Recipe: Portuguese Saloio Bread (bread machine dough cycle)

PORTUGUESE SALOIO BREAD

1/2 cup peeled and diced uncooked potato (appx. 1/2 medium potato)
1 cup boiling water
2 eggs
3 tablespoons butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon shredded lemon peel
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
4 1/3 cups bread flour
3 teaspoons Instant Active Dry Yeast
3/4 to 1 cup raisins*
Cornmeal (optional for dusting pan)
1 beaten egg (for glaze)

In a small saucepan over low heat, cook diced potato in the boiling water approximately 10 to 15 minutes or until tender when pierced with a fork. Remove from heat and drain, reserving potato liquid. Add enough water to potato liquid, if necessary, to equal 3/4 cup of liquid. Mash potato with fork.

Place mashed potato, 3/4 cup potato liquid, eggs, butter, lemon peel, sugar, salt, bread flour and yeast in bread pan of your bread machine.

Select dough setting and press start.

Halfway through dough cycle, add raisins. If you think the dough is too moist, add additional flour (a tablespoon at a time). The same is true if the dough is looking dry and gnarly. Add warm water (a tablespoon at a time).

When dough cycle has finished, remove dough from pan and turn out onto a lightly oiled surface. (I use a nonstick cooking spray). Form dough into an oval, cover with a plastic wrap and let rest for 10 minutes.

Shape dough either into a large baguette loaf or two small round and place on large baking sheet dusted with cornmeal. Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm spot to rise, approximately 20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. After rising, slash the bread with a bread razor or a very sharp knife making three 1/2-inch deep diagonal slashes on loaf shape or a cross on rounds. Brush top of loaves with beaten egg.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes. After 15 minutes, cover loaves with aluminum foil to prevent overbrowning. (A good check is to use an instant digital thermometer to test your bread. The temperature should be between 200 and 210 degrees F.) Remove from oven and place the bread on a wire rack to cool. Let baked loaf cool for 30 minutes before cutting (this is because the bread is still cooking while it is cooling).

*Dried cranberries and apricots can be either substituted for the raisins for added along with the raisins for a colorful and tasty bread.

Makes1 large baguette loaf or 2 small round loaves
Adapted from unknown source