Potato Bread with Chives Secret Recipe Club

I am so excited to be part of Secret Recipe Club this month.  I have been waiting for my blog to be old enough to be able to join.  I was assigned Paulchen's Food Blog.  Paulchen makes the most amazing looking bread!  I must admit I was a little intimidated when I first started looking around.  I don't have the best track record with yeast and kneading.  But I was excited to take on the challenge!  I picked Potato Bread with Chives.  I have had potato bread before, but never made it.  Never even dawned on me to make it.  My husband was excited this would mean he could get mashed potatoes one night too!

As Paulchen said, the chives kind of disappear in this bread.  We joked that the yeast ate them :)  I was going to try rosemary after reading her review, but my husband wasn't huge on that idea.  The bread was light and airy.  It was great warm out of the oven, and toasted with butter later.  My 6 year old says he thinks it is the best bread I have ever made!


Potato Bread With Chives
Recipe from Paulchen's Food Blog
Printable Recipe

2 1/4 tsp (1 packet) active dry yeast
1 cup warm water
1 tsp sugar or pure maple syrup
2 Tb corn oil
2 tsp salt
1 cup cold mashed potatos
1 cup soy milk or other dairy free milk (I used regular milk)
5 cups unbleached all purpose flour, plus more for kneading
2 Tb minced fresh chives

In a large bowl, combine the yeast and 1/4 cup of the water. Add the sugar and stir to dissolve. Let the mixture stand for 10 minutes, then stir in the remaining 3/4 cup of water, the corn oil and the salt. Mix in the potatos, then stir in the soy milk. Add about half the flour, stirring to combine, then work in the remaining flour to form a stiff dough. Transfer to a lightly floured board.

Lightly flour your hands and work surface. Knead the dough well until it is smooth and elastic, 8 to 10 minutes, using more flour as necessary so the dough does not stick. Place in a large lightly oiled bowl and turn over once to coat with oil. Cover with a clean kitchen towel or lightly oiled piece of plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, 1 to 2 hours.

Meanwhile, lightly oil a large baking sheet and set aside. Punch the dough down and knead lightly. Turn out onto a lightly floured work surface, sprinkle with the chives, and knead until the dough is elastic and the chives are well distributed, 3 to 5 minutes. Shape the dough into one large or two small round loaves and place on the prepared baking sheet. Flatten slightly and cover with a clean damp towel or lightly oiled plastic wrap. Set aside in a warm place and let rise again until doubled in bulk, about 45 minutes.


Preheat the oven to 400′F. Use a sharp knife to cut an X into the top of the loaf or loaves. Bake on the center oven rack until golden brown, 35 to 45 minutes, depending on size. Tap on the bottom of the loaf or loaves – if they sound hollow, the bread is done. Remove from the sheet and let cool slightly on a wire rack before slicing.

Grilled Potato Packs

My husband forwarded me an email he got from Betty Crocker for some grilled potatoes.  He never searches for recipes, or pays that much attention to them.  So when he sent me this email, I took it as a hint.   I figured the next time we grilled, I would make these potatoes!  As luck would have it we had friends over for dinner just a couple days later.  They were bringing chicken to grill, so I had to come up with the side dishes and desserts.  These grilled potatoes were loved by everyone!  

This recipe would also be a great camping recipe.  You could add ground beef and green peppers, and have a complete meal.  If I camped, I would remember that for later.   But since, I don’t, I will just make them at home!  The original recipe calls for grilling them from start to finish.  I didn’t want to deal with that.  An hour on the grill when the chicken was going to take 15 minutes?  Not for me.  I par-cooked the potatoes ahead of time, so they just had to spend the last 20 minutes on the grill.  It worked great, you still got the crispy ones on the bottom where the foil was hitting the grill, but done so much quicker!   I will post the recipe the way I did it, but you can omit my step and just go straight for the grill if you prefer.

Grilled Smokey Cheddar Potato Packs

Adapted from Betty Crocker

Printable Recipe

4 medium potatoes, cut into 1 inch chunks

½ tsp salt

1 Tbls butter

1 Tbls Olive Oil

1 cup cheddar cheese

4 strips of bacon, cooked and crumbled

¼ cup sliced green onions

In a large microwave safe dish heat the diced potatoes for 10 minutes, stirring after 5.  Place the potatoes a large sheet of heavy duty foil.  Toss them with the olive oil.  Sprinkle over the salt and bacon.  Dot with butter.  

Wrap the foil securely around potatoes.  Place over a hot grill for about 20 minutes, flipping half way.  Open up the foil, and top with cheese and onions.  Stir around to melt the cheese.   Serve straight from the foil pack.  Enjoy!

“Get Grillin’ with Family Fresh Cooking and Cookin’ Canuck, sponsored by Ile de France Cheese, Rösle, Emile Henry, Rouxbe and ManPans.”