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1. Bring the water to a boil in a small heavy saucepan. Drop in the potatoes and boil briskly, uncovered, until a piece of potato can be easily mashed against the side of the pan with the back of a fork.
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2. Drain the potatoes in a sieve set over a bowl and pat them dry with paper towels. (Measure and reserve ¼ cup of the potato water.) Puree the potatoes through a food mill set over a bowl, or mash them with the back of a fork. You should have about 1 cup of puree.
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3. When the reserved potato water has cooled to lukewarm (110 to 115 ), pour it into a shallow bowl. Add the yeast and 1 teaspoon of the sugar and let the mixture rest for 2 to 3 minutes, then stir well.
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4. Set the bowl in a warm, draft-free place (such as an unlighted oven) for 5 minutes, or until the yeast bubbles and the mixture almost doubles in volume.
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5. Combine 5½ cups of the flour, the remaining ½ cup of sugar and the salt in a deep mixing bowl and make a well in the center. Add the potato puree, the yeast mixture and the eggs, miik and vegetable shortening.
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6. With a large spoon, mix the ingredients together and stir until the dough is smooth and can be gathered into a soft ball.
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7. Place the ball on a lightly floured surface and knead, pushing the dough down with the heels of your hands, pressing it forward and folding it back on itself.
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8. As you knead, sprinkle flour over the ball by the tablespoonful, adding up to 1 cup of flour if necessary to make a firm dough. Continue to knead for about 10 minutes, or until the dough is smooth, shiny and elastic.
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9. With a pastry brush, spread the tablespoon of softened butter evenly inside a deep mixing bowl. Place the ball in the bowl and turn it around to butter the entire surface of the dough. Drape the bowl loosely with a kitchen towel and put it in the draft-free place for about 1½ hours, until the dough doubles in volume.
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10. With a pastry brush, spread 2 tablespoons of the melted butter evenly over the bottom and sides of two 9-inch tube pans. Punch the dough down with a blow of your fist and place it on a lightly floured surface.
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11. With your hands, pat and shape the dough into a rectangle 14 inches long, 12 inches wide and about ½ inch thick. Using a ruler and a pastry wheel or sharp knife, cut the rectangle into diamonds about 2 inches long and 2 inches wide.
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12. To assemble the monkey bread, immerse one diamond at a time in the remaining melted butter and arrange a layer of diamonds side by side in a ring on the bottom of each buttered tube pan. Repeat with two more layers of butter-coated diamonds, arranging each successive layer so that it fits over the spaces left in the previous ring.
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13. Do not worry that the diamonds do not fill all the available space; as they rise and bake they will expand. Drape the pans loosely with towels and set them aside in the draft-free place for about 1 hour, or until the loaves double in volume.
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14. Preheat the oven to 375. (If you have used the oven to let the loaves rise, gently transfer the pans to another warm place to rest while the oven heats.) Bake the monkey bread in the middle of the oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the loaves are golden brown.
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15. To test for doneness, turn the loaves out and rap the bottoms sharply with your knuckles. The loaves should sound hollow; if they do not, return them to their pans and bake for 5 to 10 minutes longer.
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16. Turn the bread out on wire racks and let it cool before serving. Monkey bread is never sliced. Instead each diner pulls a diamond-shaped piece from the loaf.
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