Freckle Bread

From Stephanie Parido: 

So this recipe comes from a handwritten cookbook that belonged to my great-great grandmother Elizabeth Daily.  She married William Reeves in Lucan, County Dublin and sailed to America the next week. (you didn’t necessarily need that info, but it does lend some authenticity to the recipe)  The measurements of ingredients were written in the margins of the cookbook by a different hand:  the original measurements were things like a spoonful or two handfuls etc.  Also, I’ve tweaked the recipe instructions a bit to make it more user friendly since the original recipe just says things like “make dough” and “cook in hot oven” which isn’t so helpful if you’re not an experienced bread maker.

Nana-Reeves’ Freckle Bread

•    2 ¼ tsp yeast
•    8 tbsp white sugar
•    1 cup potatoe water
•    ½ cup melted butter or oil
•    2 eggs
•    ¼ c mashed potatoes (no added milk or butter)
•    ½ tsp salt
•    4 ¼ cups flour
•    1 cup raisins
•    1 tablet Vit C crushed (my own addition, I always add Vit C to my breads)

Boil and mash potatoes, reserve 1 cup of water for recipe, and ¼ cup potatoes.  
Dissolve the Vit C in the water and allow to cool (until 100-115°F) mix in 1 tbsp sugar and the yeast and let stand for 8 minutes—it should froth up, if it doesn’t your yeast is dead and try again.  
Meanwhile, mix remaining sugar with the salt, flour and raisins in a large mixing bowl.  
Beat eggs, oil, potatoes and yeast-water until homogenous and combine with dry ingredients.
Stir with wooden spoon until all the ingredients are incorporated into a dough
Turn onto floured surface and begin to knead, adding more flour as necessary until dough is smooth and elastic. (I find that I add quite a bit of flour before the dough is dry enough to handle)  You know the dough is done when you can turn it over and see that it’s smooth.  If you push a finger into the dough, it will spring back.
Place dough in a large, lightly oiled bowl, cover with a damp towel and allow to rise in a warm place (about an hour)
Turn dough back onto floured surface and punch down.
At this point you can do one of two things: shape dough into round loaf, cut an X across the top (to let the fairies out) and bake, or (my preference since it makes it easier to rip off chunks of bread as I want to eat it) form dough into 8 balls and place in a (greased!) 10” pan.  Cover loaf or rolls with damp towel and allow to rise for 30 minutes.
Pre-heat oven to 350°F.  Bake loaf for ~40 minutes or rolls for ~45 (until hollow sounding when taped on the bottom).  I’ve personally found the best way to bake any yeast bread is to use a thermometer.  When the inside of be bread reaches 200°F, it’s perfect, never doughy and never dried out.
Cool on a rack and eat up.