Sweet potato bread might just be the softest bread you'll ever make. You probably won't taste them in the bread, but the result is the burnt orange color and the incredibly soft texture.
This is not a quick bread, which is similar to pumpkin bread. Instead, there are several risings for this bread, so it's best to reserve most of the day to make it, although the hands-on work is minimal.
by Susan Pridmore
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Want to make this recipe perfectly the first time? I want to help with that. So, check out this Table of Contents to see which sections of this post will help you the most.
Jump to:
- ❤️ Why you'll love this recipe
- 🧅 Main Ingredients + Notes
- 🔪 Recommended Equipment
- 📝 Instructions Overview
- 🎯 Why This Recipe Works
- 👩🍳 Instant Yeast to Active Dry Yeast Conversion
- 👩🍳 Is Rapid Rise Yeast the Same as Instant Yeast?
- 👩🍳 Can I use Milk instead of Dry Milk Powder?
- 🏔️ Making This Recipe at High Altitude
- Best Soft Sweet Potato Bread with Honey (Yeast Recipe)
Homemade bread made from scratch is some of the best bread you'll ever eat. This is especially true for yeasted bread, IMHO. It was my favorite thing to bake in culinary school, and it's still something I love to do when the weather gets cold.
Soft breads are crowd-pleasers, and this bread, thanks to the sweet potato added to the dough, is incredibly soft. These yeast breads sweet potato rolls have that same pillowy softness. These oatmeal dinner rolls, made with a little molasses, are also a wonderful soft roll.
If making yeast bread is new to you, I have lots of details about each step so that your bread will be magical.
❤️ Why you'll love this recipe
- Perfect for sandwiches or for slathering on some butter.
- Super soft.
- No fancy dough shaping is required.
🧅 Main Ingredients + Notes
The secret to faster and easier meals often lies in the ingredients. For example, store-bought items and ingredients you make ahead and store in the refrigerator (or freezer) can turn a 60-minute recipe into a 30-minute meal or less.
For all of the ingredients, measurements, and directions, go to the Recipe Card at the bottom of this post.
- All-purpose flour - I prefer King Arthur flour for its consistency. I don't use bread flour to make this bread. Gold Medal and Pillsbury flours are also very good.
- Honey - any honey is fine, but I generally use raw, unfiltered honey.
- Instant Yeast - you can substitute Active Dry Yeast, and if you plan to make this bread all in one day, you can use Rapid Rise Yeast.
- Sweet potato
- Dry milk powder - I like King Arthur's powder and have also used Bob's Red Mill powder with success.
- Unsalted butter
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links to products and foods I use in my kitchen. This means that at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. To view my entire storefront of recommended kitchen tools and equipment, check out my shop on Amazon.
🔪 Recommended Equipment
Having the right equipment for recipes makes prepping much easier. If you want more fuss-free prepping and cooking, check out my updated list of favorite kitchen tools and equipment.
- Kitchen scales - to weigh the flour.
- Large bowl - for the sponge.
- Whisk
- Small or medium bowl
- Flexible dough scraper
- Standing mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment
- Loaf pan - either a Pullman loaf pan or any standard loaf pan.
- Baking stone (pizza stone) or baking sheet
- Temperature probe - and instant-read thermometer is best.
- Cooling rack
📝 Instructions Overview
Detailed instructions for making this sweet potato bread are in the recipe card below, but here's an overview!
Step 1
Bake the sweet potato. Cook the sweet potato in the microwave until softened enough to mash. If you don't have a microwave oven, bake in the oven or toaster oven.
Scoop the meat of the sweet potato out and thoroughly mash it.
Step 2
Make the sponge (dough starter). Whisk together all of the ingredients for the sponge in a large bowl until a batter forms. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside.
Step 3
Ferment. Whisk together the flour, milk powder, and yeast in a small bowl. Sprinkle all of it over the sponge without whisking or stirring it. Cover the bowl containing the sponge again and place the bowl in a warm area to ferment for 2 hours. This step builds a lot of flavor into the bread.
Step 4
Make the dough. Scrape the sponge and any dry ingredients not absorbed into the bowl of a standing mixer. Add the butter and mashed sweet potato, and mix at a low speed using the dough hook until a rough ball forms. Cover with plastic wrap and allow it to sit for 20 minutes.
Step 5
First rising. Add the salt and knead at medium speed with the dough hook until the dough becomes smooth and shiny. Scrape the dough into a clean, lightly oiled large bowl. Cover the dough with plastic, place the bowl in a warm place free of drafts, and allow the dough to rise until it doubles in size (about 1 ½ - 2 hours).
Step 6
Folding and second rising. Scrape the dough onto a lightly floured surface and smooth it into a rectangle. Fold the dough into thirds, like a business letter. Turn the dough 90˚, and repeat. This builds structure into the dough. Return the dough to the bowl, cover again with plastic, and allow it to double again in size (about 1 ½ - 2 hours).
Step 7
Folding and third rising. Scrape the dough again onto a lightly floured surface and smooth it into a rectangle. Fold the dough in thirds one final time. tuck the ends under the dough to form a loaf, and place it in a well-buttered loaf pan. Lightly cover with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise a final time for about 1 hour. It should rise slightly above the rim of the loaf pan.
