POLISH POTATO BREAD - A FAVORITE LOAF FOR WORLD BREAD DAY 2017

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Before my friend "The Rye Baker" Stanley Ginsberg went on his mission promoting European rye breads to American bakers, he had published another remarkable baking book: "Inside the Jewish Bakery - Recipes and Memories from the Golden Age of Jewish Baking".

I was among his test bakers. One of my test recipes was the Polish Potato Bread - Poylner Kartoffelbroyt - with its unusually high potato content an interesting recipe, but, as I soon realized, somewhat challenging in its preparation.

My first Post-It notes about the recipe

I had problems gauging the necessary water amount, first the dough seemed too dry, then turned sticky from the potatoes.

Not only that: Stanley had warned of dire consequences if you tried taming the gooey dough with more flour - it would turn into a brick!

Somewhat intimidated, I jotted down on my note pad: "No shaping possible".

In the end, somehow, I managed to get the sticky glob into the pan. Or I wouldn't have (later) rejoiced in its "excellent taste!"

At that time I had no whatsoever experience with stickier doughs. Meanwhile, I know better how to deal with the tricky potato bread - the extra flour needs to go on the work surface, under the dough, not into it! 

 Potato Bread tastes especially good when toasted

The excellent taste encouraged me to bake the Potato Bread again and again, while tweaking the recipe a little bit, especially withholding some of the water to (slowly) add it during the mixing later.

Allowing the dough to rest in the fridge overnight, I could reduce the amount of yeast a bit.

This favorite loaf really deserves to be presented at Zorra's World Bread Day 2017,

Golden brown and wonderfully moist

POLISH POTATO BREAD (adapted from Stanley Ginsberg's: "Inside the Jewish Bakery")

227 g/8 oz Russet or Idaho potatoes, peeled or unpeeled *), cut in chunks
170 g/12 oz potato cooking water
4 g/1 tsp instant yeast
250 g/8.8 oz first clear or high-gluten flour
34 g/1.2 oz whole wheat flour
9 g/0.3 oz salt
vegetable oil, for brushing

*) I like using local red potatoes with thin skins and don't peel those

Drain cooked potatoes and reserve 170 g of the cooking water

DAY 1
Cook potatoes in about 2 cups of unsalted water until soft, then drain, reserving 170 g/6 oz of the cooking water. Mash potatoes, and let both cool to room temperature.

Our local red potatoes don't need to be peeled

Mix mashed potatoes, flours, yeast, and 150 g/5 oz of the reserved cooking water at low speed, until all flour is hydrated, 1-2 minutes. (Dough might seem a bit dry at first, but potatoes will add more moisture).

In the beginning the dough seems relatively dry...

.... but soon becomes sticky from the potatoes

Add salt, and knead at medium-low speed for 10-12 minutes, very slowly adding remaining 20 g/2 oz water. Dough will soon become (and remain) sticky, but in the end pull back from sides of bowl. Don't add more flour, if you don't want to end up with a brick!)

Ready for its slumber in the fridge

Place dough in oiled container, cover, and place overnight in the fridge. (Using a square container helps with shaping the bread later.)

Overnight the dough has doubled in volume

DAY 2
Remove dough from refrigerator 2 hours before using. It should have doubled in volume, but will still be sticky. Grease a 9 x 5-inch/23 x 13 cm loaf pan.

The dough will still be sticky - flour your hands and bench knife!

Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface. With floured hands (or bench knife), pat and push it into a rough rectangle. Lift one shorter end up and fold it over a little bit, pressing gently down to seal. Continue rolling up dough in the same way into a log.

Place loaf, seam-side down, in the prepared pan

Re-flour your hands, (or bench knife), and - this is the tricky part - lift the loaf cylinder up and place it, seam-side down, into prepared pan.

Brush top of loaf with oil, cover pan, and proof until top of dough has reached rim of pan, and a dimple, pressed with your finger, will not fill up at once (about 45 - 60 minutes).

Preheat oven to 375ºF/190ºC (no steam).  

Ready to be baked

Score loaf lengthwise (snipping with scissors works better for sticky a dough than a lamé.)

Bake bread for 20 minutes (no steaming), rotate pan 180 degrees for even browning, and continue to bake for about 20 minutes more, or until loaf is golden brown (internal temperature should be at least 195ºF/90ºC.)

Freshly baked Polish Potato Bread

If you like your crust to stay crispier, leave bread in switched-off oven, with door slightly ajar, for an additional 10 minutes to dry. Then turn loaf out onto rack and let it cool completely.

