Sweet potato loaf

I saw my friend's mum post this on her Instagram and loved the idea. She made a sweet potato loaf using her sourdough discard but gave me some tips for making one without it. I tweaked her recipe and have made this loaf twice now. I love the sweetness and fluffiness of this bread. I think the texture is quite like Japanese milk bread! Best eaten toasted with a slab of salted butter. YUM.

Sweet potato loaf inspired by @jas.bakes

Makes 1 loaf

Bread Flour 195g

Caster sugar 30g

Sweet Potato Puree 120g - I did this by cutting a sweet potato (mine was red) into chunks and then steaming until mashable (~20mins) then mash and let cool

Milk 90g

Salt large pinch

Active dry yeast 1tsp

Butter 30g - at room temperature and roughly cubed (5 pieces)

1. Activate yeast by heating milk to 40-43C (I microwave), adding a pinch of sugar and mixing yeast in. Wait 5-10 mins until yeast mixture is bubbly.

2. Mix all ingredients except butter. I used a handheld electric whisk with a dough hook.

3. When a rough dough is formed, add the cubes of butter one at a time to incorporate into dough. Keep mixing until the dough is ready to be proofed - see video on Bolo bao recipe! I normally knead with the electric whisk and then handknead until the windowpane stage.

4. Place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover, and proof for 45-60 minutes or until doubled.

5. Punch down dough and divide equally into 3 pieces.

6. Knead each piece a few times to get rid of excess air and roll into a ball. Cover dough balls a tea towel and rest for 10 minutes.

7. This step is a bit iffy. Roll/press (I don't bother with a rolling pin) each dough ball into a rough rectangle and then roll into a swiss roll from the short end of the rectangle. Place into bread tin. I don't think it matters if they don't look equal because they should be roughly the same weight and will rise and fill the tin anyway!

8. Let it rise till ~3/4 of the tin or for about 60-80 minutes.

9. Bake for 20-25mins at 180C. Unmold and brush the top with melted butter.

Butter makes everything better.

Nic x