I love me some sweet potatoes. We have so many laying around from after Thanksgiving, I've been trying to come up with creative ways to use them up. Smashing and casseroles were out since we had so much of that last week. And roasting them alone seems anticlimactic (although still tasty!). I have a ton of flour sitting in the pantry, so I decided to see if a quick bread loaf was possible with other items laying around the house.
I couldn't help myself and did roast some sweet potatoes before mixing them into the batter. I kept some to the side and munched on them while preparing the bread. I just love the sweet, caramel potato smell that emanates throughout the house while they slowly tenderize in the oven.
I love the consistency of this bread. It reminds me of zucchini bread density, where it's not a solid bread, but it also doesn't taste or feel quite like a cake. The sweetness is also subtle and not overpowering. I spread some butter on top of my warm slice and sat down to slowly enjoy the mellow flavors. This works wonderfully as a snack, dessert, or tasty breakfast.
If you have some plain pecans or caramel walnut pieces laying around, those would be fabulous on top.
Sweet Potato Bread
2 medium sweet potatoes
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 cupturbinado
1/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup butter
2 eggs
Preheat the oven to 350*F. Peel and roughly chop the sweet potatoes. Toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper and spread evenly on a cooking sheet. Roast for 30min until tender.
In a medium bowl, sift together the ingredients of flour through the baking powder and set aside. Prepare a loaf pan by coating all sides with butter and set aside.
Once the sweet potatoes are ready, combine the wet ingredients (sweet potatoes, and turbinado through eggs) in a mixer and blend until fairly smooth, although small sweet potato pieces will remain. Slowly add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
Bake at 350*F for 60min or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow it to cool in the pan before slicing.
~Yields 1 loaf.
~Adapted from Stylish Cuisine and Bread + Butter.
See that shadow there on the left? That would be my dog's nose a millisecond before she grabbed that bite on the fork. She's never done that before. I think some of those dogs at the park are a bad influence. I'll have to cut down on her fraternization time or at least quiz any dogs for their intention of playing with my dog from now on. Sigh, kids.