I’ve been meaning to post this recipe for ages. Sweet potato is my new favourite way to replace eggs in enriched bread dough recipes. It makes the final loaf nice and soft, and adds colour to the dough that mimics the many egg yolks of non-vegan challah. This is a version of Peter Reinhart’s recipe from Artisan Breads Everyday, but I use a blender to incorporate the potato into the liquid ingredients. You can let the dough rise in the fridge, then shape and bake the next day as he calls for, but I usually just do everything in the same day because I don’t have the time or the fridge space to follow his method. The recipe produces reliable results every time. Trust me: I make at least two recipes a week so the kids have buns for school lunches.
Makes 2 loaves, or 16 buns
INGREDIENTS
All measurements are weight, not volume
– 17oz warm water
– 2.5 oz oil
– 4 oz cooked sweet potato (see note* way below)
– 3 oz sugar
– 14 g instant yeast
– 19 g salt
– 2 lb 3 oz bread flour
– soy milk for brushing
METHOD
1. Place water, oil, sweet potato, sugar, yeast, and salt in a blender. Blend until smooth.
2. Add liquid to flour in a large bowl and bring into a dough. Knead until smooth.
3. Shape into a ball and let rise, covered, in a large oiled bowl until doubled in size.
4. From here, YouTube is your friend. Determine how many braids you want in your loaf (the pic above is a 6 braid) and find a video for how to braid it. Remember that the recipe makes two loaves.
5. Place braided loaves on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper (ideally both loaves on one big sheet). Brush with soy milk.
6. Leave to rise, uncovered, in a warm place until almost doubled in size (about 1 hour). Keep brushing with soy milk every 15 mins or so, to keep the dough from drying out and to build up layers of soy milk (this will give the loaf that glossy finish when baked).
7. While dough is rising, preheat oven to 350.
8. Bake for 20 mins, then rotate the pan and bake for another 15-20 mins, until the loaves are evenly browned and sound hollow when thumped on the bottom. A convection oven really helps get an evenly browned loaf.
A NOTE ON BUNS
This is also my go to recipe for buns–it makes 16 buns that I do as a 4x 4 batch bake on a large sheet pan. Brush them with soy milk like the loaves, but bake at 400 for 15-17 mins, rotating the pan half way through. Or, space them apart, slash the tops before baking, and sprinkle with sesame seeds after the last brushing with soy milk (as pictured below).
Or do hot dog/sausage buns.
*Note: I prick the skin of a sweet potato a few times with a fork, then cook it in the microwave on the potato setting. It’s fast and makes for a sweet potato that is not too wet.
