Potato Bread with Chives; The Bread Baking Babes Celebrate Spring

No, we are not running naked through the periwinkles under a full moon.

Although that does sound rather like fun.

Hmmmm.....

Okay, let's start again.

The Bread Baking Babes are celebrating spring with herb bread.Who can resist fresh chives?

The first sign of spring in my garden is always the chives. I'm usually snipping in early March.

After a winter of using dried herbs I can't wait to start using the fresh, even if that means snipping in the dark with my winter coat on.

This was a gorgeous bread. Thank you so much, Sara, of I Like to Cook, our host kitchen for this month.

If you want to be a Bread Baking Buddy and/or get the whole story on this wonderful bread, go visit Sara. She's got the scoop!

I loved the flavor of the chives and the texture from the potatoes. It's the first time I've used mashed potatoes in bread and it really makes a nice, moist loaf.

My dough was a little wet - so the loaves spread more than they probably should have.

I'm sure it had nothing whatsoever to do with the slight changes I made to the recipe.

But, I've always been much more into flavor than appearance.... We were

happy.

Really good toast......

My changes are in italics:

• Potato Bread with Chives
• 2 1/4 tsp (1 packet) active dry yeast
• 1 cup warm water
• 1 tsp sugar
• or pure maple syrup 1 tsp wildflower honey
• 2 Tb corn oil 2 tbs olive oil
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 cup cold mashed
• potatoes I can only get waxy potatoes - not the fluffy, dry kind
• 1 cup soy milk or other dairy free milk 1 cup cow's milk
• 5 cups unbleached
• all purpose flour, plus more for kneading 2 1/2 whole wheat flour, 2 1/2 all purpose flour plus almost another full cup for kneading
• 2 Tb minced fresh chives I used 3 tbs
• In
• a large bowl, combine the yeast and 1/4 cup of the water. Add the
• sugar and stir to dissolve. Let the mixture stand for 10 minutes, then
• stir in the remaining 3/4 cup of water, the corn oil and the salt. Mix
• in the potatoes, then stir in the soy milk. Add about half the flour,
• stirring to combine, then work in the remaining flour to form a stiff
• dough. Transfer to a lightly floured board.
• Lightly flour your
• hands and work surface. Knead the dough well until it is smooth and
• elastic, 8 to 10 minutes, using more flour as necessary so the dough
• does not stick. Place in a large lightly oiled bowl and turn over once
• to coat with oil. Cover with a clean kitchen towel or lightly oiled
• piece of plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, 1

to 2 hours.

Meanwhile, lightly oil a large baking sheet and set

aside. Punch the dough down and knead lightly. Turn out onto a lightly

floured work surface, sprinkle with the chives, and knead until the

dough is elastic and the chives are well distributed, 3 to 5 minutes.

Shape the dough into one large or two small round loaves and place on

the prepared baking sheet. Flatten slightly and cover with a clean damp

towel or lightly oiled plastic wrap. Set aside in a warm place and let

rise again until doubled in bulk, about 45 minutes.

Preheat the

oven to 400'F. Use a sharp knife to cut an X into the top of the loaf

or loaves. Bake on the center oven rack until golden brown, 35 to 45

minutes, depending on size. Tap on the bottom of the loaf or loaves -

if they sound hollow, the bread is done. Remove from the sheet and let

cool slightly on a wire rack before slicing.

I brushed the tops with butter after taking them from the oven - a trick my mother taught me that I can never resist.

And don't miss checking out the other Babe's:

The Bread Baking Babes

Bake My Day - Karen

Canela and Comino - Gretchen

Cookie Baker Lynn - Lynn

Grain Doe - Gorel

I Like To Cook - Sara

Living in the

Kitchen with Puppies - Natashya

Living on bread and

water - Monique

Lucullian

Delights - Ilva

My

Kitchen In Half Cups - Tanna

Notitie Van Lien - Lien

The Sour Dough - Breadchick Mary

Seriously, now, Babes.....

Who's up for running naked through the periwinkles?

How about the wisteria?

We could have some bubbly?