Whole Wheat Honey Potato Bread & Cinnamon Honey Butter

Let me tell you that the combination of warm Potato Bread slathered with Cinnamon Honey Butter is a delight on a cold afternoon.

These two recipes come from the book, Christmas Thyme at Oak Hill Farm by Marge Clark - a lovely book brimming with recipes, ideas and crafts for Christmas.

Whole Wheat Honey Potato Bread

1 1/2 C. water
1 1/4 C. milk
1/4 C. butter or margarine
1/4 C. honey
3 1/2 C. bread flour or unbleached flour
2 1/2 to 3 C. whole wheat flour
1 1/2 C. instant mashed potato flakes
2 1/2 tsp. salt
2 packages active dry yeast (which is 4 1/2 tsp. total)
2 eggs

In a large saucepan, heat the first 4 ingredients until very warm (120 degrees). Don't guess. Use a candy thermometer. Combine the flours in a large bowl and set aside. In a large mixer bowl, combine the warm liquid, 2 cups of the mixed flour, potato flakes, salt, yeast and eggs. Beat 4 minutes at medium speed. Stir in, by hand, as much flour as you can. When you can no longer incorporate the flour, dump the remainder of the flour onto your kneading surface (this could be as much as 2 cups or more of flour). Knead dough until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes, pulling in flour as you need it to make a smooth and elastic ball. Don't worry if there is 1/2 cup or so flour left on your surface. Place ball in a greased bowl. Cover with a clean cloth and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.

Generously grease 2 loaf pans (9" x 5"). Punch down dough and divide and shape into 2 loaves. Place in prepared pans. Cover and let rise until doubled, 30 to 45 minutes. Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 35-40 minutes until a deep golden brown. If loaves are browning too much, loosely cover with foil the last 10 to 15 minutes of baking time. Remove from the oven and let pans cool about 5 minutes. Remove loaves from pans and brush tops with a little melted butter for a soft crust. (I didn't do that part.)

Cinnamon Honey Butter

1 C. butter (room temperature)
1/3 C. honey
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Place butter in a small mixing bowl and beat on high until butter is light and fluffy. Reduce speed and gradually drizzle in honey. Add cinnamon and blend thoroughly. Cover and store for up to 3 weeks in refrigerator. (NOTE: When used immediately after being made, this spreads easily on bread. If you refrigerate it, you'll need to soften it to spread it by putting it in the microwave or letting it sit out awhile since it becomes hard upon cooling.)