I love it when leftovers lead to trying new recipes. That moment when you look at what is remaining in your fridge and inspiration hits you like a ton of bricks. This was the case with the potato dill bread that I made. I had some leftover mashed potatoes in the freezer. Knowing what was in my freezer I saw some dill at the store and thinking back to my time working at Zingerman's Bakehouse. Zingerman's is a community of businesses in Ann Arbor, Michigan that has got a representation for great food that even President Obama has visited their deli before. Zingerman's Bakehouse does special bakes each weekend. These are breads and pastries that they only make on occasion. One of breads is their Potato Dill. So it's a special treat when it comes out.
I thought I would try to make my own loaf of potato dill bread. Since at the time I was still mastering the art of baking, I searched the internet high and low for a good recipe. The one I selected was from a blog called Coconut & Lime. Click here for their post on this recipe.
Like the title of this post says this a bread machine recipe. Well sort. More on that in a moment. I decided to start my dough in bread machine. I like using the dough setting on the machine as it usually does a good job of kneading as long as you scrap down the sides as it's kneading. It makes less of a mess than a stand mixer. It has a lid over it so that no flour goes flying out. We have our bread maker permanently plugged in the hallway just outside the kitchen for all our dough making needs (see what I did there!). I also like the convenience of having a warm place for the dough to rise. The maker heats up just enough to provide the ideal temperature for bread to rise. That is a lot better option that what one of my roommates use to do. He would just turn the heat up really hit in the house, so much that I had to open the window in the winter so that I wouldn't sweat.
When the dough is ready and have risen, I take it out of the bread machine. I don't like to actually cook bread in it. The only time I ever would is if I needed to leave the house and couldn't get it into the oven.
The reason why I don't like baking the machine is you don't have enough control over the temperature and the time. It has doesn't do as good for a job of getting a nice crust on the bread. Lastly, there is that big hole in the bread that is created from the dough blade being in it. But if you want to bake it in the machine, by all means go ahead.
Ingredients
- ¼ ounce dried yeast
- ½ cup warm water pleasantly warm to the touch
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoon melted butter
- 1 package or bunch fresh dill
- ¾ cup room temperature mashed potatoes
- 2 ¼ cups bread flour
- Set machine to dough setting. Scrap down the sides of the container as needed making sure all ingredients are incorporated.
- Baking the Bread
- Form the dough into a round on a greased half sheet pan. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30-40 minutes. You will know the bread is done when it browned on top and makes a hallow sound when you tap it.
Instructions
Order to Add Ingredients to Bread Machine
- Dried yeast
- Warm water (pleasantly warm to the touch)
- Allow to sit for 5 minutes
- Sugar
- Salt
- Melted butter
- Fresh dill (more if your dill isn't that strong)
- Room temperature mashed potatoes
- Bread flour
- Set machine to dough setting (unless you are going to bake the bread in the maker, then choose your baking setting).
- Scrap down the sides of the container as needed, making sure all ingredients are incorporated well.
Baking the Bread
- Form the dough into a round on a greased half sheet pan.
- Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30-40 minutes. You will know the bread is done when it browned on top and makes a hallow sound when you tap it.
Final Thoughts
Thank you Rachel Rappaport of Coconut & Lime for a great recipe. This bread is super moist and super delicious. I used more dill than she asked for because I like a stronger dill flavor. It wouldn't be a bad idea to have some dill in the leftover mashed potatoes as well. Or if you are a real dill fan, add some dill seeds - I always have a ton from the dill that comes back every year in my garden.
Shirley W
The amount of yeast is incorrect in this recipe - it should be 1/4 ounce rather than 1/4 teaspoon according the coconut & lime version.
Eric Samuelson
Sorry about the error. I corrected it now. Thanks you for pointing that out to me. I appreciate it.