Ingredients
Sweet potato
- 500 gsweet potato, peeled and cubed
Dough
- 700 gplain flour
- 150 gsugar
- 8 ginstant yeast
- 1 tspsalt
- 150 mlwarm milk or coconut milk
- 2eggs
- 80 gbutter, melted
- 1 tspground cinnamon
- ½ tspgrated nutmeg
- 1 tspvanilla
To finish
- 1egg, beaten, to glaze
- a little melted butter
To serve
- butter
- guava jam
- or alongside boiled fish
Directions
- Boil the sweet potato until completely soft, about 20 minutes, then drain it well. Drain it thoroughly and let it steam dry in the hot pan for a minute, because wet potato makes a slack dough that needs far too much flour.
- Mash it smooth while it is hot and let it cool to lukewarm. It must cool before it meets the yeast. Mix the flour, sugar, yeast, salt and spices. Add the mashed sweet potato, warm milk, eggs, melted butter and vanilla.
- Bring it together and knead for 10 minutes. The dough will be soft and sticky and quite unlike a plain bread dough, which is correct. Use oiled hands rather than more flour if it is unmanageable. Prove it in a warm place for 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours. It rises more slowly than a lean dough because of the sugar and fat, so judge it by size rather than by the clock.
- Put them in greased loaf tins and prove a further 45 minutes until well risen. Brush the tops with beaten egg to glaze. Bake at 175°C (345°F) for 40 to 45 minutes. Bake it lower and longer than a plain loaf.
- Cover the tops loosely with foil after 25 minutes if they are colouring too quickly. It is done when a skewer comes out clean and the loaf sounds hollow tapped underneath.
- Brush the tops with melted butter as they come out, which softens the crust. Cool them completely in the tins for 10 minutes, then turn them out onto a rack. Let it cool fully before slicing. Cut warm, the dense moist crumb tears and compresses.
- Slice it thick and serve it buttered, or with guava jam. It keeps four or five days wrapped, which is unusually long for a home loaf and is exactly why it was made this way.
Technique
- It toasts extremely well and makes very good French toast.
- Coconut milk in place of dairy is common and gives a richer loaf.
- It is sold in Family Islands bakeries and at Nassau markets.
Substitutions
- Pumpkin or butternut squash in place of sweet potato.
- Coconut milk for the milk.
Variations
- With raisins worked through the dough.
- Made with coconut milk.
- Baked as rolls rather than loaves.
History
A Family Islands bread that keeps well in the heat, eaten with butter or beside boiled fish.
Frequently asked questions
What is Potato bread?
Potato bread is a bread & pastry from Bahamas: dense sweet loaf made with mashed sweet potato, sliced thick. A Family Islands bread that keeps well in the heat, eaten with butter or beside boiled fish.
How long does Potato bread take to make?
Potato bread takes 30 min plus 2 hr rising of preparation and 45 min of cooking. The recipe makes 2 loaves. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Potato bread?
Yes, within limits. Pumpkin or butternut squash in place of sweet potato. Coconut milk for the milk.
What is the most important thing to get right in Potato bread?
Mash it smooth while it is hot and let it cool to lukewarm. It must cool before it meets the yeast. Mix the flour, sugar, yeast, salt and spices. Add the mashed sweet potato, warm milk, eggs, melted butter and vanilla.
