Make Ahead

Whole-Wheat Sweet Potato Morning Bread with Ginger-Blueberry Swirl

by:
July 25, 2014
4
2 Ratings
  • Makes 2 9-by-5-inch loaves
Author Notes

Sweet, dense, and just a touch decadent, this is a recipe you can feel good about in the morning. Packed with whole wheat and nutritious sweet potatoes, it's perfect with a cup of tea, your morning coffee, or just a smear of cream cheese. If the whole wheat scares you off, you can replace some or all of it with all-purpose flour, but the nuttier flavor of the whole grain complements the browned butter in the recipe, and adds a secret nutritional punch. As an added bonus, the recipe makes two loaves: one for yourself, and one for your freezer--or bring it to a very lucky friend! —calliehoo

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • Whole Wheat Sweet Potato Morning Bread
  • 1 1/4 pounds sweet potatoes
  • 1/2 pound butter
  • 3 1/3 cups whole wheat flour (14.5 oz)
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 cup packed brown sugar (7 oz)
  • 2 cups white sugar (14 oz)
  • 4 eggs
  • 2/3 cup water
  • Ginger-Blueberry Swirl
  • 6 ounces blueberries
  • 3 tablespoons demerara sugar
  • 1 tablespoon finely grated fresh ginger
Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
  2. Slice sweet potatoes into thick rounds and place into the basket of a steamer. No need to peel the potatoes--they'll peel easily after they're cooked. Steam 15-20 minutes, or until all slices are tender and cooked through. Set aside and allow to cool while preparing other ingredients.
  3. Grease and flour two 9-by-5-inch loaf pans.
  4. Heat a saucepan over medium heat. Add butter and melt. Watch the butter carefully and stir gently with a spatula, scraping the bottom as you go, until milk solids are cooked and have turned a rich, golden brown. Remove from heat and pour browned butter into a bowl. Set aside and let cool slightly as you prepare the blueberry-ginger swirl.
  5. Toss blueberries in a bowl with grated ginger and demerara sugar. Using an immersion blender, blend ingredients to a rough puree, leaving some large chunks of berry. Set aside. Rinse the blender for use with the sweet potatoes.
  6. Remove peels from sweet potatoes and add to the bowl with the browned butter. Using the immersion blender again, puree together the butter and potatoes until smooth, using a spatula to check for check for leftover chunks. Add remaining ingredients, with the exception of the blueberry mixture. Stir to thoroughly combine.
  7. Pour enough batter to cover the bottom of each loaf pan, then drizzle half of the blueberry mixture over the middle of the batter. Dot more batter into the pans, and then add the rest of the blueberry mixture. Cover with the rest of the sweet potato batter. Using a spatula, gently fold the batter to create swirls. Avoid moving the blackberry mixture to the sides and bottom of the pan, where it will burn slightly.
  8. Place loaves on center rack of oven. Bake for one hour, or until a tester comes out clean.
  9. Let cool slightly on wire racks before turning loaves out of their pans. Serve warm or at room temperature, with a cup of tea and a smear of cream cheese if you like.

See what other Food52ers are saying.

  • Michael Mosca
    Michael Mosca
  • LeBec Fin
    LeBec Fin

2 Reviews

Michael M. May 1, 2016
I halved this recipe and made a dozen muffins. Delicious. I also used crystallized ginger and cut back 1 teaspoon of the sugar in the blueberry swirl.
 
LeBec F. December 3, 2015
It's been awhile since you entered this recipe, but I ran into it and wanted to write anyway. I was so pleased to see a recipe featuring whole wheat flour. Some generation in the future will recognize its importance, whole grains,in baking, but I'm not aware that 52 has been vocal in the way that I believe they should. Anyway, hoorah for you for your braveness!