I pushed the limits on this Roasted-Potato Bread. This was one of the breads the Mellow Bakers made for October. I made it in October, but pretty much at the eleventh hour so I didn’t have time to post about it. So, here it is November 1st and I’m posting about it.
Not only did I push the limits for making this bread in the appropriate month, but I also pushed the limits of the bread itself. I made the Pâte Fermentée early Friday morning and let it rest on the counter for the recommended amount of time (12 to 16 hours), then I retarded it in the refrigerator for two days. We used this method of retarding the dough in the BBA Challenge with Peter Reinhart’s Potato Rosemary Bread. However, the Pâte Fermentée didn’t rest on the counter as long with that bread.
I hadn’t intended to retard the dough, but Friday night, I was too tired to spend several hours baking bread so I decided at the last minute not to bake it. So I put the Pâte Fermentée in the refrigerator and there it sat until Sunday afternoon.
On Sunday afternoon, I took the Pâte Fermentée out of the refrigerator, cut it up into chunks using a bench knife, then I covered the pieces and let them warm up on the counter while I mixed the rest of the ingredients.
This dough was a bit too heavy to be mixed in my mixer so I ended up mixing and kneading it by hand.
Then I placed the dough in a greased bowl to bulk ferment for 2 1/2 hours.
After the dough had doubled in size, I cut it into two pieces and shaped each one lightly into a round.
When the dough had relaxed sufficiently, I shaped one round into a boule and placed it seam side up in a round floured banneton. Then I shaped the other round into an oval loaf and placed it seam side up in an oval floured banneton. I used a combination of all-purpose and rice flour to dust the bannetons. It seems to keep the flour from sticking to the bannetons.
Then I covered the bannetons with plastic and let the loaves proof for an hour and half. Now, when I said I was pushing the limit, I wasn’t kidding. I finished this process at 6:50 pm and right as I was placing the plastic over the loaves, I got my first Trick or Treaters for the evening.
The doorbell rang non-stop for about an hour and a half. About the time the dough had risen sufficiently, the doorbell stopped ringing quite so much.
So I was able to take the dough out of the bannetons. It just plopped out (gently). It didn’t stick at all. 
I placed each loaf on parchment paper.
Then scored the oval loaf down the middle.
Then I scored the round loaf.
I baked each loaf on a baking stone with a steam pan underneath for about 40 minutes. While the first loaf was baking, one of my neighbors came by with his young son to Trick or Treat and we got busy talking about gardening. I almost left one of the loaves in the oven too long, but never fear, both loaves turned out fine.
This is the oval-shaped loaf. It’s good! I tried it but forgot to get a crumb shot.
The round loaf is my favorite. I don’t want to cut it yet. I just want to look at it.
I’m very pleased with the way these loaves turned out. So I’m sending them to be YeastSpotted. Please visit Wild Yeast to view all of the lovely breads in the roundup.
If you’re looking for the formula for this delicious Roasted Potato bread, you can find a version at WildYeast or livinginthekitchenwithpuppies. My version also includes roasted garlic and chopped fresh Rosemary from my garden.
Be sure to check out what the other bakers have been up to in the Mellow Bakers group. There are some awesome braided breads out there.
The Mellow Bakers group was started by Paul at Yumarama. We’re baking breads from Bread: A Baker’s Book of Techniques and Recipes by Jeffrey Hamelman.
Thanks for joining us in the Bread Experience bread-baking blog.
Happy Baking!
Cathy
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