STORAGE: The bread keeps for at least 3 days, wrapped, at room temperature. It, also, freezes well. If you slice it before freezing it, you can take out single slices for toasting.

Baked with German flour type 1050, the crumb looks a little darker

BreadStorm users (also of the free version) can download the formula here:

FUN WITH SOURDOUGH - SURPRISING SHORTCUTS TO A HOMEMADE STARTER

Levain made from applesauce gone bad!

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The day arrives for every serious hobby bread baker when he or she - no longer satisfied with being limited to store-bought yeast - craves for the star among starters - the homemade sourdough!

The usual pathway to your own starter is stirring some flour into water, hoping that, over time, this mixture will attract wild yeasts and lactid acid bacteria to devour and digest the free all-you-can-eat menu. These microorganisms are either clinging to the grains or parachute down from the air.

Rose Hip Jam with Red Wine & Apples

Three years ago I accidentally hit on a shortcut to get faster to a viable sourdough.

A glass of my homemade rose hip jam, waiting to be labeled, had sat too long in my warm kitchen, and gone bad.

I was about ready to throw the jam in the trash when the tiny bubbles on the surface triggered my curiosity to do a a little experiment.

What would happen when I mixed a spoonful of the tipsy jam together with a bit of flour and water?

To my delight, eleven hours later I had a lively, bubbly starter that provided the mother for the Pain au Levain à la Jan Hedh I made the next day. 

Rose Hip Levain  - with a starter made from turned jam!

Last month, rummaging in our fridge, I found a glass of applesauce that we had opened a while ago, and then completely forgotten. When I removed the lid, a strong (but not unpleasant) alcoholic smell reminded me of my earlier jam experiment.

Applesauce with bubbles and alcoholic smell

I was just planning to bake one of the loaves in my Bread Basket for Götz von Berlichingen, and chose Khalid's loaf, made with pureed raisins. It seemed to be a perfect match for a fruit-based starter.

After two feedings (at 12 hours intervals), my new, active apple sauce starter was born!

I took 25 grams, and, just as if it were my regular sourdough from the fridge, mixed it with the water and flours the recipe required. Then I left it alone overnight.

My trust in the power of drunken apples was not misplaced - anybody who doubts it, clearly never snacked on the seemingly innocent fruits from a punch bowl!

The next morning I found a nicely puffed, lively starter - ready for action!

Khalid's loaf, made with wheat, rye and spelt, rose just as it should. With a nice oven spring, it bore witness to the magic of the applesauce levain. It also had an excellent taste, and I will definitely bake it again (here is my take on it).

Khalid's bread - the magic of tipsy fruits

Of course, not everybody has a glass of fermented jam at hand. Tidy housewives (and their husbands) use their stock of applesauce, before it can start breaking bad. But there are other possibilities - for neat freaks and people who, unlike us, don't stuff their fridge with so many baking ingredients and condiments that they get out of control.

You can find hungry microorganisms in other places - for example at your local grocery store or supermarket (no, this is not a call for the health inspector!)

Joanna's (Zeb Bakes) Kefir-Rimacinata-Bread inspired me to a new experiment. Her starter contains homemade milk kefir. Would the active cultures of plain supermarket kefir be willing to do the heavy lifting in my kitchen, too?

Kefir starter: bubbles signal activity

My first trial, using kefir straight from the fridge, like Joanna, started out promising. The bread rose nicely, but, before even reaching it full potential, it ended with a total collapse, when I turned it out of on the baking sheet.

The structure of the dough was obviously too fragile, and not even the boost from oven heat was able to revive the pitiful flounder.

But now my ambition was tickled, and the second time around I proceeded like I did with the fruit-based levains. I mixed a teaspoon of kefir with the double amount of flour (half whole wheat, half bread flour) and left it in a warm spot in the kitchen.

A few hours later little bubbles on the surface indicated its appreciation for this treatment, and I continued feeding it over the next two days, every 24 hours.

On the third day I subjected my kefir starter to a new test - with a "pinched, not kneaded" loaf à la Ken Forkish. The result already looked much better, even though the crumb was still rather dense in some areas. The Overnight Cornmeal Bread didn't taste bad, either.

Made with 3-day-old kefir-levain: some dense areas, but already edible

Over the next days, from feeding to feeding - every 24 hours - my kefir-levain rose and fell exactly as Chad Robertson (Tartine) asks for his starter. A loaf à la Tartine, considered by many the Hol(e)y Grail of bread baking, was destined be the ultimate stress test for my young sourdough.

Voilà - here comes the Brown Rice Porridge Bread, made with a 8-day-old kefir starter:

Brown Rice Porridge Bread from Tartine No. 3

The juvenile starter performed like a real pro, providing a leavening strength and great taste that my normal sourdough couldn't have done any better!

