Have a bunch of leftover mashed potatoes? You have to make potato bread of course!

Potato bread is a wonderful addition to anyone’s baking rotation. It gives you the opportunity to use up any leftover mashed potatoes, especially during the holiday season when leftovers seem to be never ending. In one fell swoop you can make sure your delicious leftovers don’t go to waste and while having two delicious loaves of freshly baked bread. Honestly, it’s simply magical turning your fluffy mash potatoes into pillowy homemade bread.

Buttery Potato Bread

*Makes 2 loaves

¾ cup warm whole milk

1 TBSP active dry yeast

2 TBSP granulated sugar

1 cup mashed potatoes

2 large eggs

3-3 ½ cups bread flour

2 tsp fine sea salt

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the warm milk, yeast and sugar. Set the yeast mixture aside for about 5 minutes. 

Whisk in the mashed potatoes until they are fully incorporated into the yeast and milk mixture. Add the eggs and beat well. 

Add 3 cups of the bread flour as well as the sea salt and mix with your hands until a shaggy dough forms. If the dough is too sticky to work with, add an additional ½ cup of bread flour. You want the dough to be slightly tacky and soft.

Dump the dough onto a lightly floured countertop and knead for 10 minutes. At the end of kneading, the dough should be smooth and slightly elastic. 

Clean your mixing bowl with hot water, dry it and grease it with butter or cooking spray. Coat the dough with the grease in the bowl, cover with a kitchen towel and proof the dough in the bowl for 1 hour. 

Towards the end of the proofing time, prepare two standard bread tins by greasing with cooking spray or softened butter.

After the hour, punch down the dough and place it on the counter. 

Cut your dough in half and shape both portions into a log shape, place the dough in the  bread pans. Proof your loaves for another hour, the dough should be level with the rim of the loaf pan when fully proofed. 

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Brush the tops of the loaves with whole milk and bake for 30-35 minutes or until the tops are nice deep golden brown. 

Once baked, release the loaves from the pans immediately and cool completely on a wire rack. Slice and enjoy! 

*Notes:

Using homemade leftover mashed potatoes is ideal for this bread. The texture of the bread is always soft when using the homemade mashed potatoes vs instant mashed potatoes. 

When you're kneading the bread, it’s ok if it is a little sticky. You just don’t want it to be so sticky that the dough is entirely clinging to your hands, making it nearly impossible to knead. 

If you don’t want or need to make two loaves of bread, you can easily half all the ingredients to make a single loaf.

By washing the mixing bowl out with hot water you will be also preheating your bowl to make a nice and warm environment for your proofing bread.