Sweet Potato Sandwich Bread Loaf
A soft yeasted sweet potato sandwich loaf with square shoulders and a close crumb that slices thin without tearing. Baked in a standard 9x5 pan.
Servings 16 slices
Ingredients
For the Loaf
- 1 cup mashed baked sweet potato about 1 large, baked and cooled
- ¾ cup whole milk warmed to 105 degrees F
- 2 ¼ teaspoons instant yeast one packet
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 large egg
- 3 ½ to 3 ¾ cups bread flour start with 3 ½ cups
- 2 teaspoons fine salt
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter softened, plus more for the pan and the crust
Instructions
Bake the Sweet Potato
- Prick one large sweet potato and bake it directly on the oven rack at 400 degrees F for 50 to 60 minutes, until a knife meets no resistance. Do not wrap it in foil and do not boil it.
- Split it open, let it steam off for 10 minutes, then scoop and mash the flesh smooth. You need 1 cup, thick enough to mound on the spoon. Cool it completely.
Mix and Knead
- Whisk the warm milk, yeast, honey, egg and cooled sweet potato mash together in a large bowl. Add 3 ½ cups of the bread flour and the salt, stir until no dry flour remains, cover, and rest 20 minutes.
- Knead 6 minutes, then work in the softened butter one tablespoon at a time. Knead another 5 to 6 minutes after the last butter goes in, until the dough is smooth, glossy and pulls away from the bowl. It should be soft and slightly tacky. Add the remaining flour a tablespoon at a time only if needed.
- Cover and rise somewhere warm for 60 to 90 minutes, until doubled. A floured finger poked into the dough should leave a dent that fills back in slowly and only part way.
Shape and Bake
- Press the dough flat into a rectangle about 9 inches wide and 12 inches long, working out the large bubbles. Measure the 9 inch side against your pan.
- Roll it up tightly from the short end with steady tension, pressing the seam down after every turn. Pinch the final seam and both ends closed, then set it seam side down in a buttered 9x5 inch loaf pan and press it into the corners.
- Cover loosely and rise 45 to 60 minutes, until the center crowns about 1 inch above the rim of the pan.
- Bake at 350 degrees F for 38 to 45 minutes, tenting with foil at 25 minutes if the top is browning fast. It is done at 190 degrees F in the center.
- Brush the hot crust with melted butter, turn the loaf out of the pan immediately, and cool it completely on a rack for at least 2 hours before slicing.
Notes
- Bake, never boil: boiled sweet potato carries water into the dough, and the extra flour you add to compensate is what makes a dense loaf.
- Bread flour matters: sweet potato puree weakens gluten, so the higher protein flour is what lets thin slices hold together.
- Roll it tight: steady tension and a pinched seam are what give you square shoulders instead of a domed top.
- 190 degrees F: take the internal temperature. Underbaking is the main cause of a gummy crumb.
- Cool 2 hours: slicing warm compresses the crumb permanently.
- Freeze in slices with parchment between them, and toast straight from frozen.