Sweet Potato-Onion Cranberry Bread

I had some leftover purple sweet potatoes and caramelized onions so threw this bread together.  I thought the cranberries would make a nice addition to the flavor profile along with the nice nutty fresh milled spelt flour.

I gave a loaf to my good friend who happens to be a professional photographer at Wes Steinberg Studios.  He did me a favor and did some head-shots for my LinkedIn profile which came out excellent (or at least as good as the subject matter would allow :)).  I asked him to shoot some photos of the bread as well and I added some of them in this post.  I think you can easily tell which ones he did and I did using my Iphone.

Well, I guess the bread tasted pretty good since he called me up the next day and asked me to bake 3 more loaves for Turkey Day!

The crumb was nice and moist from the yogurt, sweet potatoes and onions and the loaf was perfect for grilled cheese sandwiches or turkey.

Formula

Note: Water content of the Sweet Potatoes is approximately 59 grams which is not reflected in the overall hydration but was taken into account when formulating the amount of water to use.

Download the BreadStorm File Here

Levain Directions

Mix all the Levain ingredients together for about 1 minute and cover with plastic wrap.  Let it sit at room temperature for around 7-8 hours or until the starter has doubled.

Either use in the main dough immediately or refrigerate for up to 1 day before using.

 Main Dough Procedure

Mix the flours and 85% or so, of the water together in your mixer or by hand until it just starts to come together, maybe about 1 minute.  Let it rest in your work bowl covered for 30 minutes to 1 hour.  Next add the salt, starter (cut into about 7-8 pieces), olive oil, potatoes, yogurt, and the rest of the water and mix on low for 4 minutes.  Now add the cranberries and onions and mix until incorporated about 25 seconds or so.  Remove the dough from your bowl and place it in a lightly oiled bowl or work surface and do several stretch and folds.  Let it rest covered for 10-15 minutes and then do another stretch and fold.  Let it rest another 10-15 minutes and do one additional stretch and fold.  After a total of 1.5 hours place your covered bowl in the refrigerator and let it rest for 12 to 24 hours.  (If you have a proofer you can set it to 80 degrees and follow above steps but you should be finished in 1 hour).

When you are ready to bake remove the bowl from the refrigerator and let it set out at room temperature still covered for 1 hour (Spelt tends to proof very quickly, so if you don't use Spelt I would leave the dough out for 1.5 to 2 hours).    Remove the dough and shape as desired.   Place your dough into your proofing basket(s) and cover with a moist tea towel or plastic wrap sprayed with cooking spray.  The dough will take about 1 hour depending on your room temperature (if not using Spelt it will take 1.5 to 2 hours).  Let the dough dictate when it is read to bake not the clock.

Around 45 minutes before ready to bake, pre-heat your oven to 540 degrees F. and prepare it for steam.  I have a heavy-duty baking pan on the bottom rack of my oven with 1 baking stone on above the pan and one on the top shelf.  I pour 1 cup of boiling water in the pan right after I place the dough in the oven.

Right before you are ready to put them in the oven, score as desired and then add 1 cup of boiling water to your steam pan or follow your own steam procedure.

After 1 minute lower the temperature to 450 degrees.  Bake for 25-35 minutes until the crust is nice and brown and the internal temperature of the bread is 205 degrees.

Take the bread out of the oven when done and let it cool on a bakers rack before for at least 2 hours before eating.