Step 8
Bake. Bake until the bread reaches 190 - 200˚F with the probe of an instant-read thermometer. Unmold onto a cooling rack or other wire rack, and cool before eating.
🎯 Why This Recipe Works
- The fabulous flavor is built by fermenting a sponge, multiple risings, and dry milk powder.
- A soft texture is created by the mashed sweet potato.
- Excellent bread structure comes from the folding.
👩🍳 Instant Yeast to Active Dry Yeast Conversion
This recipe calls for Instant Yeast. If you only have Active Dry Yeast, you can use it instead on a 1:1 ratio. No adjustments in the amounts are necessary because of the long rise times.
Active Dry Yeast has a slower start to its activation than Instant Yeast, but it catches up on a 2 - 3 hour rise. this recipe calls for resting the sponge, resting the dough before adding the salt, and 3 separate rises. So the Active Dry Yeast will catch up.
👩🍳 Is Rapid Rise Yeast the Same as Instant Yeast?
Rapid Rise Yeast has the same initial activating speed as Instant Yeast, but it doesn't have the same staying power. For bread requiring an overnight rise in the refrigerator, such as these Refrigerator Orange Rolls my great-grandmother made, do not use Rapid Rise Yeast. You won't get much rise out of the dough the following day.
👩🍳 Can I use Milk instead of Dry Milk Powder?
Yes. To do this, replace the ½ cup + 1 tablespoon of warm water for the sponge with the same amount of low-fat milk or whole milk. But it must be scalded and cooled before adding it to the sponge.
Pour the milk into a small saucepan, and warm over medium heat. Once tiny bubbles appear around the pan or the temperature of the milk reaches 180-185˚F, remove the pan from the heat and cool it to lukewarm before adding it to the sponge. If the scalded milk is too hot when it's added to the sponge it will kill the yeast.
🏔️ Making This Recipe at High Altitude
Baking at high altitudes presents challenges from the increased dryness of the air and lower air pressure. The dryness affects the finished texture and the lower air pressure requires less leavener amounts. Otherwise, the dough, or batter in the case of cakes, can rise too fast and collapse onto itself.
Here are the changes I made at 7100 feet.
- For the sponge, reduce the flour to 3.4 ounces and increase the water to ½ cup + 1 ½ tablespoons.
- For the flour mixture, adjust the flour to 5.3 ounces and reduce the instant yeast amount to ½ teaspoon. Increase the butter to 2 tablespoons.
- Increase the baking time 5 additional minutes.
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Best Soft Sweet Potato Bread with Honey (Yeast Recipe)
Ingredients
- 1 medium sweet potato, unpeeled
Dough Starter (Sponge)
- ¾ cup + 1 Tablespoon (4 ounces) all-purpose white flour
- ½ cup + 1 Tablespoon slightly warm water, 70 - 90˚F is ideal
- 2 teaspoons honey
- ¼ teaspoon instant yeast, I use Fleischmann's Rapid Rise
Sweet Potato Bread Dough
- 1 ¼ cups (6.3) ounces all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons dry milk powder, (see the Dry Milk section on the post for a substitution with milk.)
- ¾ teaspoon instant yeast
- 4 teaspoons unsalted butter, softened
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt, or 1 teaspoon table salt
Instructions
- Bake the sweet potato until tender. I bake mine super-quick in the microwave for 6 - 8 minutes in the microwave oven. Scoop the potato from the skin and thoroughly mash or put it through a potato ricer.
Sponge
- Combine all of the Sponge ingredients in a large bowl, and whisk thoroughly until smooth. It will be the consistency of a thick batter. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside.
Sweet Potato Bread Dough
- In a separate smaller bowl, thoroughly whisk together the flour, milk powder, and yeast. Using a large spoon, sprinkle this mixture over the top of the Sponge without mixing it in, and cover again with plastic wrap. Set the bowl in a warm area of the kitchen to ferment for a couple of hours. The sponge will bubble up through and around the dry mixture covering it.Pro tip: I heat a cup of water in my microwave oven and place it in the back corner. Then I set the bowl containing the dough in the microwave and close the door.
- Scrape the Sponge and all of the dry mixture into the bowl of a standing mixer, fitted with a dough hook attachment. Add the butter and ½ cup of the mashed potato (it will likely be the entire potato). Mix the dough at a low speed until the flour is moistened, and forms a rough ball. Cover with plastic wrap and let it sit for 20 minutes at room temperature.
- Add the salt and increase the speed of the mixer to a medium speed. Continue to knead the dough using the dough hook attachment until the dough is smooth and shiny.
- First rise. Oil a large clean bowl, scrape the dough into the bowl, and cover with plastic wrap. Set in a warm area of the kitchen free of drafts to allow the dough to rise and double in size (about 1 ½ - 2 hours).
- Fold. Gently scrape the dough onto a lightly floured surface and smooth the dough out into a rectangle. Fold the dough as if you are folding a business letter. Turn the dough 90˚ and fold again like a business envelope. You'll end up with a thick packet of dough.
