This bread is a fall dream come true, with sweet potatoes, spices and a crunchy topping that will make you lick your fingers.
I posted this sweet potato spice bread a couple years ago for a baking group and thought it perfect for a repost, since today it’s raining here, humidity at full speed and a drop in temperature that made me wear a sweater and thick socks. The perfect morning fall bread.
Also, there’s this thing called Thanksgiving coming up. You might need a new bread recipe.
We’re a month away from summer here, mind you, but one might think fall is starting from the weather, and this bread screams autumn spices and flavors; it can lift up anything, even a dreary spring day in Buenos Aires.
I have to confess some countries have sweet potatoes so pretty in color it makes me jealous. Really. No, really.
The flavor is great when in season, sweet as it should be, but people the color! Greyish green with a hint of dubious yellow, pretty much like my skin in winter?. So let’s start by saying that your sweet potato spice bread will have a much more lively color.
It comes down to how to use them since the orange you all think of will never happen in my kitchen.
Well, it turns out that baking them into a bread is perfect, they will add moisture and an undefinable flavor – a good thing sometimes – but since they don’t have much flavor by themselves when it comes to sweet baking, we do have to add some kind of enhancer or tugboat to throw them into the limelight. In this case, spices, a crowd pleaser and one of my favorite things in the history of ever. Spices make my kitchen come alive.
It reminds me of cinnamon bread with a different undertone. The spice swirl is what makes it sweet and moist, and the crunchy topping… well, you’ll love it! It’s a traditional streusel, but it adds a layer of flavor that makes the whole so much better than the parts.
I mean, what isn’t better with streusel right? Ask my favorite chocolate walnut pound cake if you’re in doubt.
And as for the sweet potatoes, let’s not forget they’re more on the dry side, there’s never a need to drain them like I do with pumpkin before baking with it. They completely forgot the moisture factor, dry as a gulp of dust, having cooked them in the microwave. But who can argue with sweet potatoes done in less than 8 minutes? That little appliance does a great job cooking potatoes of all kinds in record time.
This is a cross between a cinnamon roll and a bread. Not too sweet as a whole, it does have a spicy syrup that forms while baking, and looks almost like pumpkin or apple butter – maybe a good idea for a filling? – and a streusel that will be hard to leave alone. The loaves might crack open in the top, something I absolutely love about baked bread and loaf cakes, and here it had the bonus of the caramel oozing out too. I could’ve eaten the streusel and caramelized edges forever. Who says I didn’t, right?
The bread is all about the filling and the crunchy topping. You’ll crave for more of both.
It makes super toasts too. Or maybe bread pudding the day after? It’s spice bread after all, and it’s all good.
Sweet Potato Spice Bread with crunchy topping
- Yield: 2 loaves 1x
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeDescription
You can use orange zest if you want a sweeter bread. * To make the purée: microwave the sweet potato, skin on, for about 10 minutes and check piercing it with a fork. It should go straight through it, no resistance at all.
Ingredients
For the bread:
- 1 Tbs active dry yeast
- Pinch of sugar
- ¼ cup warm water
- 1 cup warm buttermilk
- 1 cup sweet potato purée *
- 3 Tbs sugar
- 3 Tbs canola oil
- 1 egg
- Grated zest of 1 lemon
- About 4 to 4 ½ cups bread flour
For the spice streusel:
- ¼ cup sugar
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- Grated zest of 1 orange or lemon
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- Pinch each of ground ginger and allspice
- 1/3 cup all purpose flour
- 4 Tbs 60g butter, cold, cut into pieces
For the spiced sugar:
- 1 ¼ cups light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground allspice
- 3 Tbs 45g unsalted butter, melted + additional for pans
Instructions
For the bread:
- In a small bowl mix yeast, pinch of sugar and ¼ cup warm water, until foamy, about 3 minutes.
- In the bowl of the electric mixer, mix sweet potato purée, buttermilk, oil, sugar, egg, zest and 2 cups flour.
- With the dough attachment start mixing at medium speed until the dough start to combine.
- Start adding the rest of the flour, ¼ cup at a time, until you have a springy but slightly sticky dough. It took me the 4 cups. Be careful not to add too much flour and end with a dry dough.
- Transfer to an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled, about 1 ½ hours.
- Transfer to a lightly floured board. With a rolling pin, make a rectangle about ¼ inch thick. You might need to let it rest a minute or two in between a few rolls to get it to the right thickness.
- Brush evenly with melted butter and sprinkle with the spiced sugar. It might seem like a lot but the result is wonderful.Carefully start rolling from the long side, as you would any cinnamon roll, trying to get a fairly tight rope.
- Brush two 9×5 inch loaf pans spray or additional melted butter, cut the dough in half and place each into one pan. Sprinkle with the streusel, dividing evenly.Carefully start rolling from the long side, as you would any cinnamon roll, trying to get a fairly tight rope.
- Brush two 9×5 inch loaf pans spray or additional melted butter, cut the dough in half and place each into one pan. Sprinkle with the streusel, dividing evenly.
- Sweet Potato Spice Swirl Bread
- Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rise again until puffed, about 45 minutes.
- About 20 minutes before baking, preheat oven to 350ºF / 180ºC.
- Bake loaves until golden and a tester inserted comes out clean, from 45 to 1 hour. If you use a smaller loaf pan (8×4 inch), it will take longer.
- Let stand a few minutes after you remove them from the oven, and then invert them onto a wire rack. If you don’t the caramelized rim will harden and make it impossible to remove. You’d have to pop them again into the oven for 5 minutes to loosen it up if this happens.
- Keep leftover well wrapped in the freezer, already cut in slices preferably if you plan on toasting them.
For the streusel:
- Mix all ingredients except butter in the food processor. Add butter and mix until it start to clump.
