few minutes, and then transfer into a buttered 8-inch skillet that you can put in the oven.
  8. Preheat oven to 400. Let the dough rise again for half an hour or a little more.
  9. Bake for an hour, or until it comes out of the pan easily and sounds hollow when you tap the bottom of the loaf.
  10. Cool before carving.
Notes
This is great for breakfast, but especially awesome with all kinds of stews and roasts with gravy.
Source
Beard on Bread