New Zealand’s Authentic Maori Mashed Potato Sourdough Bread

New Zealand’s Maori Rewena Paraoa (Mashed Potato Sourdough) Bread

Looking for a different take on sourdough? This is NOT your typical sourdough! Mashed potatoes, water, sugar, and flour are all you need to create a resilient naturally occurring yeast. You can make 2 loaves of bread from scratch after fermentation, NO rising time!! Save some dough and feed for future loaves whenever you’re ready! Potato Sourdough Bread? Ready, set, go!

New Zealand’s Māori Rēwena Parāoa Sourdough Bread

This New Zealand Potato Sourdough Bread recipe originated with the Māori tribe, New Zealand’s indigenous people originally from the Polynesian islands. Thanks to the Māori for cleverly fermenting potatoes to create a naturally occurring yeast to make bread. What an idea since starch in the potatoes can produce yeast!!

Traditional Māori

In the Māori language, which is 1 of 3 official languages in New Zealand, this bread bake is called “Rēwena Parāoa” meaning “flour leavening”. And the word “rīwai” which is part of the word “Rēwena” means “potato”.

What is so UNIQUE about this sourdough bread?

As you’ve guessed, what makes this bread unique is the naturally occurring yeast created from the potato starter. It is very different from other potato sourdough starters you find online because there are no processed ingredients like potato flakes and commercial yeast. This mashed potato concoction mixed with flour, sugar, and water along with time are all you need. It is said by some to be the best bread you’ll ever eat. WHAT????

How Long Does it Take?

Since this bread is a type of sourdough, you know what that means… an easy multi-day process. No, that was not an oxymoron. While it takes several days to create and feed the natural “yeast”, each day requires very little effort. So, by day 4, 5, or 6 (depending on your environment), you should be able to make 2 loaves of bread. Then, you feed a baby starter daily to continue to make bread every few days. If the thought of baking every few days exhausts you, then store the baby starter in the fridge. Feed it about once a week and bring it to room temperature to bubble up for a couple days before you’re ready to bake.

How does it Differ from Regular Sourdough?

Potato sourdough is primarily made with mashed potatoes and only uses all-purpose flour. The starter will NOT grow like a regular sourdough; it will only be bubbly on the top. You might see a pink or purplish clear liquid on top; just stir it all together before you feed it as that is just the potato starch turning color (like potatoes when they are exposed to oxygen). The sweet, starchy potatoes create the yeast, add sweetness to the bread, AND differ from the traditional sourdough in it firmness making it a heartier, denser bread. The potato flavoring is very subtle, so you can serve or eat it in any capacity. Therefore, you can use your discard in any savory or sweet recipe.

A Few Pertinent Details about Potato Sourdough

Give it Warmth

Summertime is the best time to make sourdough due to warm temperatures. Ideal temperatures for sourdough yeast growth are 75˚F – 82˚F (25˚C – 28˚C). If much cooler, the sourdough will “hibernate” like it does in the fridge. Provide a warm area like an oven with the oven light on to ensure consistent warmth. If covered properly, you could also set it outside in the shade or in the garage, as long as the temperatures are appropriate.

Feed it Regularly

Check the sourdough starter daily, be sure to feed it, and when it’s bubbly and has risen a little, it’ll be ready to use in baking. This potato sourdough recipe will not look like the traditional sourdough, because it’s so heavy with mashed potatoes. It will only be a little bubbly and rise a little. And, of course, like traditional sourdough, don’t be alarmed if there’s a sour odor… that means it’s working and fermenting nicely… hence the name, “sourdough”.

Be Patient!

Your environment and time play a crucial role in sourdough development. Read your sourdough; don’t rush nature. If you’re making a new mother potato sourdough, feed it daily, provide warmth, and wait until you have lots of bubbles and some rise before making your bread recipe. If you use it too soon, you’ll end up with a dense loaf, albeit still tasty!

A Little Māori Culture to Explain the Potato Sourdough Artistic Designs

Tā Moko Face Tattoos

Tā Moko simply means permanent tattoo, which is typically on faces of the Māori people. For the Māori, face tattooing is as a sign of identity and prestige with each tattooed face being unique. This rite of passage is like a fingerprint for each person. Each tattooed section on the face tells all about that person including general rank (forehead), position (under brows), marital status (temples), person’s job (cheek), and even a signature (under nose) for confirming one’s identity for business purposes. What!?!? The Māori tattoos are revered as a sacred act and tattoo artists are considered holy. Here’s a really cool website that tells all about the history and culture of Māori tattooing. If this is of any interest to you, you should totally check it out! It gives you the ends and outs about tattoo meanings and why they are so revered.

 The Koru Shape

To honor Māori culture, I decided to make my own bread “tattoo”. For one of my loaves, I made a stencil using parchment paper of a Koru (spiral). The Koru shape looks like and comes from the symbolism of an unfurled fern leaf since New Zealand has some of the most beautiful ferns in the world. The Koru symbol represents new beginnings, growth and harmony. It “conveys the idea of perpetual movement,” while the inner coil “suggests returning to the point of origin”. I think that’s an appropriate symbol for the times we live in today.

