sweet potato challah

I've been holding on to this challah bread variation for quite sometime now. Finally had the chance to make it with some leftover baked sweet potato from last night's dinner. Mashed sweet potato was simply added to the basic ingredient list. The amount of water was slightly decreased to come up with a dough that's smooth and not sticky.

The deeper yellow color and rich flavor from the addition of the mashed sweet potato made this challah bread variation much more striking and flavorful than regular challah bread. The sweet potato also gave it a softer texture which lasted for a few days at room temperature.

SWEET POTATO CHALLAH

3 cups all purpose flour (or combination all purpose and bread flour)
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup non fat dry milk
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter or margarine, softened
2 large eggs
1/2 cup lukewarm water
1 cup mashed sweet potato
2 teaspoons instant yeast

Add water,  butter, eggs and sweet potato to the bread machine pan. Add the dry ingredients next. Set the bread machine to Dough setting. Check the consistency of the dough after a few minutes of mixing. Adjust the water, adding 2-3 tablespoons more, if the mixture is too dry. The resulting dough should be smooth and not sticky. Dough rising time is about 1 1/2 hours. Punch down dough and braid for a traditional challah shape. Brush with beaten egg and sprinkle with sesame seeds just before baking. Bake for 20-25 minutes at 350F. Allow to cool down before slicing.