Potato Bread - cooking recipe

Ingredients

2 1/2 c. warm water, divided
1 tsp. yeast
1 Tbsp. oil
7 to 8 c. flour
1 tsp. honey
1 Tbsp. sea salt
1 c. mashed potatoes

Preparation

In a bread bowl, pour 1 cup warm water.
Add 1 teaspoon honey. Do not stir.
Slowly sprinkle 1 tablespoon yeast into water, making sure each particle gets wet.
Again do not stir.
Wait 10 minutes, until the yeast is thick and foamy.
Add the following, stirring well between each addition:
mashed potatoes, 1 1/2 cups warm water, salt and 2 cups flour.
Then add oil.
Add remaining flour, 1 cup at a time, until you use up most of the 8 cups of flour. This dough will be too sticky to handle if you do not get enough flour into it at this time.
Knead dough on floured surface until smooth and elastic, 10 to 12 minutes.
Keep the surface lightly dusted with flour if the dough is too sticky to handle.
When dough is smooth and elastic, place into a greased bowl.
Turn it to grease the top.
Set in a warm, draft-free spot and allow it to rise until double in bulk, 1 1/2 hours.
Punch dough down.
Pull it away from the sides of the bowl.
Turn it out onto a lightly floured kneading surface.
Knead the dough to remove the large air bubbles, 1 minute.
Cut it in half and set it aside to rest for 5 to 10 minutes.
Shape the dough into loaves.
Set in a warm, draft-free spot and allow to rise until double in size.
Bake in 400\u00b0 oven for 35 minutes.
Cool immediately on a wire rack.