For the spice sugar:
- Mix all ingredients in a bowl.
adapted from Bread For All Seasons, by Beth Hensperger
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Lora CakeDuchess says
November 1, 2013 at 20:07Oh, goodness. That streusel and that filling. This bread. I need it in my life now and every day, I believe. Fabulous, Paula! You got both months in one gorgeous bread!:)gracias, mi amiga.
Holly @ abakershouse.com says
November 1, 2013 at 20:00The swirl is beautiful! You have elevated your green/yellow/grey sweet potatoes into something swoon-worthy for sure! You caught my attention with the thought of bread pudding too– I will have it on my mind all day now!
Kathy says
November 1, 2013 at 19:30Paula, This is a stunning bread…and I’m sure absolutely delicious!
Bakingyummies says
November 1, 2013 at 19:28The bread looks so good and tasty. Wish I could have a slice now.
Liz Berg says
November 1, 2013 at 17:56Oh, my. What glorious loaves, Paula!! Each element sounds wonderful on its own, so I can't imagine the incredible taste when biting into a slice!
Deedra Martinez says
November 1, 2013 at 17:24This looks amazing! I need to improve in my baking so that I can attempt some of the cool recipes you have on this great blog.
Deb says
November 1, 2013 at 16:54What a cozy bread! I could have a "cuddle" fest with the sweet potato swirl! It wouldn't languish too long on my plate!
Cocoa and Lavender says
November 1, 2013 at 16:26This sounds absolutely amazing – and I would never have thought to use sweet potatoes this way. In fact, if you didn't have photos of how gorgeous it is, I might not have thought, "I am going to make that!" But, I wish you did have a photo of your sweet potato – we only see the bright orange ones for the most part. although "white sweets" have appeared from time to time. ~ David
wp_vknotes_admin says
November 1, 2013 at 16:35I will show a pic soon. They're nothing unbaked and an ugly green/yellow/grey when baked… Did you make the gnocchi? And the pandoro?
David says
November 22, 2017 at 10:47Wow – it has taken me 4 years to respond! 🙁 Yes, I made the gnocchi and loved them. I have thought about reporting your recipe on my blog! I have the pan for the pandoro but haven’t yet made that. Perhaps that will be my Thanksgiving weekend cooking treat! Well, if not Thanksgiving, I will definitely make it over Christmas! xo
Paula Montenegro says
November 25, 2017 at 23:04Oh David, comments and replies get buried so many times! Glad you liked the gnocchi. And the pandoro, I adore it, such a gorgeous holiday bread! A bit labor intensive in terms of schedule. Happy belated thanksgiving!
Rossella says
November 1, 2013 at 16:04Sweet potatoes were among my first idea I thought for a spicy bread. Your bread looks great. The streusel is …how to say…I want to eat it now 🙂
Elisabeth Foodandthrift says
November 1, 2013 at 15:25Such a fabulous and totally droolworthy delicious sweet potato bread, Paula. Love the spices, and mostly the streusel topping. A must make soon.. Thanks for sharing! xo
Heather Schmitt-Gonzalez says
November 1, 2013 at 14:02This looks amazing…so moist, and absolutely, fantastically addictive! It's funny, because I can only find orange sweet potatoes here, and I'm always looking for purple, red, and yes…even the yellow ones! 😉
Vanessa says
November 1, 2013 at 13:45Wow, what a beauty!! I love that this is a cross between a cinnamon roll and a bread, because I love both of those things. I would give anything to have a slice of this bread right now…Well, I guess I can make the recipe!
Susan Lindquist says
November 1, 2013 at 13:38This bread looks wonderful! I DO love Beth Hensperger's approach to bread making! Having just found twelve loaves, I'm going to try to participate … I used to bake breads for BYOB, but that fell by the wayside … so glad I found your group!
Heather Schmitt-Gonzalez says
November 1, 2013 at 14:02Join us, Susan! BYOB is still going, just a different host now… 😉
Lora CakeDuchess says
November 1, 2013 at 20:06You could join us at #TwelveLoaves, too, Susan:)We'd love to have you!
Laura (Blogging Over Thyme) says
November 1, 2013 at 13:05Oh my god!! This looks incredible–seriously, I'm in awe. I need to see a picture of these sweet potatoes you're talking about 😉
Alice @ Hip Foodie Mom says
November 1, 2013 at 12:50Paula!
This bread looks amazing! Not too sweet, a spicy syrup that forms while baking, and a streusel? oh my goodness, sounds wonderful! I too love that crack in the top. I think it's so beautiful. . almost telling you, "I'm ready." Looks delicious!!!
GG says
November 1, 2013 at 10:50I've just come over from Bizzy Lizzy Good Things, it's the first time i've seen your blog. It's full of lovely things so I will definitely be back and I'll be making that swirl bread with our fabulously pinky orange sweet potatoes 😉 GG
wp_vknotes_admin says
November 5, 2013 at 10:58Thanks GG!
Jamie says
November 1, 2013 at 10:22Oh my! This bread is stunning in so many ways! I must make this! The pumpkin and buttermilk are wonderful as is that spiced streusel. Gorgeous, Paula! Blown away!
riseofthesourdoughpreacher says
November 1, 2013 at 09:28What a lovely recipe, thank you.
I love the sugary crust on top and can almost smell the spices.
Bookmarking your recipe for colder day, this looks like a proper comfort food to me 😉
Have a lovely day
Lou
anna @ annamayeveryday says
November 1, 2013 at 09:22I've been wanting to make cinnamon rolls for weeks (don't know why I haven't just got on with it) and now I see these which are a really interesting take on those. Looks really delicious.
The Ninja Baker says
November 1, 2013 at 08:04Regardless of the color of your potatoes, Paula, your bread is very pretty =) And yummy looking!