Paul's Bread

Herb / Potato Bread

Use a 12” Dutch Oven

1 TBS Yeast

¾ Cup Warm Water or Milk

1/8 Cup Sugar

¾ tsp Salt

1/3 Cup Shortening

1 Egg

½ Cup Lukewarm Mashed Potatoes

3 TBS of your favorite herb (I used fresh Oregano) if using dried herbs reduce the amount to 1 TBS

3 ½ Cups Flour (Adjust to feel of the dough

Dissolve yeast in warm water. Stir in sugar, salt shortening, egg, potatoes, herbs and 2 cups flour. Beat until smooth. Mix in enough remaining flour to make dough easy to handle. Turn dough onto floured board: knead until smooth, about 5 minutes. Place in greased bowl, cover tightly. At this point you can refrigerate the dough for anywhere from 8 hours to 5 days. (For this competition I put the dough into double bowl with a warm water jacket and let rise for 1 hour then punched it down and let rise for another 45 minutes.) Form into rolls or a single loaf. Place into your 12” Dutch Oven and let rise for 1 hour. Bake with 6 coals on the BOTTOM and 16 coals on the TOP for 15 – 20 minutes or until brown.