- Second rise. Return the dough to the oiled bowl, cover it with plastic wrap, and return it to a warm area of the kitchen free of drafts. Let the dough double again in size (about 1 ½ - 2 hours).
- Preheat the oven. Preheat the oven to 400˚F 1 hour before baking the bread, and set your oven rack on the bottom rung. Place a baking stone on the rack if you have one. Otherwise, place a baking sheet on the rack. If you use a baking sheet, you don't need to preheat the oven 1 hour before baking the bread.
- Final fold and rise. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured space, slightly flatten it into a rectangle, and fold it again into thirds like a business envelope. Tuck under the ends to form a loaf. Butter a loaf dish, and place the dough in the dish. It won't fill it yet. Cover loosely with plastic wrap, and allow the dough to rise one final time. It may dome above the sides of the loaf pan, so be careful the dough doesn't over-rise.
- Bake. Place the loaf pan onto the baking stone or baking sheet and bake for 5 minutes. Lower the temperature to 375˚F and continue to bake for 15 - 20 minutes, or until the temperature probe inserted into the loaf reads 190-200˚F.
- Unmold and cool on a wire rack.
Rosemary Mark
I'm putting this bread on my list to try this month. Minus the mountain road car wash, thank you. Yikes! You are tough and I'm,glad you were safe!
The Wimpy Vegetarian
It was quite the adventure, Rosemary. And the bread is honestly my favorite one right now. I hope you like it!!
SallyBR
Oh, my....
I love this bread, look at the color of the crumb, and how moist and tender it seems!
I am pinning this right away... lovely bake!
The Wimpy Vegetarian
Oh thank you so much Sally! It really was such an amazing loaf. I'm eating a slice of it right now. If you make it, I'd love to hear how it goes for you!!
Stacy
Sounds like an awesome, scary experience, Susan! You totally earned that latte. I love the color of your sweet potato bread. I'm sure it tasted just a good as it looks!
Eileen
I love the flavor sweet potatoes bring to a baked good, and also the gorgeous color. What a pretty loaf you've made! Glad you gave you sustenance after your harrowing day.
Holly
Thank goodness you had this lovely bread and a coffee treat after that nerve-wracking drive! I suppose it won't be the last like it this winter. Take care!
Karen
I'm still jealous of where you live, and we in the southern part of the state are grateful for the snow pack and water reservoirs in northern California =). Can I just tell you, your bread is stunning!
Cindy L. Kerschner
So tender looking and airy! I love sweet potatoes!
Smruti@HerbivoreCucina
The bread sure looks moist and the color is beautiful. Now I think I should bake one right away. Awesome choice for the theme.
TerriSue Borden
Susan, as soon as I write this comment I am going to throw a sweet potato in the oven and start on the sponge. I usually bake on Fridays, but I can't wait to try this. The weather here is in the 60's today. We have only had a small number of really cold days. I guess I will just have to pretend. Thank you so for the recipe. I will rate the bread this evening.
Pavani
That's a lovely bread with sweet potato. Love the beautiful crumb it got.
Julie
I can imagine you harrowing experience made that meal taste all the more like Nirvana! This bread looks and sounds delicious! We've had a number of 2 hour trips that took over twice as long. I don't like that kind of stress one bit!
Sarah Reid, CNP (@jo_jo_ba)
Looks so golden and pillowy soft! Can't wait to try
cheri
Sounds like you were on quite an adventure. Sweet potato bread looks perfectly baked and delicious.
rocio
Amaizing potato bread. I love your recipe
Debra Eliotseats
Somtimes you just need the full fat (especially after a road trip like that)! Love this bread.
Wendy Klik
Wow, I love the color of that bread and can just imagine how comforting it was after that horrendous drive.
mjskitchen
Your driving adventure in the snow and rain was WAY far from being Ho Hum. 🙂 Sounds like a day to make that latte at home, stay in the PJs and binge watch Netflex.
Your sweet potato bread looks delicious! Great looking crumb and so moist with all that sweet potato. It's bread baking time of the year, so this one sounds like a great one to make before the season ends. Thanks!
Mayuri Patel
I cannot even think how the forces of nature are like. Whenever we hear on the news of freak weather, snow storms, hurricanes, tornadoes, etc we thank God that we live in a country where such weather forces are not at play. We may have floods in some areas or severe drought, Living in the city protects us from that too. The bread looks so delicious and can imagine the taste with a huge chunk of cheese.
Chef Mireille
what an amazing texture and crumb - one I MUST try
Yaron
i loved reading your post and the bread looks amazing, i'll get this recipe to my 'to do' list
thanks
Amy @ These Wild Acres
Just lovely!
Jodean Yarbrough
I spent the better part of a day making this bread and when it was just about at the end of the last rise, it got bumped. It went from puffy and rounded to flat in about 3 seconds! But I went ahead and baked it anyway! Smells wonderful and I'm waiting for it to be done so I can finally try it! Thanks for the recipe!
The Wimpy Vegetarian
I hope you liked it! How did it turn out?