Not only that - I got the blessing of the master himself: Chad Robertson "favorited" my bread on Twitter :)

 Chad Robertson "favorited" my bread

Update: Even after feeding (and baking with) the kefir starter for 6 month, it still has a very pleasant, mild, milky smell, not acidic like my other starters.

BREAD BASKET FOR GÖTZ VON BERLICHINGEN

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Dear baking friends who joined in my challenge to create a Bread for the Knight with the Iron Hand:

YOU FILLED MY BASKET WITH 30 WONDERFUL LOAVES!!!

You thought about breads that were worthy of a famous knight from the middle ages, and, also, could please the palates of today's guests of Schlosshotel Götzenburg.

Not only your enthusiasm and creativity is amazing - your comments about medieval knights in general, and Götz von Berlichingen in particular, are highly entertaining.

Götz von Berlichingen putting his iron hand to good use!

Some of you even tried to figure out what practical considerations might influence a pastry chef's decision on what kind of bread to choose - like using leftovers from the restaurant kitchen and easy availability of ingredients.

By and by, I will try to bake all of your breads (I have started already).

Also, I translated all German recipes into English and vice versa. So, if you don't want to be at the mercy of Google-Translate (rather pathetic with bread formulas, but always good for a laugh!), please contact me and I will send you the recipe.

Please, accept our gift!

Dear management of Schlosshotel Götzenburg,
28 enthusiastic bread bakers from 9 countries, from Canada to Dubai, helped me fill a basket with 30 different breads worthy of a Götz von Berlichingen.

Please, accept our gift of recipes - so that your guests will find breads on the breakfast buffet that are a credit to your beautiful hotel (and not bland mass-produced loaves.) 

SCHLOSSHOTEL GÖTZENBURG BREAD BASKET

1. Heritage wheats are not that easy to work with. The same is true for medieval bread grains that were around when Götz was fighting. But Barbara Elisi (Bread & Companatico) even coaxes a filigree crumb out of stubborn whole grain breads.

SICILIAN HERITAGE WHEAT BREAD FOR A GERMAN KNIGHT. I already baked her bread, with Maine heirloom wheat - it tastes fantastic!

Barbara's Sicilian Heritage Wheat Bread for a German Knight

2. With his hearty, moist bread, Brian/Skibum (The Fresh Loaf) wants to supply hotel guests with a healthy dose of grains, seeds and fibers, and, also, make good use of leftover potato cooking water (from the restaurant kitchen):

IRON-HAND-12-GRAIN BREAD

Brian's Iron-Hand-12-Grain-Bread

3. Björn Hollensteiner (Der Brotdoc) presents his GÖTZ VON BERLICHINGEN BREAD (with wheat and spelt) in two delicious versions, as round loaf:

Björn's Götz von Berlichingen Bread - als loaf...

and as break-away flatbread. Considering Götz' one-handed-ness, the latter is, no doubt, a big plus! (Björn has a bilingual blog, in German and English.)

...and as break-away-flatbread

4. With her  hearty POTATO-WHEAT-RYE BREAD FOR GÖTZ VON BERLICHINGEN, Britta (Brot vom Niederrhein) thought of the hotel guests' well-being, but, also, of possible leftover usage in the restaurant kitchen.

With its high potato content - cooked and uncooked - her bread is nice and moist, and keeps fresh for several days. I made it, and it tastes great! (Please, contact me for the English translation of her recipe.)

Britta's Potato-Wheat-Rye Bread for Götz von Berlichingen

5. Just back from China, Che Foodzeit (What's the time? It's FOODZEIT) had two goals in mind. His bread should symbolize the knight's iron hand (flax seed with a high iron content), and, also, "out-smell" his dirty mouth (with lavender flowers):

MIXED FLOUR BREAD FOR GÖTZ (Che's blog is bilingual, German and English.) 

Che Foodzeit's Mixed Flour Bread for Götz

6. Chorus (Die Mehlkäfer) offers a light wheat bread to the medieval knight, appropriate for his noble status. She also adapted her post to medieval language, and cautions:

"Refresh yourself, while you still can, rejoice and play the shawm, the little piece of bread in your hand could be you last. Enjoy it with appetite."

BISHOP'S BREAD FOR GOETHE'S GÖTZ  (Please, contact me for the recipe in English)

Chorus' Bishop's Bread for Goethe's Götz

7. Dabrownman (The Fresh Loaf), baker extraordinaire of grain loaded breads, felt so inspired by Götz' life that he created two loaves in his honor.

