With the purple mochi prepared and eaten, I went on to bake a bread loaf with the remaining “purple color extract” that I am left with after boiling purple sweet potatoes in water.

Since the mashed sweet potatoes looked too wet to handle, I skipped adding them to my dough like my other potato bread attempts and used just the purple color liquid.  I added 30g of the mashed potato later on, after gaining more confidence when I saw how the dough had come together properly after a first proof.

The interior of the bread has a more pastel shade but the purple color is still quite obvious.  I would experiment with adding more mashed potatoes next time and see if I can bake the bread with a darker purple shade .

This recipe is largely adapted from a white loaf recipe from <<孟老师的100道面包>>, one of my favorite bread recipe book.  It uses the sponge method that I like but takes slightly more time to prepare.

PURPLE SWEET POTATO LOAF

adapted from white loaf recipe <<孟老师的100道面包>> p.90

for sponge:
220g bread flour
3/4 teaspoon instant dry yeast
130g purple sweet potato water

for bread:
30g mashed purple sweet potato
30g bread flour
1 tablespoon raw sugar
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
20g purple sweet potato water
15g cold unsalted butter, cubed

To make sponge, place 220g bread flour, instant dry yeast and purple sweet potato water in a mixing bowl.  Knead with a dough hook at the lowest mixer speed (KA 1) till the ingredients come into a dough.  Let this dough rest aside, covered, for 90 minutes.

When the first proof is completed, add mashed sweet potato, bread flour, sugar, salt, potato water and continue to knead the dough till all the ingredients come together.  Knead at the same speed for another  2 minutes till it turns smoother.  By now, you can slowly add the butter cubes, one by one, and knead till no traces of butter are left and the dough reaches window pane stage: soft, super pliable.

Remove bowl from mixer, and let this dough rise for 60 minutes, covered.

The dough would rise to double its volume when time is up, punch to deflate the dough and transfer it to a clean worktop.  Squeeze out any air bubbles trap inside the dough, then shape the dough and place it in the bread tin, seam side downwards.  Let it proof for another 50-60 minutes.

Bake in a preheated oven at 170C for 30 minutes.

After baking, remove bread from the tin immediately.  Brush top of bread with butter to make the crust soft after it has cooled down.  Leave on rack to cool completely before slicing or serving.

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