MASHED POTATO ‘BRIOCHE’

 Ok, so this isn’t technically Brioche but the end result is a super tender, rich bread that has a very similar flavour to brioche without the eggs or dairy . You don’t want to skip the 24 hour proving of the dough as this is what gives the bread so much flavour.

 
 

100g potato (peeled and chopped into large pieces)

175ml potato water (from boiling the potato)

7g instant dried yeast

380g plain flour

50g caster sugar

9g fine sea salt

1 1/2 tsp orange blossom water or vanilla extract

100g softened vegan butter, cubed (I use Naturli Vegan Block)

  1. Put the potato in pan and cover with water (do not salt the water) and boil until the potato is tender (around 10 to 15 minutes).

  2. Drain the potato, reserving 175ml of the water. Mash the potato until smooth and leave to cool.

  3. Into the bowl of a stand mixer or large bowl add the flour, then place the sugar and salt to one side of the bowl and the yeast to the other side. Add the cooled potato water, mashed potato and orange blossom water or vanilla extract and mix on a low speed with the dough hook or by hand until combined then increase the speed to medium and beat for a further 6 minutes or 8 by hand.

  4. With the mixer still running gradually add the cubed butter until all combined then continue to mix for a further 2-3 minutes on a medium speed or 5 minutes by hand. Lightly oil a bowl and add the dough, cover with cling film and leave to prove at room temperature for 1 hour, then place in the fridge to prove for a further 24 hours.

  5. After 24 hours the dough will have at least doubled in size. Tip out onto surface and knock back the dough. Grease a 30cm loaf tin with vegan butter or oil and line with greaseproof baking paper. Shape the dough into a neat log shape, place in tin, cover with cling film then leave to double in size. This will take 2-4 hours depending on how hot is is in your kitchen.

  6. Towards the end of proving, preheat the oven to 160C fan/180C/ gas 4. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes then loosely cover the top of the loaf with foil and bake for a further 20 to 30 minutes.

  7. Leave to cool in the tin for around 10 minutes before turning out onto a cooling rack to cool completely. Keeps for around 4 days.