Potato and Poppy Seed Bread with Rosemary

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Potato and Poppy Seed Bread with Rosemary

A simple yeasted loaf with chunks of roasted potato, rosemary and poppy seeds, which combine to make a loaf that's aromatic and packed with texture and flavor. This recipe makes one large loaf, enough for at least 12 good slices.

Prep Time20

Cook Time40

Total Time2

Course: Breads

Cuisine: Western

Keyword: potato bread, steam oven bread

Servings:

Calories: 175kcal

Ingredients

1 Tbsp olive oil
2 potatoes medium-large, about 5oz/140g each, diced into 1 1/4 inch (3cm) cubes
1 1/4 cups water lukewarm
2 1/4 cups unbleached white bread flour or all-purpose/plain flour
1 cup whole wheat flour wholemeal flour
2 tsp instant yeast or active dry yeast, see notes
2 tsp fine salt
2 tsp finely chopped rosemary leaves freshly picked
1/4 cup poppy seeds

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Roast potatoes

Preheat oven to Combi Steam, 350F/180C, 50% (medium) humidity. Line a large baking sheet with silicone paper and tip the diced potatoes onto it. Drizzle with the olive oil and toss together to coat the potatoes.
1 Tbsp olive oil, 2 potatoes
When the oven is hot, put the pan in and cook until the potatoes are just tender and golden on the edges, about 18-20 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool while you make the bread dough.

Make dough

While the potatoes cool, put all the remaining ingredients into the bowl of a mixer fitted with the dough hook. Mix on low speed until a smooth, elastic dough forms and pulls away from the sides of the bowl; about 6 minutes. This step can be done by hand, mixing the ingredients with a metal spoon until they come together, then turning the dough onto a lightly oiled surface and kneading well for 5-6 minutes. The dough should be soft but not too sticky. Add a little more water if it seems very stiff.
1 1/4 cups water, 2 1/4 cups unbleached white bread flour, 1 cup whole wheat flour, 2 tsp instant yeast, 2 tsp fine salt, 2 tsp finely chopped rosemary leaves, 1/4 cup poppy seeds

First proof

Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl and put it into the oven, uncovered. Set your oven to dough proving setting (or steam-only setting, if you don’t have dough proving), 100ºF/38ºC, 80% humidity. Prove until the dough has doubled in size, about 40 minutes. Sometimes, if your kitchen was very cool while mixing the dough, the first proof will take longer. If the dough doesn’t seem risen enough, proof for a further 10 minutes and check again.

Form the loaf

Scrape the dough onto a lightly floured countertop. Gently press it out into a rectangle about 12x8 inches (30x20cm). Scatter the cooled potatoes over two thirds of the rectangle, then gently fold the dough lengthwise into thirds, starting with the part that has no potatoes on it. Press the dough back into a flattish rectangle again, trying not to squash the pieces of potato too much, then turn the dough 90 degrees and repeat the folds. By this point the potatoes should be fairly evenly distributed through the dough.
2 potatoes
Bring the edges of the dough up and inwards, gently but firmly creating a ball. When the shape is right, flip the ball over so the scrunchy seam bits are underneath and the top is a nice taut round. Dust the top well with flour. Dust the inside of a 9"/23cm round cane proving basket and put the bread in, flipping it again so it's seam-side up. If you don't have a proving basket, you can prove and bake the freeform instead. To do this, put the dough, seam-side down, onto a baking-paper-lined sheet pan.

Second proof

Set the dough to do its second rise, putting the proving basket or sheet pan into the oven (uncovered). Set your oven again to dough proving setting (or steam-only setting, if you don’t have dough proving), 100ºF/38ºC, 80% humidity. Set the timer for 30 minutes. The dough should almost double during this step; when fully proofed it will spring back into shape when pressed gently with a fingertip.

Bake

If you've used a proving basket, quickly turn the dough onto a lined sheet pan so it's now seam-side down. Score a cross into the top of the loaf, using a very sharp knife or a razor blade. This will help the bread rise evenly. Put the pan in the oven and set to Combi Steam, 400°F/200°C, 60% steam (that's right, no preheat first). Set your timer for 25 minutes.
When the timer sounds, alter your oven settings to 400°F/200°C, convection/fan forced (no steam). Continue baking the loaf until it’s fully cooked through and golden, around 15 minutes longer. If you’d like to be certain your bread is cooked, check the internal temperature of the loaf with an instant read thermometer. When finished it should read 190°F/88°C.
Turn the cooked loaf out of the pan onto a cooling rack and let it cool for at least 2 hours before slicing.

Notes

If you have active dry yeast you can use it in this recipe instead of instant. The first proof may take 10-15 minutes longer than with instant yeast.
You can substitute the whole wheat flour for an all-white loaf if you like. You'll need a touch less water, and the dough will proof a bit faster than the given times.
If you don't have a banneton, or proving basket, just make the loaf freeform by forming a ball and placing it onto a sheet pan. Alternatively, you can bake the bread in a 9x4"/23x10cm loaf pan.
Like most breads, this is best eaten on the day of baking. It makes lovely toast for a couple of days after that, or can be sliced and frozen once it’s fully cooled.

Nutrition