As soon as I saw this recipe I knew that I would have to make it and quick. After my experience with sweet potato pie the idea of sweet potato bread just sounded too fantastic to pass up. I mean what would it taste like? For some reason sweet potato bread sounded more like a dinner appetizer than a dessert or something paired with coffee. I just couldn't wrap my head around it (shock!). Thankfully, it would only be a few short days until I found out.

Never content to just leave things as they are (how many times have I said that before?), I went ahead and added (removed?) the typical Adam touches. Per usual a reduction in sugar as well as a change of spices. The original recipe calls for pumpkin pie spice which I didn't want to use as I prefer to reserve that specific combination of spices for pumpkin pie or at least things I want to taste like pumpkin pie. This was not one of those. Instead I went with the same cinnamon-nutmeg combo that worked so well in my sweet potato pie. Also a great spice mix for any number of breakfast treats such as french toast, pancakes, and uhm... cereal?

With regards to the amount of sweet potato, my 11.6 ounce sweet potato when mashed only yielded about 1 1/4 cups, whereas Mary from Chew the Fat had a 12 ounce sweet potato yield closer to 1 3/4 cups. I'm not sure where the discrepancy lies (other that the 0.4 ounces obviously) but my suggestion would be to make a little more than you think you're going to need (also beneficial because there's leftovers for you) and to measure by volume.

I brought the finished bread to my parents place the next day for breakfast and as soon as I opened the tupperware container the intense smell of sweet potato exploded in the kitchen. Granted, it couldn't overpower the aroma of my mom's homemade Egg McMuffins but it made a valiant effort. The bread was terrifically moist and soft but unfortunately its scent was a little deceptive. The flavour of sweet potato was a little more subtle and mild than I had expected. Not that this is a bad thing either. If the sweet potato were too intense or rich you wouldn't want to eat this bread for breakfast or dessert. I think that a full two cups of mashed sweet potato might be enough to push the flavour where I want it. However, because of the mild sweet potato flavour I was reminded at first of a spice cake rather than a sweet potato bread, but this mellowed out after a few days. Though I was quite happy that I did not use the pumpkin pie spice. The simple flavours of cinnamon and nutmeg just work so perfectly with sweet potato.

I love quick breads and I especially enjoyed this one because it's a bit different from what I'm used to. The flavour of the sweet potato makes this a little more savoury than your typical banana bread. I definitely think that this recipe could become a staple of my fall baking as everyone seemed to enjoy it, even if they might have been a bit hesitant at first. I don't think any of us had ever considered a sweet potato bread before. And now that I've been exposed to sweet potato bread I'm ready to move onto mashed potato bread, perhaps paired with a beef gravy glaze :).

~Adam

Sweet Potato Bread

Adapted from Chew The Fat

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (163g)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 3/4 cups packed mashed sweet potato (approx. 2 medium) -- I used approx 1 1/4 cups, I suggest 2 cups.
1/4 cup packed golden yellow/light brown sugar (55g)
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup canola oil or any neutral vegetable oil
2 large eggs, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 350F and lightly grease a 8x4" loaf pan.

In a small bowl sift together flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

In a large bowl add sweet potato, sugar, honey, oil, eggs and whisk until completely combined.

Slowly add dry ingredients to wet, stirring until just combined.

Pour batter into prepared loaf pan and bake for 45 to 50 minutes (mine took 45).

Allow to cool in pan on rack for 10 minutes before removing and allowing to cool completely