Wheat Bread With Potato Water

I still had two cups of potato water left after making a rye starer this morning. I have a hard time throwing things like potato water out, so I baked wheat bread with it. The water adds moistness to bread, which allows for using a bit more whole wheat in a recipe that I typically would.

You Will Need:

2 cups warm potato water (the water left after you boil potatoes)
2 1/4 teaspoons regular yeast
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons salt
3 cups whole wheat flour
2-3 cups AP flour, or strong (bread) flour (I used AP)

In a large bowl, combine water, yeast, and sugar. Let sit a few minutes, then stir to dissolve. Add the salt, and wheat flour. Mix well. Add the AP flour a cup at a time until you have a dough that is no longer sticky. Knead well. Place in a buttered bowl, turn once to coat, and cover. Let rise until doubled (this took about 2 hours in my very cold house). Punch dough down, divide into 2, and place in well-buttered loaf pans. Brush tops lightly with water, and sprinkle with wheat bran, poppy seeds, sesame, or whatever you like. Cover lightly and let rise until nearly doubled. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Bake 20 minutes, rotate pans, and continue baking about another 10-15 minutes until loaves are deeply browned and sound hollow when rapped on bottom. I baked mine to an internal temperature of 190 degrees F. on an instant read thermometer.

Cool on racks. These breads freeze exceptionally well when wrapped tightly.