Last week, in sharing about my market find of purple-flesh sweet potatoes, I said I was going to try making sweet bread with it and share the results with you. Well, I did make the sweet bread, and I had extra mashed sweet potatoes and decided to make sweet potato rolls à la cinnamon rolls. My favourite of the two? The sweet potato rolls!
The taste testers liked both baked goods. Everyone said that although they were told upfront about the sweet potatoes present in the bread and rolls, that they did not detect anything different in terms of taste or texture. Frankly, they were not meant to. The idea for me was to see how well the sweet potatoes could be incorporated into baked treats. On the other hand, when they had the yeasted bread and bread rolls last week, they swooned over the texture (tenderness) of the loaf and rolls. Most ate the two with butter and made sandwiches. I personally liked how the colour got a lovely shade of purple when toasted.
The Quick Bread
As the name suggests, quick breads are breads – sweet or savoury – that are easy and quick to put together and never need any resting or rising/proofing time before being baked. You mix and bake immediately. The longest thing about making quick breads is the actual baking time. That can range from 45 minutes to an hour or a little more, depending on the wetness of the mixture and quantity.
The sweet potato sweet bread I made took just over an hour to bake. The oven rise was as expected given the combination of baking soda and baking powder in the batter. The bread needed robust flavouring given the quantity of sweet potatoes in the mixture, so I added more than the usual amount of spices that I normally would. The addition of dried fruit – raisins and cranberries – complemented the sweet potatoes well, and the nuts added another element of texture with their crunch. Taste-wise, the bread was good on the first day. The taste testers and I had it plain and with cheese (we liked it better with cheese). However, we all found that on the second and third days, the bread improved in flavour with the spices and was exceptionally tasty on its own.
If I had to change anything, it would be to add a little more sugar. I held back on the sugar because I assumed that the sweet potato would make up with its natural sweetness, but it didn’t. As I write this, I am thinking that perhaps instead of adding more sugar to the recipe itself, it might be better to drizzle the sweet bread with an icing glaze flavoured with orange, lime or lemon. Actually, I think that would be perfect. Be sure to do the glaze if you make the quick bread.
The Swirled Rolls
As I said above, this was my favourite, not just because of the taste. I like pretty food, and once baked, these rolls looked lovely with the ribbons of purple circling the rich dough, glossy from the sugar-water glaze.
Kissed with the flavour of cinnamon, and the mashed sweet potatoes made creamy with condensed milk, these rolls were soft and very moreish. Accompanied with a hot beverage of choice, you can comfortably have 2 of these rolls at one go. I am definitely making this again and will try it with orange-flesh sweet potatoes.
It really is exciting thinking of other ways in which to use familiar ingredients. I hope that you give both or either of these recipes a try. Bring something different to your breakfast, brunch or tea table.
Enjoy!
Cynthia
cynthia@tasteslikehome.org
Swirled Sweet Potato Rolls
Yield: 10
INGREDIENTS
For dough:
● 3 ½ cups all-purpose flour
● 2 teaspoons instant yeast
● 3 heaped tablespoons white sugar
● ½ teaspoon fine salt
● 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
● 1 large egg, room temperature
● 1 cup warm whole milk (110 – 115 degrees F)
● Oil for dough and bowl For filling:
● 2 packed cups mashed sweet potatoes
● ⅓ cup sweetened condensed milk
● 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
For glaze:
● 3 tablespoons white sugar
● 3 tablespoons water
DIRECTIONS
For dough:
1. Mix together the flour, yeast, sugar and salt. Rub in butter to flour.
2. Whisk together egg and milk and add to the flour mixture and bring together to form a dough (add a little water if needed). Once the dough comes together, knead for 10 minutes then rub the dough with oil and transfer to an oiled bowl. Cover, place somewhere warm and let rise for 1 hour.
For filling:
1. While the dough is rising, mix together the sweet potatoes, milk and cinnamon and set aside.
2. Line a 9 x 13 sheet pan with parchment paper and set aside.
3. Punch down dough and roll into 16 by 14 inches. Spread sweet potato mixture in an even layer all over the dough leaving half inch free on one edge of the longer side. Gently roll the dough into a log (from the longer side) to the free edge and pinch to secure. Still working gently, roll the log so that the seam side is facing down. Cut into 10 equal pieces and transfer to the lined baking sheet about ½-inch apart. Cover loosely and place somewhere warm to rise for 40 minutes.
4. 20 minutes before the time is up, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F with the rack in the middle.
5. Bake for 25 – 30 minutes or until the buns are brown.
For glaze:
While the buns are baking, add the sugar and water for the glaze to a small sauce pot and place over medium heat, stirring until dissolved. Heat through for another minute then remove and let cool.
Generously brush the rolls with the sugar-water glaze as soon as they come out of the oven. Let rest in the pan for 5 minutes then remove and place on a wire rack to cool to room temperature.
NOTES
You can brush the rolls with the glaze about 2 minutes before they are done baking and then again immediately when removed from the oven.
You can make smaller rolls if you like, roll the dough to 18 by 9 inches. It will give you about 16 rolls.
Sweet Potato Sweet Bread
Yield: 2 (9 x 5) loaves
INGREDIENTS
● 3 ½ cups all-purpose flour
● 2 teaspoons baking soda
● ½ teaspoon baking powder
● ¾ teaspoon salt
● 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
● 1 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg
● 1 heaped teaspoon ground ginger
● 1 ¾ cups sugar (brown or white granulated)
● 2 packed cups mashed sweet potatoes
● 4 eggs room temperature
● ⅔ cup vegetable oil
● ⅔ cup whole milk, room temperature
● 1 cup raisins
● ½ cup dried cranberries
● 1 cup chopped walnuts
DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F with the rack in the middle. Brush pans with oil and set aside.
2. Mix together in a large bowl – flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, spices and sugar.
3. In a separate bowl, mix together the sweet potatoes, milk, eggs, and oil and whisk for a smooth batter. Add this to the flour mixture and mix until fully incorporated. Fold in dried fruits and nuts. Divide batter evenly between the pans and transfer to the oven. Bake for 55 – 60 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
4. Remove from the oven and let rest for 10 minutes before removing breads from pans and resting on wire racks to cool. Serve at room temperature.
