On our quest for ultimate softness, we have tried many ingredients and many methods. From simple ingredient additions to more complex scalding techniques, we have enhanced our breads and made them super soft. There is little left to explore because we have tried most it already. Now all we can do is try and play around with already tested methods and ingredients.
Using cooked vegetables as replacements for some or all the liquid in a bread dough recipe is nothing new. There are a few potato bread recipes on the channel already, and even a couple of pumpkin breads. Going with that theme I decided to try and replace all the water in a recipe with cooked sweet potatoes. And to enhance the dough even further I decided to use the scalding technique as well.
Scalding is usually done by mixing flour and a hot liquid. Since all the liquid in this recipe is contained in mashed sweet potatoes, I had to get a little creative. In order to scald the flour, I decided to mix it into the piping hot sweet potato mash.
The result is an ultra-soft sweet potato bun that has a great natural sweetness and awesome keeping quality.
This recipe makes 4 huge buns. Divide the dough into 5 to make smaller ones or if you want to make more buns of the same size, then multiply all the ingredients.
Watch the video down below for detailed instructions.
Ingredients
For the scald –
250g (8.8oz) piping hot sweet potato mash
6g (0.21oz) salt
15g (0.53oz) butter
50g (1.75oz) white bread flour
For the dough –
4g (0.14oz) instant dry yeast or 4.8g (0.17oz) active dry yeast or 12g (0.42oz) fresh yeast
1 egg yolk
250g (8.8oz) white bread flour
To top –
1 egg white
Sesame seeds
To learn more about no-knead bread dough temperature control click here.
The flour I use has a protein content of 13%. If your flour is weaker, then you may need to lower the hydration.
If you are using active dry yeast, then you may need to let it sit in the water for 10 minutes before adding the other ingredients or else it could take a lot longer to raise the dough.
Method
- Cook the sweet potatoes. Peel and cut the potatoes in large chunks. Place in a medium sized pan and cover with water. Bring up to a boil and cook for 25 minutes or until completely soft.
- Make the scald. Mash the sweet potatoes together with the salt, butter, and flour. Mix until completely smooth. Cover and leave to cool down.
- Make the dough. Add the yeast and the egg yolk to the scald. Mix to dissolve the yeast. Add the flour and mix to a dough. *Desired dough temperature 24C (73F). If your dough is warmer, then it will ferment more rapidly. If it is cooler, then it will take longer. Adjust fermentation time accordingly.
- Cover and ferment for 30 minutes.
- Fold.
- Ferment for 30 minutes.
- Divide the dough into 4 or 5 equal pieces. Pre-shape, cover, and rest for 20 minutes.
- Final shape and place on a non-stick paper lined baking tray. Cover and final proof for 1 hour.
- Brush with egg white and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
- Bake at 170C (340F) fan on for 25 minutes.
Keep in mind that the conditions in each kitchen are different, so fermentation times may vary for you. It is up to the baker to control the bread and react accordingly.
Your oven may be different too, so your baking time may vary.
