I am all for avoiding excesses, but every once in a while I will throw caution to the wind and indulge. A bread studded with chunks of roasted potatoes will not make you feel light as a feather, no matter how carefully you go through the “portion control” route. We are talking a fair amount of calories here, but those are very tasty calories, therefore, worth consuming. Just don’t bake it every week! 😉

This is another recipe designed by Dan Lepard, published on The Guardian website – you can shape it as a loaf, but I opted for a thick and rustic focaccia.  My electric oven handles flat breads a lot better than loaves, and it’s been a while since I made a focaccia anyway. The clock was ticking….

ROASTED POTATO AND OLIVE BREAD
(Dan Lepard)

450 g yellow, thin-skinned potatoes
a little olive oil to coat potatoes
375 g (ml) water
1 tsp instant dry yeast
100 g yogurt
50 g honey
175 g pitted green olives, coarsely chopped
1 small bunch dill, chopped (I substituted thyme)
2 tsp sea salt
625 g Italian 00 flour (I substituted bread flour)
Olive oil and salt flakes

The potatoes are briefly roasted and incorporated with all other ingredients to make a very sticky dough. Using Dan’s minimal kneading method, the dough rises for several hours, until patted in a baking dish as a focaccia or shaped as a loaf.

For a full, detailed recipe, please follow this link to Dan’s site.

ENJOY!

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Comments: Part of the charm of this bread is the inclusion of potatoes and olives in large chunks, don’t cut them in small pieces. Next time I intend to roast the potatoes just a little bit longer, to make the flavor more prominent in the bread. Some pieces of potato will tend to fall off as you knead, don’t worry, just stick them back into the dough,  which, with each kneading cycle will be smoother and smoother.

I am sending this hearty focaccia to Susan’s  Yeastspotting event….

ONE YEAR AGO: SALMON CURRY (one of my favorite recipes ever!)