Market find: Purple-flesh Sweet Potatoes
Yield: From 2A
roast the white-flesh ones for 20 - 25 minutes.
The texture when cooked is somewhere between the dry starchiness of the white sweet potato and the creaminess of the orange sweet potato. It has its own unique texture; hence it would be a matter of preference depending on your taste and how you want to prepare it.
When cooked - boiled or steamed - it is not as dry as the white sweet potatoes but it is not as moist as the orange sweet potatoes. I found that when I kneaded the dough for the bread rolls I made, I had to add more water to form the dough. When I made the same rolls using the orange sweet potatoes, I used less water.
I am sharing with you the bread rolls I made. I use the same recipe when using the orange-flesh sweet potatoes. If you have never made bread with sweet potatoes, I encourage you to give it a try. The bread is not only nutritional, but tender and a delight to eat. However, I am not done experimenting with purple sweet potatoes. This weekend I am planning to make a sweet bread (a quick bread) with dried fruits and nuts. I’m hoping that it will be good to serve with tea on its own and/or with cheese. I’ll share the results with you next week.
Cynthia cynthia@tasteslikehome.org www.tasteslikehome.org
Sweet Potato Bread/Rolls
1 large loaf OR 2 small loaves OR 16 rolls
Read the recipe notes on preparing the sweet potatoes before making the dough
INGREDIENTS
● 3½ cups all-purpose flour, plus extra
for work surface
● 1¼ teaspoons instant yeast
● 2 tablespoons sugar (white or brown) ● ¾ teaspoon fine table salt
● 2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
● 1½ cups mashed sweet potatoes
● ¾ - 1 cup room temperature water
Vegetable oil ● 1 egg room temperature, plus 1 tablespoon water (optional)
● Sesame seeds (optional)
DIRECTIONS
1. Mix together in a large bowl flour, yeast, sugar and salt.
2. Rub in butter to flour mixture. 3. Add and mix in sweet potatoes then add water, starting with ¾ cup first, to make the dough and add the remaining water if needed until the dough comes together. Transfer to a floured work surface and knead for 15 minutes. Dust lightly with flour if needed.
4. Rub a large bowl with oil as well as the dough. Transfer dough to bowl, cover and place somewhere warm for 1 hour.
5. Brush pan/pans with oil if making loaves, if not, line a 13” x 18” baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
6. Turn the rested dough onto a work surface, press down to remove air and form into a large loaf or cut in half and shape loaves or divide equally into 16 pieces and shape into balls/rolls. Transfer to prepared pans. Cover and let rise for 40 minutes.
7. After the first 20 minutes of rising, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
8. If using an egg wash, whisk together egg and water.
9. At the end of the 40 minutes, brush loaves/rolls with egg wash and sprinkle with sesame seeds if using. Transfer to the oven and bake for 25 minutes or until the bread is brown and sounds hollow when tapped.
10. Remove from the oven and cool in the pan for 7 minutes before removing and transferring to a wire rack to cool.
11. Use as you would regular bread/rolls.
NOTES
Boil or steam the sweet potatoes until soft, peel and mash smooth then spread on a platter or sheet pan to cool completely before adding to flour to make the dough.
To measure the sweet potatoes, be sure to pack the measuring cups firmly.
Poppy seeds, rolled oats, pumpkin, and sunflower seeds can also be used to top the bread.