MARK SINCLAIR’S POTATO ROLLS As artisan bakers and artisan bread lovers, we often have a bit of a one-sided view of what a good loaf of bread is like. We like it crusty. We love sourdough. And because of that, it’s easy for us to look down on soft, yeasted bread. This is why, during the European trip, when he was asked to choose what he wanted to teach his students, Mark always included his Potato Bread recipe in the selection. “A lot of the people who are into artisan bread, sourdough, they don’t do soft bread,” he says. “I wanted to teach them something that was high-quality soft bread.”
“A lot of the people who are into artisan bread, sourdough, they don’t do soft bread. I wanted to teach them something that was high-quality soft bread.” This was also one of the two reasons why Mark chose to share this recipe with us. The second is that, in addition to the bread, he also wanted to include a way to use it.
BREAD • 3/2015
While bread is great on its own, very often it’s a part or even an ingredient of an entire meal— this time, French Toast. The Potato Bread recipe was born to answer a customer request. “When I moved here, three years ago, one of the guys who just happens to work here in this building said to me: ‘Do you do potato bread?’” Mark says. He already had a soft bread, a Portuguese Sweet Bread recipe he had developed during his years as a teacher. It was a recipe he liked a lot, and his customers at Kalispell had loved it. But he got thinking. “A lot of potatoes are grown here. They have a potato festival every year, it’s a big deal here.” Mark says. “I decided I needed to do potato bread. And so, because of that conversation, I came up with a potato bread recipe.” Since then, the potato bread has been a staple in his inventory. Sold as buns, it’s a customer favorite that is mostly used with meat: as burger buns, with pork, shredded beef, and so on. But the applications are not limited to burgers and other meat products. The potato bread also makes an excellent French Toast, something Mark often tells his customers. “Some soft breads—especially ones made with butter instead of oil—as soon as you heat them up, the flavor really comes out. I’ll tell people that too: I say they freeze really well. After you thaw them, put them on the grill for just a little bit, it brings out the flavor, and really changes it.” Mark says. “I tell them to cut the top and the bottom a bit off. Then it’s kind of a sponge. And it makes a cool round French Toast.”
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