Why it works: Sugar and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 15% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 92,116 recipes. Both carry phenylacetaldehyde, which smells hawthorne, honey. The science ↓
Potato Bread
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the potatoes
Use leftover boiled or baked potatoes, or boil potatoes in their skins until tender.
Peel and mash the potatoes or pass them through a colander or ricer to remove lumps. If using cold leftover potatoes, place them in boiling water for a few minutes to facilitate mashing.
Make the dough
Add 4 cake compressed yeast mixed with 4 tablespoons lukewarm water or 4 tablespoons liquid yeast to the mixture of mashed potatoes, salt, sugar, and shortening (if using).
Stir in 4 to 5 cups of sifted flour until thoroughly blended.
Cover and let rise until soft and light, about 2 hours.
Knead in enough more flour to make a dough slightly stiffer than white bread.
Knead until smooth and elastic, then cover and let rise again until very light, about 1 hour.
Shape and bake
Knead down, mold, and allow to rise in the pan until 2 to 3 times the original bulk.
Bake in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C) for about 1 hour.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.
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Sugar + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Potato + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,355 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Potato + sugartop 30% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,032 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Potatoes
- Add moisture and softness, giving the bread a tender, slightly moist crumb.
- Yeast
- Produces gas as it ferments, making the dough rise and become light.
- Flour
- Forms the gluten network that gives the dough structure and elasticity.
- Sugar
- Feeds the yeast and adds sweetness and browning in the crust.
- Shortening
- Adds fat that tenderizes the crumb and softens the texture.
The step that matters
Knead until smooth and elastic before the second rise. Kneading develops the gluten network that traps the gas from the yeast. If the dough is under-kneaded or too wet, it may not hold its shape or rise well.
Swap the potato
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, flour):
- Arrowrootfits better
- Beetrootfits better
- Sweet potatofits better
- Potatothe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, flour. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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