If you've never baked with potatoes before, Sourdough Potato Bread may change the way you think about homemade loaves, and potatoes... The mashed spuds give it a soft, fluffy texture while keeping it fresh for days-plus, the sourdough brings that deep, complex flavour we all love. Whether you toast it, slather it with butter, or turn it into the ultimate sandwich bread, this one's a keeper.
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Potato Bread
Potato bread is a type of bread that swaps some of the flour and water for mashed potatoes, giving it a soft, almost pillowy texture. It's popular in many parts of the world (always a sign of good bread) - think Irish potato farls, German Kartoffelbrot, and Colombian Pan De Papa.
While some versions use potato flakes for convenience, traditional recipes stick to real mashed potatoes for the best flavour. Some are yeasted, using instant yeast for a quick rise, while others, like this one, rely on sourdough for that deep, tangy taste.
How Does Potato Affect Sourdough Baking?
Adding potatoes to sourdough changes everything-from sourdough hydration to the texture of the bread. Here's what you need to know:
- Dough Hydration - Potatoes hold water, but how much depends on the variety and cooking method. Baked potatoes contain less water, while boiled ones hold more, meaning you may need to adjust the additional water in your dough. The good news? Thanks to the starch in potatoes, you can push the hydration higher without making the dough unmanageable.
- Bulk Fermentation - Potato-enriched dough tends to ferment faster. The natural sugars in potatoes feed the wild yeast, meaning you might see a quicker rise than with a standard sourdough loaf. Keep an eye on bulk fermentation to avoid over-proofing.
- Texture of the Bread - Expect a soft crumb and an almost elastic quality to the finished loaf. The starches from the potatoes trap moisture, keeping the bread fresh for longer.
- Flavour - While the potatoes themselves don't add a strong taste, they enhance the overall flavour by making the sourdough milder, slightly sweeter, and more balanced. Perfect for those who love a deep, complex bread without too much tang.
Mix It Up: Turn Your Sourdough into a Flavour Adventure.
Ingredient Notes
- strong white bread flour: with a protein content of at least 12.5%. We do not recommend using all-purpose flour in this recipe.
- salt.
- cooked potatoes: either boiled with skin on and peeled, or baked. We tried this recipe with Vivaldi Potatoes and Welsh Red Skinned Potatoes.
- active sourdough starter: 100% hydration.
- water: use luke warm water to speed up the bulk fermentation process. You may need more or less water depending on the type of potato used.
- OPTIONAL EXTRAS: try mixing in a little bit of fresh rosemary or thyme next time!
Find the ingredient quantities, detailed instructions and nutritional information in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Step-By-Step Method
Sourdough potato bread is made over two days, just like most sourdough recipes. Let's jump into the method!
DAY 1
Step 1: How To Cook Potatoes For Sourdough Potato Bread?
Here are two easy ways to prep them. Both work equally well, but note that boiled potatoes will have a tad more moisture (negligible if you ask me), so you may need to lower the water amount by 5-10ml in your dough.
- Baked Potatoes - Pop whole potatoes (skin on) into a hot oven and bake until they're very soft-this usually takes about an hour at 200°C. Once cooled slightly, scoop out the flesh, mash until smooth, and let it cool to room temperature. This method gives the potatoes a slightly richer flavour.
- Boiled Potatoes - Place whole potatoes (skin on) into a pot of cold water, bring to a boil, and cook for 30-40 minutes, depending on size. Once they're cool enough to handle, peel off the skin, mash well, and let them cool before adding to your dough.
Step 2: Sourdough Starter
As with typical sourdough recipes, this Sourdough Potato bread relies on wild yeast for its rise (no commercial yeast is used in this recipe). Make sure your sourodugh starter is not overly acidic and is fed regularly.
Once you feed it one last time, leave it in a warm place to at least double (if not triple) in volume for 4 hours, and make sure to use it before it starts deflating.
Step 3: Mixing The Dough
When your sourdough starter is active and bubbly, in a bowl of your stand mixer, mix the dry ingredients: flour and salt.
Add the mashed potato, active sourdough starter and water.
Run the mixer for approximately 10 minutes on medium speed, until the bread dough looks elastic and slightly shiny. It does not need to pass the windowpane test, but it should be gathering around the dough hook and look relatively smooth.
Step 4: Coil Folds and Bulk Fermentation
Scoop the dough into a large clean bowl. Cover with a damp tea towel or cling film (plastic wrap) and let the dough rest for 30 minutes.
For the next 2 hours, at 30-minute intervals, coil fold your dough (see video below), or you can perform sets of stretch and folds if that's what you're used to.
After 4 sets of folds, let the potato dough rise undisturbed in a warm spot for 2-3 hours, until almost doubled in size.
