Potato Sandwich Bread

A classic sandwich bread, made with mashed potato for extra flavour & a light, tender crumb. This stuff makes the best sandwiches!

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This fluffy loaf of white bread makes the best sandwiches ever!

I’ve been developing my sandwich bread recipe for a while now and I’ve finally perfected it! The secret to the lightest, most flavoursome loaf of bread? Potato! More specifically, adding mashed potato into the dough, as well as some of the water we cooked the potato in.

The great thing about making dough with mashed potato is that thanks to the added starch, the crumb of your baked bread will be softer, lighter & even more tender. Yet it’s still robust enough to hold pretty much any sandwich filling. Plus, it makes fantastic toast!

Check out our ever growing collection of bread recipes for more inspiration! There’s loads to choose from! Including pizza doughs, burger buns, doughnuts, focaccia.

What You’ll Need

• Potatoes – You’ll need to use a floury variety of potato for this bread. I like Maris Pipers!
• Bread Flour – Make sure to use a strong white bread flour with a protein content of 13-15% for this bread recipe. I use a Canadian bread flour from Shipton Mill.
• Milk – Whole milk works best for this bread dough but semi skimmed will work as well.
• Yeast – I’d recommend using dried active yeast for this recipe but instant will also work.
• Salt – A good quality, fine sea salt works best for bread. I like to use Maldon salt.
• Sugar – A small amount of caster sugar adds flavour to the bread.
• Milk Powder – Adding milk powder to bread dough gives it a more tender crumb & improves the colour of the bread once it has baked. Semi skimmed or whole milk powder will work here.
• Egg – You’ll need a large egg for this loaf of bread. This should weigh around 65 grams in the shell.
• Butter – Make sure to use unsalted butter, to avoid making the dough too salty. The butter should be softened at room temperature before being added to the dough. This enriches our dough, improving the texture & flavour.

How To Make Potato Sandwich Bread

The full, printable recipe card for this sandwich loaf can be found at the bottom of this post! Here’s a quick rundown of the recipe…

1. Cooking The Potatoes
   First, we peel a large potato, cut into chunks then boil in water until tender. Once cooked, we set 100 grams of the potato cooking water aside then drain the potatoes through a colander, leaving them to steam dry for a couple of minutes.
2. Mashed Potato
   Next, we mash the cooked potatoes with a potato ricer then leave them to cool to room temperature.
3. Activating The Yeast
   To activate the yeast, we place the potato water & milk into a jug then warm in a microwave to 38°c/100°f. Next, we whisk in dried active yeast & leave it for 5-10 minutes to go frothy.
4. Mixing The Dough
   To make the dough, we place bread flour into the bowl of a stand mixer along with sea salt, sugar, milk powder, an egg, the cooled potato & the activated yeast. Once well combined, we mix in softened butter then continue kneading until the dough passes the windowpane test (more on this below!).
5. 1st Rise
   Next, we let the dough prove at room temperature until it has doubled in size. This will take around 45 minutes – 1 hour, depending on how warm your kitchen is.
6. Shaping
   Once risen, we knock the back, tip it out onto a lightly floured surface then shape into a tight sausage that is the same length as the tin (more on this below!).
7. 2nd Rise
   Now we let the dough rise until it reaches the top of the tin. This will take another 45 minutes – 1½ hours. The dough should rise just above the top of the tin…
8. Baking
   Once risen again, we bake the bread at 175°c/350°f for 40-45 minutes until it is well risen & a deep, golden brown colour on top.
9. Leave To Cool
   When are bread is baked, we let it cool in the tin for 20 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack, to cool completely.

The Windowpane Test

The best way to assess the gluten development in your dough is by using the windowpane test. Here, you take a small piece of dough & stretch it between your fingers. If it stretches thin enough so that you are able to see through it, enough gluten has been developed. If it tears, more kneading is required.

How To Shape Dough For A Loaf Tin

Shaping bread dough to fit inside a loaf tin is surprisingly easy! The key here is to roll the dough into a tight sausage that is the same length as your loaf tin (9″ in this case). Once rolled, we place the dough into the tin, seam side down then gently press it down with our fingertips, to promote even rising.

A Step By Step Guide To Shaping A Tin Loaf

Before shaping your dough you’ll need to grease your loaf tin with butter, oil or a food safe spray grease. For this recipe we’re using a tin that is 9″x4″x4″.

1. Knock your dough back then tip it out onto a lightly floured work surface.
2. Using your fingers, press the dough out into a 1″ thick rectangle that is 9″ wide & 12″ long.
3. Start at the shortest end closest to you, roll the dough up into a tight sausage.
4. Tuck each end of the dough underneath itself then place into the greased tin, seam side down.
5. Gently press the dough down with your fingertips (this makes the dough rise evenly!), loosely cover the tin with clingfilm then leave to prove at room temperature until it reaches the top of the tin.

Potato Sandwich Bread Tips & Tricks

• Add some of the potato cooking water into the dough, for extra flavour & moisture!
• Use a digital food probe to take the temperature of the liquid in the dough. I recommend using a Thermapen!
• Mash your potato with a potato ricer, for the smoothest texture.
• Use the windowpane test to assess the gluten development in your dough as you knead it.
• Use a strong white bread flour with a protein content of 13-15%, for optimum gluten development.
• Let your bread cool completely before slicing, to prevent the dough from having a gummy texture.
• Use a sharp serrated knife to cut your bread, for the neatest slices.

Frequently Asked Questions

How To Cook Sandwich Bread In An Aga

With all of my recipes, I include cooking instructions for conventional ovens, fan ovens & also Agas. Here’s how to cook this recipe on an Aga…

Use the boiling plate to cook the potatoes (for the mash). Cook the sandwich loaf on the floor of the baking over, for 40-45 minutes.

Equipment Used

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• Stand Mixer
• Digital Food Probe
• Loaf Tin
• Potato Ricer

More Bread Recipes To Try!

• Tangzhong Dinner Rolls
• Same Day Focaccia
• Potato Burger Buns
• Overnight Tangzhong Doughnuts
• Pizza Oven Pittas
• 100% Biga Potato Pizza Dough

@saltbuttersmoke_

The fluffiest sandwich bread! This one’s a classic white tin loaf but there’s some mashed potato in the dough which gives the bread extra flavour & a softer crumb. Great for all sorts of sandwiches! saltbuttersmoke.com for the full recipe… #sandwich #sandwiches #bread #breadtok #baking #lunch

♬ sonido original – Vibes by Ley

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