potato water bread

* 1 cup potato water, plus
* 2 tablespoons potato water
* 1/3 cup milk
* 2 tablespoons butter
* 4 cups flour
* 2 tablespoons sugar
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 1/2 teaspoons bread machine yeast
from: http://www.recipezaar.com/Potato-Water-Bread-Bread-Machine-73049

Tonight, E and I had one of her favourite meals: mashed potatoes and beans. While I was peeling the potatoes, I remembered reading up on bread recipes and that a whole lot of people recommend saving potato water for bread. So tonight, I did and used the basic bread recipe that I have and substituted the water portion for the potato water from the pot. My recipe does not have real milk but 2 tablespoons of milk powder, so I upped my water content to a full 2 cups of potato water. Everything else was the same as the recipe except I kept the same 2 teaspoons of yeast called for in my recipe. I should have cut it down to the 1.5 teaspoons in the above recipe as the bread rose exponentially. It stuck to the top of the lid of my breadmaker. In any case, the bread is awesome!! It has a crispy crust and super light and fluffy and wonderfully moist crumb (is that what the inside of the bread is called?). Anyway, I sliced off a bit and have decided that this is the recipe I am going to use from now on. The potato water is a magical ingredient! :)

E helped me make the bread. She insisted. She is my little baker and is in charge of adding all the ingredients. The breadmaker is such a great invention. I am sure that in a couple of years, E will be using it all by herself.