POTATO, CHEDDAR, AND CHIVE TORPEDOES

Steps:

• Prepare the potatoes in advance, allowing time for the potatoes and the cooking water to cool to lukewarm. Set these aside until needed. Pull the measured amount of barm out of the refrigerator 1 hour before making the bread to take off the chill.
• With a large metal spoon, stir together the barm, half of the flour, the yeast, cooked potatoes, and 1/2 cup of the potato water in a 4-quart bowl (or in the bowl of an electric mixer using the paddle attachment). Let this sit uncovered for 30 minutes.
• Add the rest of the flour and the salt and mix together until the ingredients form a ball, adding as much as you need of the remaining water.
• Sprinkle flour on the counter, transfer the dough to the counter, and knead the dough for about 6 minutes (or mix on medium-low speed with the dough hook). Add flour or water if needed. Add the chives and continue kneading (or mixing) until they are evenly distributed, about 2 minutes. (In the mixer, the dough should clear the sides of the bowl as well as the bottom of the bowl.) The dough should pass the windowpane test (page 58), be very tacky but not sticky, and register 77° to 81°F. Lightly oil a large bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling it to coat it with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.
• Ferment at room temperature for about 90 minutes, or until the dough doubles in size.
• Transfer the dough to the counter and cut it into 2 equal pieces. Press each piece into the shape of a rectangle approximately 6 inches wide by 8 inches long. Lay 3 slices of cheese on each rectangle, covering the surface but leaving a 1/2-inch border uncovered around the edges. Tightly roll up the dough, from bottom to top, jelly-roll style, creating a spiral with the cheese. Seal the ends of the rolled dough, which should look like a log, into points by rolling them more forcefully with your hands. This will give the dough a torpedo look, plump in the center and tapered at the ends. As you roll down on the ends, be sure to squeeze out all trapped air pockets to avoid separation of the layers. Seal the bottom seam closed with the edge of your hand, as shown on page 81.
• Line a sheet pan with baking parchment, mist the parchment lightly with spray oil, then dust the parchment with cornmeal or semolina flour. Lay the 2 loaves across the width of the pan, mist the tops lightly with spray oil, and cover them loosely with plastic wrap or a towel.
• Proof at room temperature for approximately 1 hour, or until the dough nearly doubles in size.
• Prepare the oven for hearth baking page 91-94, making sure to have an empty steam pan in place. Preheat the oven to 500°F. Score the top of each loaf with 2 diagonal slashes as shown on page 90, making sure to cut through to the first layer of cheese.
• Generously dust a peel or the back of a sheet pan with semolina flour or cornmeal and very gently transfer the loaves, with or without parchment, to the peel or pan. Slide the loaves onto the baking stone or bake the loaves directly on the pan. Pour 1 cup hot water into the steam pan and shut the door. After 30 seconds, spray the oven walls with water and close the door again. Repeat twice more at 30-second intervals. After the final spray, lower the oven setting to 450°F and bake for 35 to 40 minutes. After 15 minutes, rotate the loaves 180 degrees, if necessary, for even baking. The loaves should register 200°F in the center, be nicely browned all over, and sound hollow when thumped on the bottom. The cheese will bubble out of the cuts, crisp up, and also brown.
• Transfer the finished loaves to a rack and cool for at least 45 minutes before slicing or serving.
• Enriched, standard dough; indirect method; mixed leavening method
• 1 hour to prepare potatoes and de-chill barm; 45 minutes mixing; 3 hours fermentation, shaping, and proofing; 35 to 4o minutes baking.
• These are mixed-method (wild yeast spiked with commercial yeast) bâtards. They pucker open with a grigne of crispy Cheddar cheese, followed by a beautiful soft cheese spiral highlighted with bits of green chives. Notice that the bread is made with a wet-sponge starter (the barm), but it can also be made with a firm starter, in which case you will need about 1/2 cup more water or potato water. The potato water, by the way, adds minerals and dissolved potato starch and sugars that greatly enhance the flavor and soften the dough.
• Potato, Cheddar, and Chive Torpedoes %
• Potatoes: 44.4%
• Potato water (approx.): 33.3%
• Barm: 58.3%
• Bread flour: 100%
• Instant yeast: 1.2%
• Salt: 2.8%
• Chives: 5.6%
• Cheese: 22.2%
• Total: 267.8%