Roasted Potato Multigrain Bread #BreadBakers

Roasted Yukon Gold potatoes and a hefty pinch of rosemary give these low rising loaves a wonderfully savoury character. A sourdough preferment adds tang while keeping the crumb moist and open. A slice or two is perfect with any soup or stew, or just on it's own!

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Is there anything better than roasted potatoes to cure a comfort carb craving? I'll admit, I don't indulge in them as much as I should, but when I get the chance I'm all in! This bread was sparked by an abundance of potatoes left over from a family dinner, and fresh rosemary by the windowsill. I've made roast potato bread before, but when I saw this recipe on My Love of Baking that used a sourdough preferment, I had to give it a try!

Not only does this bread have the rich flavour of roasted potatoe and rosemary, but the preferment used an unusual ingredient - beer! The amber ale I picked was ever so slightly sweet (and not hoppy) and local to me. I took that idea and paired it with the nuttiness of barley flour and my standard whole wheat bread flour.

Once you combine the preferment with the rest of the ingredients (apart from the potatoes, that is) and knead it all together, be prepared to let it rest - think of the bread like your body after running a marathon (or conquering the work week) - it needs a spa day. A few folds and the addition of the potatoes later, it gets shaped and given a final proof in a bowl. I don't have a round banneton, but I imagine it would be better! A final rise and its plopped (gently) into a screaming hot Dutch oven and baked to a deep brown with a prominent crust.

The bread itself is time consuming, but well worth it in the end - the smell that came from my oven as it baked in a Dutch oven was out of this world.

Slicing into the cooled loaf, you're met with a slightly dense but still tender crumb speckled with bits of roasted potatoes. My mom immediately spread it with cream cheese, but the heels of the bread made stellar soup dippers from what I hear!

This loaf is my submission for the #Breadbakers Mixed Grains Bread event. 

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all our of lovely bread by following our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated after each event on the #BreadBakers home page.

We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient. If you are a food blogger and would like to join us, just send Stacy an email with your blog URL to foodlustpeoplelove@gmail.com.

Recipe Title 

Makes 1 large loaf

Adapted from My Love of Baking

Preferment

3/4 cups amber ale
40 g barley flour

40 g active sourdough starter

Potatoes

200 g potatoes (I used Yukon Gold), chopped into small cubes
1 tbsp canola oil

Dough

All the preferment
500 g whole wheat bread flour

100g barley flour

1 tbsp sugar

1 tsp instant yeast

1/4 cup water
1/2 tbsp salt

1 tbsp dried rosemary

Preferment:

1. Combine all the ingredients in a bowl. Cover and let stand at room temperature for 8-12 hours.

Potatoes:

1. Heat the oven to 375F.
2. Toss potatoes with oil and spread on a baking sheet.
3. Roast for 40-45 mins, until deeply browned. Set aside.
   

Bread

1. Combine preferment with both flours and the sugar. Cover and let rest for 1 hour.Add yeast, water, salt and rosemary.
2. Knead dough for 8-10 minutes, until an elastic and somewhat smooth dough forms (you may need to add flour or water as necessary depending on the humidity of your kitchen). 
3. Cover and let rise 1 hour. 
4. Fold the risen dough over itself 3-4 times. Re-cover and let rise for 1 hour.
5. Add the potatoes and fold into the bread gently, about 5-6 folds.
6. Turn the dough onto a barley-flour dusted surface and shape into a round.
7. Transfer dough to a piece of parchment paper and place in a bowl. Spray top with canola oil and let rest 3 hours, or until almost doubled in size.
8. Heat the oven to 500F with a Dutch oven inside.
9. Place a piece of parchment (preferably on a board or rimless baking sheet) over the risen dough and flip the dough out of the bowl onto it.
10. Immediately remove the paper on top of the dough and lower the loaf on the bottom parchment paper into the hot Dutch oven. 
11. Place the lid back onto the Dutch oven and bake for 20 minutes. 
12. Reduce the heat to 400F and remove the Dutch oven's lid.
13. Bake for another 25-30 minutes, until the loaf registers 190-200F in the centre on a instant-read thermometer.
14. Cool completely before enjoying.