Hearty enough for the strongest knight, and, also, in view of the sanitary habits of yore (and the call for a clean behind), baked with high alcohol black ale:

GÖTZ VON BERLICHINGEN ANCIENT AGE SOURDOUGH BREAD

Dabrownman's Götz von Berlichingen Ancient Age Sourdough Bread

8. To slice his SWABIAN POTATO BREAD FOR GÖTZ OF THE IRON FIST,  you don't need a sword, it's softened by the potato content, and reminiscent of the knight's Swabian origin. After making it twice - it advanced to the ranks of my favorite breads (here's my take on it)

...and his Swabian Potato Bread  for Götz of the Iron Fist

9. Dagmar Kern (Brotecke) gave her mighty loaf a war-like name, and a matching fierce decoration to boot. Marked with a sword - and made with black ale, rye and spelt: just the right thing for a hungry knight and his guests!

SWORD BREAD FOR GÖTZ (Please, contact me for the recipe in English)

Dagmar's Sword Bread for Götz

10. Daniel Ronay (Facebook/Baking 101) believes a hothead like Götz should have a robust bread that matches his passionate nature.

His HOT CHILE-PEPPER LOAF FOR GÖTZ is seasoned with chile peppers. (Daniel doesn't have a blog, please contact me for the recipe).

-

Daniel Ronay's Hot Chile Pepper Loaf for Götz

11. To "add a medieval tone" to his loaf, Daniel Strachan (Joy of Gluten) included a "bubbling, blurping porridge" in his SPELT-PORRIDGE-BREAD FOR GÖTZ VON BERLICHINGEN

The trapped water in the porridge keeps the attractive breads moist for several days.

Daniel Strachan's Spelt-Porridge-Bread for Götz von Berlichingen

12. David Snyder/dmsnyder, one of The Fresh Loaf's best hobby bakers, finds that a medieval German knight would have been very lucky, indeed, to have a bread like this on his breakfast table:

70% RYE BREAD FOR A MEDIEVAL KNIGHT

David's 70% Rye Bread for a Medieval Knight

13. Dietmar Kappl, master baker at the renowned Reichl-Bäckerei in St Marien (lucky Austrians!), shares some his wonderful breads in his Homebaking Blog.

Even if authorities and clerics (which Götz despised, anyway) would have sneered at such a hearty rye loaf - my husband and I certainly didn't, it tastes excellent! (Please, contact me for the recipe in English.)

KNIGHT'S BREAD "GÖTZ VON BERLICHINGEN",

Dietmar's Knight's Bread "Götz von Berlichingen"

14. He didn't find a medieval bread recipe during his research, but Don Sadowsky, author of the wildly popular "Really? Authentic Bread?" unearthed a "tough as Krupp steel" Komissbrot from the trenches of Verdun.

It could have saved quite a few lives - if used as impermeable shield against flying shrapnel!

1914 GERMAN ARMY KRIEGS-BROT

Don's 1914 German Army Kriegs-Brot

15. Eva Henningsen (Kochpoetin) caters to the (long neglected) soft side of Sir Götz. I baked her tender spelt brioches with fine orange-lime aroma - even the fiercest old warrior would have enjoyed a

KNIGHT'S BREAKFAST (Please, contact me for the recipe in English)

Eva's Knight's Breakfast

16.  Freerk Bos (BreadLab) shares his very special relationship with Goethe's Götz - he was the first (and probably only) student who ever checked out this drama from the local library!

Little rolls, with a paprika-chili spiral, dipped in seeds - I can't think of a prettier way Sturm und Drang became bread.

NO GÖTZ NO GLORY - HOT BLOODED  BUNS:

No Götz no Glory - Freerk's Hot Blooded Buns

17. Gary Turner (The Fresh Loaf) did some research on food in medieval times. Whereas common people had to eat coarse rye and barley breads, only finest wheat was good enough for the higher classes.

This is his delicious, mildly acidic FIRST CLEAR FINE BREAD FOR SIR GÖTZ:

Gary's First Clear Fine Bread for Sir Götz

18. Ian Sandman's (Mookie loves bread) four-legged kitchen helpers would have rather baked for the mysterious Black Knight without hands (from the Artus legend), but could be persuaded that at least one hand was needed to handle this rustic loaf!

IRON-HAND-CHALLENGE-BREAD - A PORRIDGE MICHE:

 

Ian's Iron Hand Challenge Bread with Porridge

19. For health reasons Janet Cook (The Fresh Loaf) cannot eat her beautiful loaves herself, but that doesn't deter her from indulging in her bread baking passion: making her neighbors happy.