Step 5: Shaping and Cold Retardation
At the end of bulk fermentation, using a dough scraper, scoop the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Try to make sure that the smooth top of the dough (the side that is not intact with the bowl) is placed on the floured work surface. Then swiftly fold the four corners of the dough into the centre and flip the dough over.
With your bench scraper held at a shallow angle to the work surface, push the dough while using your hand to tuck it under itself, creating tension. This fluid circular motion involves pushing and gently rounding with the bench knife, while your free hand continues the rounding motion, tucking the dough slightly under itself.
It takes some practice, but you should aim for a tight round shape of the dough that holds its shape and doesn't spread much (we prefer a round loaf, but you can easily shape it into a batard too).
Place the dough ball into a well-floured banneton basket. The smooth side of the sourdough ball should be at the bottom, with the seam at the top.
Pinch the seam together with your fingers, if the dough starts spreading in the bowl, to make sure the dough is tight. Sprinkle with some flour, and cover the dough with a clean fabric napkin or small clean tea towel.
Place the proofing basket in a large plastic bag - it will protect the dough from drying out during its overnight rise. Then place the whole thing in the fridge for its final rise (a.k.a. second rise) in the fridge for 12-36 hours.
If you wish, you can bake sourdough in a loaf pan! Head to our article about baking sourdough in a loaf pan to learn more!
Day 2
Step 6: Preheating The Dutch Oven
The next day, place the Dutch Oven in the oven, and preheat it to 240°C (typically, it is the highest temperature home ovens will go to) with the Dutch oven in it. It needs to be piping hot!
Step 7: Scoring and Baking
Once the oven is hot, take the dough out of the fridge and out of the bag.
Invert the dough gently onto a large piece of parchment paper. If your dough was properly bulk fermented and shaped correctly, it should not spread once inverted.
Dust the surface of the dough with a little flour. Using a bread lame or a razor blade, score the dough deeply (approximately 1cm deep) at a 30- 45º angle.
Take the hot Dutch Oven out of the oven, take the lid off, and lift the sourdough into it, holding the edges of the parchment paper.
Place the lid back on the Dutch Oven and place the bread into the hot oven for 25 minutes.
Or try baking sourdough in an inverted Dutch Oven.
After 25 minutes, take the lid off, and return the sourdough to the oven for another 25 minutes. If you don't want your loaf of bread to be too dark in colour, you can reduce the oven temperature to 200°C.
Step 8: Cooling
Once baked, take the Dutch Oven out of the oven. The top of the sourdough should be golden brown and it should sound hollow when tapped on the base. Lift the bread out by holding the corners of the parchment paper. Place the bread onto the wire rack, and slide the parchment paper from underneath the loaf.
Leave the sourdough loaf to cool down to room temperature before slicing with a sharp knife.
Serving Suggestions
This great recipe makes a versatile bread that pairs beautifully with both sweet and savoury toppings. You can simply dip it in a little olive oil and balsamic vinegar, or serve it as breakfast toast with peanut butter and jam.
In Ireland, potato bread is often served with a full breakfast, while in Germany, it's perfect alongside hearty soups and stews. In South America, it's enjoyed with cheese or even grilled into sandwiches.
Storage
This bread stays fresh longer than regular sourdough thanks to the potatoes, but proper storage is key. Keep it at room temperature in a paper bag or a bread box for up to 3 days.
Freezing is a good way to keep your loaf for longer. If freezing sourdough whole, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and then place it in a larger ziplock bag. For slices, separate them with small pieces of baking paper before freezing-potato bread tends to be extra moist inside, and the slices can stick together in the freezer, making them hard to separate.
When ready to eat, thaw at room temperature or pop a slice straight into the toaster!
More Sourdough Bread Recipes
If you love homemade sourdough bread and want to try more variations, here are some delicious recipes to add to your baking list!
Sourdough Potato Bread
Equipment
- Banneton Basket
- Bench Scraper
- Razor Blade or Bread Lame
Ingredients
- 400 g strong white nread flour with protein content of at leat 12.5%
- 8 g salt
- 160 g cooked potatoes*
- 160 g active sourdough starter 100% hydration
- 180-200 ml water
Instructions
DAY 1
Step 1: How To Cook Potatoes For Sourdough Potato Bread?
- Here are two easy ways to prep them. Both work equally well, but note that boiled potatoes will have a tad more moisture (negligible if you ask me), so you may need to lower the water amount by 5-10ml in your dough.
- Baked Potatoes - Pop whole potatoes (skin on) into a hot oven and bake until they're very soft-this usually takes about an hour at 200°C. Once cooled slightly, scoop out the flesh, mash until smooth, and let it cool to room temperature. This method gives the potatoes a slightly richer flavour.
