Potato Rosemary and Garlic Bread for #Twelve Loaves

Herbs have the strength of turning an ordinary dish into one of the most flavorful and memorable ones. Rosemary is one of nature's most powerful dish enhancing herbs and is one of my absolute favorite. I love everything about it, the flavor that it imparts to your dishes, and most importantly, it's heady wonderful aroma that is therapeutic in a way.

Have you ever tried cooking with roasted garlic? If you like garlic even a bit, you will fall in love with the squishy texture and the juicy taste of roasted garlic. I use garlic in most of my main course and at times I use roasted garlic even when it isn't necessary. The absolutely powerful wonderful aroma that fills my kitchen while roasting those white cloves uplifts my mood and makes me so very happy. And when you combine such lovely tasting and smelling ingredients with the soft potato flesh that too in a bread, it's bound to be GOOD!

The texture of this bread is not dry but not moist either. It's a little dense due to the potatoes but is still soft and packed with bursting favors of roasted garlic and rosemary. You can substitute other herbs for rosemary and skip the garlic if you are not a fan of it.

I was thinking on baking this bread for a long time. So when I came across the Twelve Loaves challenge with the root veggies theme, I knew this was the perfect time to bake this bread.

#Twelve Loaves is a monthly bread baking party that was created by Lora from Cake Duchess and runs smoothly with the support of Paula from Vintage Kitchen Notes and Renee from Magnolia Days. I'm so thrilled to be a part of this group, such a wonderful opportunity to share each other's recipes and get inspired by talented bread bakers out there.

Before I get on with the recipe, there's one thing that you should know about roasted garlic. There are many ways in which you can roast garlic. Some people roast it with it's skin on and some without, and there are some that add oil to the garlic before roasting. I prefer with the skin on option and without oil as it gives the garlic a squishy and juicy texture. Though I used a pan to roast garlic (on a low flame), you can roast them in an oven as well, whatever suits you.

Ready to bake your own Potato Rosemary and Garlic Bread? Let's get started then! :-)

Makes 1 medium size loaf

Recipe Source: Bakingyummies

Ingredients
305 grams / 11 ounces bread flour or strong white flour plus a little extra for sprinkling
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon instant dry yeast
100 grams / 3.5 ounces boiled and mashed potatoes at room temperature
2 teaspoons olive oil plus extra for brushing the dough
170-190 grams / 6fl - 8fl ounces water (the amount of water you require depends on your flour and on the absorbency of the potatoes) at room temperature
1 tablespoon plus 1/2 teaspoon coarsely chopped fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon plus 1/2 teaspoon coarsely chopped roasted garlic at room temperature

Method
In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix together the bread flour and salt. Add the yeast and mix. Now add the mashed potatoes, olive oil and water. Knead the dough using the dough hook, first on the minimum speed until the dough starts to form and then on speed 1 until the right windowpane stage is achieved (which would take about 15 mins). You can knead the dough by hand as well, but it's going to take a long time.

To understand if you've reached the right windowpane stage, once you stretch the dough and it forms a windowpane, try to poke your finger through it (start checking after about 10 mins of kneading). The dough should not tear at this point. However, when you poke your finger real hard, you get a hole whose edges should be smooth and not rough. If the edges are rough, knead the dough a little longer. If you can easily poke your finger through the hole, then it means that you have over kneaded the dough. Over kneading isn't going to a pose a major problem. Just that the texture of the bread might be a little rough. Don't worry, it takes some time to get this right. Keep trying. If you want to look at the photos and understand, please click here.

Once you have reached the correct stage, press down the dough to form a rough circle. Sprinkle the rosemary and garlic. Fold the dough around so that you cover the rosemary and garlic completely. Knead the dough gently for 2 minutes until both the ingredients are evenly distributed.

Lightly oil a large bowl and rotate the dough in the bowl so as to coat the dough with oil. Cover the bowl with a cling film and let it rest at room temperature until the dough has doubled in size.

Punch down the dough and knead for about 2 mins to degas. Line a baking sheet with parchment. Form the dough into a ball as shown here.

Place the shaped dough on the parchment lined baking sheet and brush with olive oil. Cover with a cling film and let rest till it has at least doubled in size. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C / 390 degrees F.

Brush the dough again with olive oil and bake in the preheated oven till all the sides are golden brown and the bread sounds hollow when thumped on the bottom with your knuckles. Alternatively, you can check if the bread is done with a food thermometer as well. It should register at least 90 degrees C / 200 degrees F. Immediately place the bread on a wire rack to cool completely.

Enjoy your home made Potato Rosemary and Garlic bread toasted and buttered or if you are a weirdo like me, with home made jam :-D

Storage Suggestions: This bread can be stored at room temperature for up to 3 days in a ziplock bag or frozen for up to a month.

Happy Baking!!!