I now have lost count on how many times I’ve made this recipe this month.  I had made several recipes out of Home Baking before this challenge but I had not made the Tender Potato Bread recipe.  Find the recipe here on my previous post.

The first time I made the recipe I made two one pound loaves and two focaccia breads.  The focaccia was lovely.  The loaves were slightly flat as the recipe suggested and got way too dark.  The loaves made great toast and sandwich slices.  I didn’t take any photos - I don’t know why.

So what did I do all the times I baked this bread?

I tried it stuffed.

The leftover calzone appeared the next day reheated and topped with some smoked mozzarella cheese.  Both times this was just killer good.  I still have to learn how to make a neat crimp edge.

I made rolls.

***I think making the rolls might have been where I got over the challenge of sticky dough.  It would have been easier to work with these rolls if I’d rolled them in flour.  I finally worked out the technique for pulling the dough up, letting it stretch and break off, lightly press my right hand in flour and the roll, drop into the oil and thyme and then spoon into the 8 inch cake pan.  Just before the right palm in the flour, the left hand is totally sticky dough.  Sticky dough on all fingers and palm.  Rolled quickly and stopping just when you get a ball most of the sticky is gone.  If you roll two seconds longer, both hands are a total sticky mess.

I made one loaf with the rolls and took not one photo of the loaf.  I don’t know where my mind was; I know the camera was there because I took photos of the rolls. 

The one loaf I brought to Seattle and used it to make our Turkey dressing balls that I blogged about here.

I made five epi loaves but it may take 50 loaves before I am  totally happy with one.

How to cut an epi?  Obviously I was missing something.    I couldn’t find any real help in any of the books I had and google searches weren’t turning up anything very helpful either.    Then while I was going through my blog reading I came across a post and found it here in my own backyard.

After reading Susan’s post, I knew I needed a much smaller diameter baguette to cut and I had a much better idea of how to make the cut.

With over 300 400 Daring Bakers, you will find a lot of different loaves but I think each one was reaching just outside their comfort zone.  I am going to hope I can get to every blog . . . before next month!