- Boiled Potatoes - Place whole potatoes (skin on) into a pot of cold water, bring to a boil, and cook for 30-40 minutes, depending on size. Once they're cool enough to handle, peel off the skin, mash well, and let them cool before adding to your dough.
Step 2: Sourdough Starter
- As with typical sourdough recipes, this Sourdough Potato bread relies on the wild yeast for its rise. Make sure your sourodugh starter is not overly acidic and is fed regularly. Once you feed it one last time, leave it in a warm spot to at least double (if not triple) in volume for 4 hours, and make sure to use it before it starts deflating.
Step 3: Mixing The Dough
- When your sourdough starter is active and bubbly, in a bowl of your stand mixer, mix the dry ingredients: flour and salt.
- Add the mashed potato, active sourdough starter and water.
- Run the mixer for approximately 10 minutes on medium speed, until the bread dough looks elastic and slightly shiny. It does not need to pass the windowpane test, but it should be gathering around the dough hook and look relatively smooth.
Step 4: Coil Folds and Bulk Fermentation
- Scoop the dough into a large clean bowl. Cover with a damp te towel or cling film (plastic wrap) and let the dough rest for 30 minutes.
- For the next 2 hours, at 30-minute intervals, coil fold your dough (see video below), or you can perform sets of stretch and folds if that's what you're used to.
- After 4 sets of folds, leave the potato sourdough undisturbed in a warm spot for 2-3 hours, until almost doubled in size.
Step 5: Shaping and Cold Retardation
- At the end of bulk fermentation, using a dough scraper, scoop the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Try and make sure that the smooth top of the dough (the side that is not intact with the bowl) is placed on the floured work surface. Then swiftly fold the four corners of the dough into the centre and flip the dough over.
- With your bench scraper held at a shallow angle to the work surface, push the dough while using your hand to tuck it under itself, creating tension. This fluid circular motion involves pushing and gently rounding with the bench knife, while your free hand continues the rounding motion, tucking the dough slightly under itself. It takes some practice, but you should aim for a tight round shape of the dough that holds its shape and doesn't spread much (we prefer a round loaf, but you can easily shape it into a batard too).
- Place the dough ball into a well-floured banneton basket. The smooth side of the sourdough ball should be at the bottom, with the seam at the top.
- Pinch the seam together with your fingers, if the dough starts spreading in the bowl to make sure the dough is tight. Sprinkle with some flour, and cover the dough with a clean fabric napkin or small clean tea towel.
- Place the proofing basket in a large plastic bag - it will protect the dough from drying out. Then place the whole thing in the fridge for its final rise (a.k.a. second rise) in the fridge for 12-36 hours.
- If you wish, you can bake sourdough in a loaf pan! Head to our article about baking sourdough in a loaf pan to learn more!
Day 2
Step 6: Preheating The Dutch Oven
- The next day, place the Dutch Oven in the oven, and preheat it to 240°C (typically, it is the highest temperature home ovens will go to) with the Dutch oven in it. It needs to be piping hot!
Step 7: Scoring and Baking
- Once the oven is hot, take the dough out of the fridge and out of the bag.
- Invert the dough gently onto a large piece of parchment paper. If your dough was properly bulk fermented and shaped correctly, it should not spread once inverted.
- Dust the surface of the dough with a little flour. Using a bread lame or a razor blade, score the dough deeply (approximately 1cm deep) at a 30- 45º angle.
- Take the hot Dutch Oven out of the oven, take the lid off, and lift the sourdough into it, holding the edges of the parchment paper.
- Place the lid back on the Dutch Oven and place the bread into the hot oven for 25 minutes.
- Or try baking sourdough in an inverted Dutch Oven.
- After 25 minutes, take the lid off, and return the sourdough to the oven for another 25 minutes. If you don't want your loaf of bread to be too dark in colour, you can reduce the oven temperature to 200°C.
Step 8: Cooling
- Once baked, take the Dutch Oven out of the oven. The top of the sourdough should be golden brown and it should sound hollow when tapped on the base. Lift the bread out by holding the corners of the parchment paper. Place the bread onto the wire rack, and slide the parchment paper from underneath the loaf.
- Leave the sourdough loaf to cool down to room temperature before slicing with a sharp knife.
Notes
Nutrition
NigeB says
Another fantastic recipe. A lovely dough to work with and the resulting bread came out of the oven exactly as your picture. You're becoming my 'go to' for bread. Thanks.
Ieva Greber says
This is such a lovely comment — thank you so much! I’m really glad you enjoyed working with the dough and that the loaf turned out just as you hoped. Being someone’s go-to for bread is honestly the highest compliment. Happy baking, and thank you again for taking the time to let me know 😊