Russian Potato Bread

Total Time: 2 hrs 40 mins Preparation Time: 2 hrs 10 mins Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients

• 8 ounces potatoes (2 small)
• 2/3 cup potato water
• 1/4 ounce yeast
• 3 cups flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed caraway seed (or dill seeds)
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 tablespoons butter, diced

Recipe

• 1 grease a baking sheet.
• 2 peel and dice your potatoes, then boil them until they're tender. reserve 2/3 cup of the potato water and discard the rest.
• 3 mash and sieve the potatoes. (i personally just mashed the potatoes until there were no lumps and it turned out fine).
• 4 combine the mashed potatoes and potato water. let cool to lukewarm.
• 5 meanwhile, combine the flours, yeast, seeds, and salt.
• 6 rub the butter into the flour mixture.
• 7 gradually work the potato gloop into the flour mixture using your hands if neccesary to form a soft dough.
• 8 turn out a floured surface and knead 8-10 minutes. add more flour as needed to keep your dough from sticking.
• 9 place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover, and let rise for approximately 1 hour (or until doubled).
• 10 punch down, then turn out a floured surface.
• 11 knead gently for about a minute, then shape into a 7-inch oval loaf.
• 12 [note - my 1 large loaf didn't cook all the way through. it might've just been my oven, but you may want to make two smaller loafs instead].
• 13 place on the greased baking sheet and lightly sprinkle with whole wheat flour.
• 14 cover and let rise 30 minutes.
• 15 while it's rising, preheat your oven to 400°f.
• 16 using a serrated knife, slash 3-4 diagonal cuts into the top of your dough (criss-cross style).
• 17 bake 25-30 minutes until golden.
• 18 cool on a wire rack, or eat hot.