Scoring Makes a HUGE Difference

Potato sourdough breads, once in the oven, crust over very quickly. In addition, the baking soda also reacts very quickly and forcefully with the acidic yeast from the sourdough. Both of these result in potential blowouts anywhere the dough has weak points. Those weak points are areas where the dough is creased or folded; weak points are also areas where the dough may be thin. Check out examples of my blowouts from weak areas in my dough.

You can control where the dough expands preventing random blowouts that will likely give your final bread bake an awkward shape. You simply need to “create” your own weak points in the dough. We can do this by scoring intentional artistic designs that will allow for expansion and beauty. Thus, scoring allows for expansion during the rise letting you control exactly where the bread cracks during baking.

Intentional Artistic Scoring to Create the Areas of Weakness for Expansion… NO Blowouts!

For my second loaf, instead of a Tā Moko, I decided to focus on artistic scoring. The fern was calling my name so I could still honor the Māori culture and control the areas of needed expansion as the dough baked.

Final Thoughts on Potato Sourdough Starter & Bread…

The Baker’s Perspective

I had a lot of fun with this sourdough recipe. I could neither find any troubleshooting tips online nor pictures to guide me. When I started this process, I had NO idea what to expect. Potato sourdough does NOT act like a traditional flour-only sourdough, so I had to make several starters and bake many loaves to understand the science and expectations of this type of sourdough and bread.

With so little helpful online information, I was VERY detailed oriented in my YouTube video to show lots of video and pics for each stage and step of the process. If you decide to make this recipe and need some visual guidance, see my video (just fast forward to the starter section: 3:18-7:43; it’s quick paced with music). Or, you can click here to see a short video JUST on the beginning and feeding the starter. Soon after, I’ll post a video and blog on my 7 Tips for a Successful (Potato) Sourdough. So, stay tuned for additional guidance on making a successful mashed potato sourdough starter and bread.

In the end, I really loved making this bread. I think my reasoning is in part due to the cultural aspects. But, I also love potatoes! We’ve been eating potatoes almost everyday for the past month as I worked through this recipe! It really is a fun bread when you can be a little artistic in stenciling or scoring designs.

The Taster’s Perspective

Due to my gluten issues in the flour, Scott has been my potato sourdough consumer and has become quite the potato sourdough connoisseur. He has tasted and eaten plenty of dense breads and those that were just right. The flavor remained regardless of density, so he enjoyed all versions. The lighter loaves were certainly more enjoyable as they were more of a sourdough-type loaf.

Overall, he liked the sourdough flavoring. He found it subtle but more profound in the crust. The potato flavor wasn’t recognizable; however, it added a bit of sweetness in the bread. It is a simple bread and one you could eat everyday with any meal and for any occasion. He’s been eating this bread for a month now and still enjoys it! That’s saying something!

Check out my video for the WHOLE process from beginning the starter to seeing the final results of the bread bake with lots of tips! “How to Make a Successful Potato Sourdough Starter & Bread Based on New Zealand’s Maori Culture“.

Here’s a shorter video version JUST on beginning and feeding the starter.

New Zealand’s Authentic Maori Mashed Potato Sourdough Bread

This is NOT your typical sourdough! Mashed potatoes, water, sugar, and flour are all you need to create a resilient naturally occurring yeast. You can make 2 loaves of bread from scratch after fermentation, NO rising time!! Save some dough and feed for future loaves whenever you're ready! Learn some Maori culture and design your loaves with significant and spiritual meaning.
Prep Time2 hours
Cook Time45 minutes
Fermentation Time4 days
Total Time4 days 2 hours 45 minutes
Course: Appetizer, Breakfast, Side Dish, Snack
Keyword: sourdough bread, potato sourdough, New Zealand bread, Maori bread, natural yeast bread, Rewena Potato Sourdough, homemade bread,
Servings: 2 small loaves

Ingredients

Making an Original Potato Starter Plant or Bug

    Day 1: Creating the Starter

    • 2 cups all-purpose flour
    • 3 medium potatoes 16.5-18 oz total = ( 1-1.15 lbs)
    • 1 cup water
    • 1 tsp sugar

    Days 2 & 3 (or more, if NOT bubbly): Feeding the Starter

    • 1 medium potato 5.5-6 oz
    • 1 cup water
    • 1 tsp sugar

    Day 4 (or whenever starter is ready): Baking the Bread

    • 5 cups all-purpose flour
    • 1 tsp salt
    • 1 tsp baking soda
    • 1 cup water may not need any
    • 4-4½ cups OR All starter up to baking day on day 4 if feeding longer to reach the bubbly and rising stage, you need ~4- 4½ cups total for this recipe and discard the rest or save and feed to make a new plant

    Instructions

    Day 1: Creating the Starter

    • To make starter plant, peel, dice, and boil potato in 1 cup of water. Turn down heat to simmer with lid slightly ajar for 10 minutes (to mashing consistency, use a knife to cut through one to check for softness). Mash potato thoroughly with any remaining water in saucepan & scoop it into a large bowl that you will be working in and adding ingredients to for the next two or so days. Set mashed potatoes aside to cool down to lukewarm temperature (~100˚F/38˚C) about 15-20 minutes.
    • When the mashed potatoes are lukewarm (~100˚F/38˚C), add flour and sugar. Mix all ingredients together to a firm texture. Mixture should be a dough-like consistency. Use your hands to bring it all together and smooth it out on the bottom of the bowl.
    • Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave it in a warm place to ferment. If your environment is less than 75˚F/25˚C, then place your bowl in the oven (turned off) with the light turned on and store it there to create a warm area for growth.

