Sourdough Potato Bread

I was really craving potato bread a couple of weeks ago, but let me tell you--it's really hard to find a recipe for soft potato bread that also uses sourdough starter! I wanted that sort of soft sandwich-y bread, but also wanted to use some of my starter. I ended up adapting a recipe for Discovering Sourdough, and it really hit the spot! The bread was easy to make and it had exactly the tender texture I was looking for, along with really excellent flavor and a wonderful crunchy crust. I added some instant yeast so I could make the bread fairly quickly and some vital wheat gluten to make sure everything was perfectly soft and fluffy even with some white whole wheat flour. Yum! I will definitely be making this bread again. I'm also sending it off to the one-year anniversary edition of YeastSpotting!

Sourdough Potato Bread (adapted from Discovering Sourdough)

1 cup (9 ounces) sourdough starter
11 ounces bread flour, more as needed
5 ounces white whole wheat flour
1/2 cup (4 ounces) mashed Yukon Gold potatoes
1/4 cup (2 ounces) potato water, more as needed
1/4 cup (2 ounces) milk
2 T vital wheat gluten
1 1/2 T brown sugar
1 1/2 T butter, melted and cooled
2 tsp instant yeast
2 tsp salt

1. Combine all of the ingredients except the salt in the bowl of your stand mixer. Stir until just incorporated. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and let rest for 20 minutes.
2. Add the salt and knead the dough with the dough hook until smooth and supple. Add more water or flour as needed so the dough just clears the bottom and sides of the bowl. Place in an oiled bowl and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk.
3. Punch down the dough and shape into a round or oval shape. Place on a parchment or foil lined baking sheet, cover, and let rise until again doubled in bulk.
4. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 450 degrees. When the dough is ready, slash the top and place in the oven. Bake at 450 degrees for 20 minutes, and then reduce heat to 400 degrees and bake for 10-15 minutes more until the loaf sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.