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.
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.