    Days 2 & 3 (and more, if NOT bubbly): Feeding the Starter (add ~1 cup of flour to maintain thick batter consistency)

    • To feed the starter plant daily, peel, dice, and boil potato in 1 cup of water. Turn down heat to simmer with lid slightly ajar for 10 minutes. Remove the potatoes careful not to mash them (discard the potatoes, use the potato in another dish, eat it separately) You only need to retain the starchy liquid. Set liquid aside until lukewarm (~100˚F/38˚C) about 15-20 minutes.
    • Pour the lukewarm starchy liquid mixed with 1 teaspoon of sugar into the starter plant (made the day before) and mix well. Store again in a warm place to continue in the fermenting process.
    • The starter should have a sour odor (like the smell of sour cream or vinegar). That means it's fermenting well.

    Day 4 (or whenever starter is ready): Baking the Bread

    • In a large bowl, sift flour and salt. Make a well in the center and pour in all of the starter plant (or 4 -4½ cups, if feeding longer than Day 3). Sprinkle baking soda over starter plant and mix ingredients until combined adding extra water, if required. You will not need any water if the dough is sticky.
    • Scoop dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 10 minutes (no longer) adding flour as necessary.
    • Tear off about 2 tablespoons of dough. Place it in a small bowl to use to make another plant and cover with plastic wrap. Follow with daily feeding from Days 2 & 3. You may require an additional cup (or 2) of sifted flour added to the mixture to maintain a thick pancake batter-like consistency. By continuing this process you can always have a plant handy to make Rewena Paraoa every few days. You can also store the plant in the fridge to slow down the fermentation process and only feed about once a week. Be sure to store it in a warm place and feed it daily when you're ready to make bread again.
    • Since there's no rising time, you can go ahead and preheat oven to 400˚F / 204˚C.
    • Line a large cookie sheet (21 x18) or 2 medium-size round cookie sheets (at least 8 inches in diameter) with parchment paper and lightly flour for a bakery look. You can also use a Dutch Oven lined with parchment paper. Split dough in ½ and shape into rounds on parchment paper first. Then add parchment paper to cookie sheet(s) or Dutch Oven.
    • Score the dough. Cut multiple slits ¼ inch deep from one side to the other for an artisan design OR create a leaf stencil from parchment paper and sprinkle flour over the dough just before you bake it OR do both, since you have 2 loaves. Be sure to score on both loaves because they will rise and expand in the oven.
    • Bake loaves in preheated oven for 40-55 minutes or until golden or internal temp 190˚F / 88˚C.
    • Eat hot out of the oven with butter and jam or whatever you want.

    Video

    Notes

    *Store sourdough in a warm area for it to ferment. If not, it will go dormant and not grow until it’s fed and warmed.
    *As your sourdough grows from the daily feedings, remove several cups every 4-5 days and either throw it away, give it away to a friend, bake above bread, or use it as an ingredient in pancakes, waffles, etc. If not, it will overtake your kitchen.
    *Scoring the dough is very important for aesthetically pleasing bread. If not, the dough will find its own weak points and expand in areas you may not want it to grow.
    *Dutch Oven or cookie sheet works great for baking this bread. If using a Dutch Oven, place it in the oven when you preheat the oven, so it heats up with the oven. Then, remove it carefully and place your dough already on parchment paper in the Dutch Oven. Then, place it back in the oven.
     

    Interested in another sourdough bread? Check out this recipe.

    Borodinsky Russian Rye Sourdough Starter & Bread

    Interested in other homemade bread recipes? Check these out.

    Turkish Pide Flatbread

    Australian Damper Bread

    Homemade Hamburger, Hot Dog, and Hoagie Rolls

    Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this post, please share it. Check out my YouTube Channel as well to see videos of kitchen tips, blog bakes, and dishes.

    Published by Summer

    Bonjour! As a teacher of French and English to international students, amateur baker, traveler (having studied and lived in France), life-long learner, and a cycling and hiking enthusiast, I believe I’ve found my next adventure. I have many years of experience in all of these areas as well as having moved and lived all over the country (US that is). I’m fortunate to have in my camp PhD level experts in the fields of nutrition, dietetics, exercise physiology, and sports nutrition whom I can lean on for advice and scientific-based knowledge. I’m excited to piece all of these elements together during my journey to provide honest and accurate information as well as my own potentially disastrous first-hand experiences, without edit, to demonstrate the reality of a new journey. Please join me in learning something new, in laughing at my faults, and in appreciating all of the perceived differences in the world.