#42: Potato, Cheddar, and Chive Torpedoes

If you think that picture looks good then you'll be happy to know it tasted even better!  This bread was fun to make and the finished loaf was the icing on the cake.  You can see where the delicious extra sharp cheddar cheese oozed out of the scores on top and the cross-section view demonstrates the monstrous voids created by the cheese.  If you look close you may even be able to see the traces of fresh chives that increased the pleasure we all had in eating the bread (child #1 jokingly called it mold!).

This recipe incorporates a wild yeast barm but uses commercial yeast in the final dough.  When reading the recipe I didn't notice I was supposed to keep the potatoes unpeeled so now I have an excuse to try the recipe again.  That and the rest of the 2-lb block of Tillamook extra sharp cheddar cheese (child #2 wasn't too thrilled with the small sample I gave her while I was shaping the loaves but the other kiddies didn't mind).  I think I'll also try it with the medium cheddar that we usually buy and see if it tastes even better.

The dough was pretty wet and shaping the loaves was a little tricky.  The process involves spreading the dough into a 6 inch-by-9 inch rectangle, arranging slices of cheese on top, and then rolling into a torpedo shaped loaf.  The slashes on top needed to be deep enough to hit the first layer of cheese so it could ooze out.  I'm glad I had parchment paper there ready to catch the cheese instead of having the cheese or its oil slick ooze directly onto my baking stone.

Next I'll post my experience making Panettone, another hit with the family.  After that I have only three more breads in the challenge.  Over 90% of the way there!