Potato Wheat Bread

In a small sauce pan, boil the prepared potato in about 2 cups of water. Boil until the potato is very tender. Remove from heat and let cool. Once cooled, place potatoes into a blender and blend for a few seconds. Add enough warm water to measure 2 1/2 cups in your blender mixing cup and blend until smooth.

Add the potato water to the bowl of a stand mixer. Be sure the potato water is not over 110 degrees before continuing or it will kill the yeast. Add the butter, yeast, honey, and molasses and mix thoroughly. Add the soy flour, gluten, and wheat flour. Mix on medium speed with the paddle for about 5 minutes. Remove the paddle and put on the dough hook. Add 2 cups of white flour and the salt. Knead on speed 2 for another 3-5 minutes, adding as little of the remaining 1/2 cup of flour as you can while still trying to keep the dough from being too sticky. It will never completely lose its stickiness and it is better to err on the side of less flour.

Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place until it has doubled in size. Dump the dough onto a floured counter and pat into a large, flat rectangle. Cut into two rectangles and roll each rectangle into a loaf, pinching the seams closed. Place the loaf, seam side down into a greased 8×4 inch loaf pan. Cover the pans with plastic wrap and let rise again until they have doubled in size (for about an hour).

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Slash the top of the dough (about 1/4 inch deep) if you prefer a split top loaf and place in the oven for about 30 minutes. When done, the loaf should sound hollow when tapped or have reached an internal temperature of 200 degrees. To keep the tops soft and pliable and to give them a lovely sheen, brush them with a light coat of butter. Let cool slightly before removing from the pans to finish cooling on a rack.

NOTE: If you do not have soy flour on hand or would prefer not to use it, simply substitute for more all purpose flour. The soy flour provides a nuttier flavor and improves shelf life and texture, so I recommend using it if you can.