Mashed Potato Breads and Flatbreads

Yesterday I inadvertently made some really good bread out of leftover mashed potato.  The actual making of the dough was completely advertent (ha!) but then something happened, can’t remember what, and I didn’t have time to raise and bake it so put it in the fridge. Later I found it there (quelle surprise!) and made flatbread as intended and also a small loaf as not intended.

The whole thing arose (no pun intended) due to the fact that I always cook too much potato and was fed up with frying the bloody stuff.

When I eventually got round to making the flatbread I gave it a second rise in the warm alongside the remains of the dough in a loaf “tin” then dimpled it with my fingers, brushed it with olive oil and sprinkled with crunchy sea salt.

Mashed Potato Bread

approx 140g leftover mashed potato at room temperature
300ml warm water
1 sachet easy yeast
1 tbsp olive oil
about 300-400g flour – I used normal plan flour and it worked perfectly
1 tsp or so salt – this does depend on how salty the potatoes are

~   Sprinkle the dried yeast onto the warm water and wait a few minutes to prove (ie. start to bubble which proves that the yeast is live)
~   Stir the yeasty water into the mashed potato and then mix in enough flour, together with the salt and olive oil, to make a soft sticky (but not too sticky to work with) dough.
~   Knead (I put mine in my Kenwood mixer but by hand can be very therapeutic!) till smooth and elastic, adding a little more flour as necessary.
~   Put the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a clean cloth and put in a warm place till risen to twice its size (or in the fridge till you remember it which can be up to 24 hours later).
~   Knock down the dough and give a quick seeing too in the kneading department.
~   Form into whatever loaves you wish – I formed 3 flatbreads with half of the dough and put them onto a lightly greased baking tray and put the rest into a greased silicone bread “tin”.
~   Put in a warm place till risen again which takes about 30-40 minutes.
~   Meanwhile preheat the oven to 425ºF/220ºC/200ºC fan/gas 7.
~   When the dough is risen do with it what you will in the way of oiling, flouring, seasoning, decorating etc. and bake for about 25-30 minutes till risen and golden and the bottom sounds hollow if you rap it with your knuckles. The flatbread will cook faster than a loaf.
~   Cool on a rack or eat immediately.

I was very surprised how good this bread was – perhaps the long slow rise in the fridge produced a great depth of flavour (as, maybe, did the cream and butter in the original mash) but for a few minutes I couldn’t think what to eat with it! 

I had to be quick before I finished off the flatbread on its own so I roasted a few tomatoes (the oven was still hot) and poured them over a small amount of Boursin. 

This was something I used to do with Mozzarella when I worked at the Tamarind Club in Tortola.  I added the following to the dish description which I think helped it sell:

“WARNING ~ the tomatoes may burst all sweet and
juicy in your mouth and make you dribble”

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