The bread recipe with root vegetable as an additive is so versatile that I continue to experiment with additional ingredients like dry fruits or nuts. They all come out great, soft and fluffy. But sometimes, it is nice to go back to basic plain potato bread.
I added the bamboo charcoal powder to the regular recipe because I realise that it is expiring in 4 months. I need to make a lot more charcoal bread this month to use up the bottle. Who knew a 40-gram bottle could last so long?
The charcoal powder imparts no flavourings at all to the bread. So if one eats it with eyes closed, he won’t be able to tell it apart from plain white bread. But I eat with my eyes wide open, so I turn these black bread slices into a pretty sandwich by teaming them with grilled vegetarian cheese, red lettuce, sweet basil and cherry tomatoes.
With all these vibrant colors from the ingredients, definitely a feast for my eyes.
Basic Bamboo Charcoal Potato Bread Loaf
220g plain flour 1/2 tablespoon edible charcoal powder 1/2 tablespoon instant dry yeast 1/4 teaspoon sea salt 2 tablespoons raw sugar 125g mashed potatoes 40g potato water ** 1/2 egg *** 30g cold unsalted butter,cubed
** Potato water refers to the water that is left behind after cooking the potatoes with. Cool it down to room temperature before using.
*** I use large eggs that weigh above 70g with shell, if you have smaller eggs, simply weigh out 35g for this recipe.
In a mixer bowl, stir plain flour, charcoal powder, yeast, sea salt, raw sugar with a hand whisk to mix these dry ingredients uniformly. Next, add mashed potatoes, potato water, and egg, then knead using an electric mixer with dough hook on the lowest speed (KA 1) until the ingredients come into a ball. Continue to knead this for about 3 minutes, then stop the mixer and leave this dough to stand for 15 minutes.
Turn on the mixer again on its lowest speed and knead the dough for another 1 minute. After that, add butter cubes one by one carefully with the mixer running, keep kneading until no visible traces of butter can be seen in the bowl and the dough has reached window pane stage. The dough should be extremely soft and pliable now, stop the mixer and leave the dough in the bowl, covered. Proof this for 60 minutes.
The dough will double in volume after its first proof. Punch down to deflate it and transfer to a clean work top. Dust hands and worktop with a little flour if the dough is too sticky to handle. Flatten dough either with palms or rolling pin to push out any gases trapped inside the dough. Shape the dough and place it in the bread tin, seam side downwards.
If making a square loaf, check on the dough 50 minutes after proofing, the dough should rise to cover about 90% of the height of the tin. Slide over the cover to enclose the bread and continue to proof for another 10 minutes before baking. Bake the bread covered in a preheated oven at 200C for 30 minutes.
If making a dome-shaped bread loaf, proof it for 60 minutes. If the dough has risen above the bread tin, proceed to bake. If not, give it another 10-15 minutes to rise. However, do not extend the proof time further than 90minutes, as this will run the risk of over-proofing the dough. Bake in a preheated oven at 170C for 30 minutes.
Remove bread from tin immediately after baking and leave it to cool completely on a rack before slicing.
MONO and CO 