I came up with this recipe on a dare a few years ago, after a friend fell in love with a commercial rosemary-potato bread and bet me that I couldn’t replicate it. I think she was trying to scam me into making bread for her. It worked.

I checked “The Bread Machine Book,” which is one of my favorites, because I suspected that if any book were going to have something I could quickly and easily adapt, it would be this one.

It didn’t let me down, though a bit of trial and error was involved.

First mistake: Using leftover mashed potatoes without noticing that the book noted that the recipe was formulated for plain mashed potatoes and if you use leftovers you need to use less water in the bread.

Second mistake: Assuming that yeast measured in teaspoons was a typo. It’s not. So beware!

You’ll also be tempted to add more liquid as the bread mixes, because the dough looks dry at first. Resist that temptation. The dough will be sticky to the point where you can’t shape it if you do.

Everyone in the house loves this bread, except for Big Guy. The rosemary caused him to shriek, “there’s ants in that bread! Don’t eat it!” Boots tried it anyway and loved it, though it took a while to convince him that he shouldn’t try it with blackberry jam.

I also make a basil version, which Big Guy doesn’t think has ants in it, but he still won’t try it.

This recipe makes a two-pound loaf. If your bread machine won’t handle two pounds, half the ingredients.

Rosemary-Potato Bread

• 1 c. plain mashed potatoes
• 1 c. water — you can use the water left from cooking the potatoes. If you use mashed potatoes left from dinner, use 2 tablespoons less water.
• 1/4 c. vegetable oil
• 2tsp. sugar
• 2 tsp. salt
• 2 tbl. dried rosemary or basil. I usually crush and snip the rosemary a bit
• 4 c. bread flour
• 2 teaspoons of yeast. That’s right — it’s not 2 tablespoons.

Add the ingredients to the bread machine in this order. Set for dough cycle and press start. Shape into a loaf — you’ll likely need a bit of extra flour or the dough will be too soft to handle — and let rise until double. Bake 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Copyright 2008 Debra Legg. All rights reserved.

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