Inspired by medieval drinking habits, she added a barley mash to her wheat spelt bread.

BARLEY MASH BREAD FOR THE KNIGHT WITH THE IRON HAND (Janet has no blog - please, contact me for the recipe!)

Janet's Barley Mash Bread for the Knight with the Iron Hand

20. A piece of this bread in his chain mail pouch or saddle bag would have made a good meal for any knight hungry from pillaging. Joanna's (Zebbakes) loaf, made with a kefir levain, is substantial enough for a forceful character like Götz:

KEFIR REMACINATA BREAD FOR A FORCEFUL CHARACTER

Joanna's Kefir Remacinata Bread for a Forceful Character

21. Josh/Golgi70 (The Fresh Loaf) wants to sustain a knight on the road with a very nourishing loaf - full with berries, seeds - and bacon! It also makes good use of some kitchen leftovers:

A KNIGHT'S RYE 

Josh's Knight's Rye

22 + 23. Jürgen Krauss' (The Fresh Loaf) spelt bread comes in two variations, with light or green spelt. You can also choose between a purist version, or a loaf seasoned with nettle and fennel. Served with goat cheese the nettle version earned him his family's Annual Culinary Awards!

GÖTZ BROT - JÜRGEN'S TAKE, WITH LIGHT SPELT

GÖTZ-BROT - JÜRGEN'S TAKE, WITH GREEN SPELT

Jürgens Götz-Brot with light or green spelt (right: with nettle and fennel)

24. I wanted to use my favorite flours, spelt, einkorn, rye and barley my own bread, and give it a medieval touch with a millet porridge. My bread guinea pig husband and I liked it a lot!

WORTHY OF A KNIGHT - KARIN'S GÖTZENBURG-BROT

Karin's Götzenburg-Brot

25. Even in faraway Dubai, Khalid/Mebake (The Fresh Loaf) bakes with freshly milled organic wheat, rye and spelt flours from Germany. His loaf tastes smoky, nutty, slightly acidic and caramel sweet, since it's made with a raisin soaker.

KHALID'S GÖTZENBURG BREAD
(My take on it you find here)

Khalid's Götzenburg Bread - from Dubai!

26. Marcus/Wassisname (The Fresh Loaf) wondered, what kind of loaf he might offer Old Götz nowadays, and opted for a wheat bread with barley, oats and flax seed.

Everybody who tried it enjoyed his GÖTZENBROT. And if anyone doesn’t like it?  Well… thanks to Götz von Berlichingen, Marcus knows just what to say to those wimps!

Marcus' Götzenbrot

27. Marion's (Marion's Kitchenstories) sourdough with whole wheat and rye berries has such a wonderful "bite" that it made the list of her top ten favorite breads. (She posted in Dutch and English)

MARION'S WHEAT & RYE BERRY SOURDOUGH FOR A COURAGEOUS KNIGHT 

Marion's Wheat & Rye Berry Sourdough for a Courageous Knight

28. No wonder that Ninive (Ninive Loves Life) took up the challenge to help fill the bread basket for Old Götz - her maiden name is Götze!

Her WHOLE RYE BREAD FOR GÖTZ, made with coarse rye meal, beer and molasses, develops its good taste during long, slow fermentation. (Ninive's blog is bilingual, German and English).

Ninive's Whole Rye Bread for Götz

29. Sam Kargl (Sam's Kitchen) wondered how traveling noblemen and their followers prepared their food when when they had no oven. Surely they would have brought a kettle!

But if you aren't busy with plundering and pillaging you can also bake this hearty rye-wheat loaf in a regular oven, in a cast iron pot, or even without a "kettle". (Please, contact me for the recipe in English)

KETTLE BREAD FOR GÖTZ:

Sam's Kettle Bread for Götz

30. Susan (Facebook) bakes this 1.8 kilogram heavy weight every week, and thinks a bread that she and her neighbors have enjoyed for years, should certainly please an old knight, too.
(Susan has no own blog -  please, contact me for the recipe).

COUNTRY FRENCH BREAD FOR GÖTZ

Susan's Country French Bread for Götz

COUNTRIES:
Germany:        Britta, Che Foodzeit, Chorus, Eva, Brotdoc, Ninive, Dagmar
Great Britain: Jürgen, Joanna
Netherlands:   Freerk, Marion
Austria:           Dietmar, Sam
Sweden:           Barbara
Switzerland:    Daniel Strachan
Canada:          Brian
USA:                Ian, Josh, Karin, Janet, Marcus, Gary, Don, Daniel Ronay, David, Dabrownman,
                        Susan
UAE/Dubai:    Khalid

Good bye!