Sweet Potato and Sage Bread

More About This Recipe

• When I was little, I hated the taste of sweet potatoes. They seemed bland to me, and stringy, and I was wary of their stark orange color (my discerning palate as a youngster only preferred foods of the beige color). Once I started getting older and developed a wider range of taste buds (and discovered the fabulous brown sugar/butter combination), I always asked for sweet potatoes over the regular ones. Now, they're more a part of my diet than the boring old russets. Sometimes, though, I get fed up with always accompanying my sweet potato with the intense sweetness of brown sugar and butter, and I long for a more savory, sophisticated taste alongside the starchy orange vegetable. Recently I've also been contemplating how to make traditional sandwich bread with a little more pizzazz, instead of continuing to wedge a few of my favorite ingredients between two tasteless slabs. That's when Sweet Potato & Sage Bread came into the picture. In case you haven't noticed by now, I'm a big fan of coupling two ingredients into one loaf. I like simplicity, so I tend to steer clear of multiple main ingredients if I can help it. I also love the sweet and savory combo, though this recipe leans more to the savory side. What's nice about this particular recipe, though, is you can choose really any partner to go along with the sweet potato - thyme, rosemary, brown sugar, or let it stand alone. I chose sage based on a yummy sweet potato-brown butter-sage pasta dish my husband made for Valentine's Day. The melded flavors just stuck with me, and I've been curious to implement them into a different meal ever since. This bread is great for those who struggle with yeast breads not rising -- to be honest, I'm not sure what ingredient makes this loaf so unfussy, but whatever it is, it almost always rises into a very tall loaf. Perfect for sandwich bread. Use the Sweet Potato & Sage loaf for your favorite grilled cheese recipe, or slather on some tasty cream cheese. Your own discerning palate will thank you for it.