Potato and Rosemary bread

This bread is one of my favourite breads, it can start as an overnight poolish or just as I have written below. It has a golden soft crust with a light and airy crumb, you can even use it for a tear & share bread, just add different ingredients. Red onions and goats cheese can be added, the list is endless.

So onto the recipe, a plus side to this recipe is you can just leave it alone to do its thing, just keep your eye on it....I hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

Potato and Rosemary Bread

1kg Strong White Flour *

+/- 600g Potato Water (Cooled)
10g Dried Yeast
20g Salt
2 tbsp. Fresh Chopped Rosemary or 2 tsp. Dried Rosemary
20ml Olive oil
Fine Semolina for dusting

2 Plastic Bowls (1 large, 1 Small)

Whisk
Timer
Dough scraper
Baking trays
Parchment Paper

*If you have any mashed potato left substitute some of the flour for the potato.

1.       In the large bowl place the potato water and the yeast, stir it up and leave it to start to work.

2.      Meanwhile in the small bowl weigh out the flour and/or flour and potato, add the salt and the rosemary. Using your whisk, whisk up the flour, this aerates, disperses the salt as well as getting rid of any big lumps.

3.      After around 10 mins’ the water/yeast mix should be showing signs of life, add the olive oil give it mix.

4.      Add the flour mix to the water and using your hand bring it all together, it should be quite a soft dough; if it feels a little dry add a little more water.

5.     Cover your big bowl with the small bowl, set your timer to 10 mins’ and leave your dough alone.

6.      After 10 mins’ take the dough out of the bowl and knead for 40 seconds put back into the big bowl, cover with the small bowl.

7.     Repeat steps 5 & 6 five more times.

8.      After the final knead, form the dough into a round and place back in the big bowl, cover with the small bowl and leave it alone for an hour.

9.    Knock it back, form back into a round a place it back into the big bowl, cover with the small bowl and leave it alone again for another hour. Repeat once more.

10.   After the final bowl prove, lightly dust your work top with flour and semolina, divide the dough into 3 (to make loaves) or 10 to make boules or batons.

11.     Shape to your desired shape and place onto the prepared trays (lined with parchment and sprinkled with semolina).

12.   Cover with lightly oiled cling-film and leave the dough to prove for the final time.

13.   Pre-heat oven to 200^oC.

14.   When the dough had doubled in size and had reached a satisfactory prove, sprinkle with a mix of flour and semolina, spray with fine mist of water and place in the oven for 5 mins’ at 200^oc, reduce the oven down to 180^oC bake for a further 25 mins’ for loaves, 15 mins’ for boules. Remember all ovens are different………

15.   Leave to cool and enjoy, they freeze really well