Sweet Potato with Herbs de Provence Buns

Yesterday was my day, so I couldn't resist preparing something new and exciting, so I went to the store with the intention of buying Idaho's for rosemary potato bread. But when I got to the store, the sweet potatoes looked more appealing and inviting, so I changed my mind and grabbed one.

In New Zealand, kumara is the Maori word for sweet potato and is actually a different variety from those grown in the United States. Kumara is known to be healthier than most other types of potatoes. They are an excellent source of vitamins and minerals, are virtually fat-free, cholesterol-free and very low in sodium. Kumara have more fiber than oatmeal and provide many essential nutrients, including vitamin B6, calcium and iron.

Unfortunately, I do not have access to kumara, so I grabbed the only variety of red sweet potato I could find. Oh well, right?

Meanwhile, before I left for the market, I started a biga, which is a starter dough or pre-ferment. In Italy, nearly every pre-ferment including wild yeast or soudough, is called a biga. So if you are making a recipe from another source that calls for biga, make sure you check to see exactly what kind of biga it requires. In this recipe, biga refers to the particular ratio of ingredients:
11.25 ounces unbleached bread flour
.055 ounces instant yeast
7-8 ounces water, at room temperature

After 2-4 hours, the biga has fermented and can be used immediately; however, some prefer to git it an overnight retarding (in the refrigerator) to bring out more flavor. It is important to know that a pre-ferment's main purpose is to improve flavor and structure, so the overnight will improve the overall quality.

The base recipe I used was from The Bread Baker's Apprentice by Peter Reinhart. The only changes were the following substitutions:
1 cup sweet potato puree (in place of mash potatoes)
2 T herbs de provence (in place of rosemary)

When all was said and done, the bread turned out beautifully. The only adjustment I would make would be to steam the oven in the initial baking process. After putting the bread into the oven, spritz water a few times to create steam; this will result in a wonderful crust. Try it, you'll love it!