My Potato Bread

The first potato bread was originally developed around 1778 by Antoine Augustin Parmentier (1737-1813), a French pharmacist and agronomist, who was looking for ways to combat famine. He wrote about the potato bread in his book "The art of baking bread from potatoes without mixing with any grain flour" and he praised the potato as the "vegetable of the poor people". Bread recipes in which one part of the flour was replaced by boiled or raw grated potatoes keep popping up, especially in times of need. This was also the case in the First and Second World War. What was once known as the "Kriegskartoffelbrot" or potato war bread, is now one of the popular types of bread in Germany. Potato bread keeps fresh longer and is extremely tasty. Here is my version of a potato bread with rye and emmer wholemeal flour.

Method:

  1. Grate the cooked and raw potatoes in a large bowl.
  2. Add the rye and emmer wholemeal flour and the sourdough.
  3. Mix the fresh yeast with the beet syrup and some of the lukewarm water in a well in the middle of the flour.
  4. When the yeast starts to form bubbles add the bread spices and the salt.
  5. Mix everything well with a wooden spoon and the rest of the lukewarm water.
  6. Cover with a kitchen towel and let it rise for at least 1 or 2 hours.
  7. After resting, knead the dough by hand for at least 15 minutes on a well-floured work surface.
  8. Put the bread in one or two floured proving baskets and let them rise for another half an hour.
  9. Bake in the preheated oven at 250°C for 15 minutes, then at 220 ° C for 60 minutes on a chamotte bread baking stone.

Tip: Using a baking stone immediately gives the bread a crispy crust. Additional steaming is not required.