Great Bread: Rustic Potato Bread

 Are we really having another snow day in Dayton?  I hope we're getting every last bit of winter this week before spring comes out to play.  I'd also like someone else to come out to play.. but that's another story for another day.

 Today, we have an installment of the Great Bread series.  I haven't posted any breads lately- mostly because I hadn't had many bread successes.  But wow- I am definitely a fan of this one!

 

 I was looking for a bread recipe that I could conquer in an afternoon, something with a country, homey feel to it.  This recipe comes from Baking With Julia, an anthology of recipes from 26 master chefs who worked with Julia Child.  The recipe comes together in a few hours, though the written recipe looks long and daunting.  After you read through it, you'll see that it's just thorough and not difficult.

 

The end result is a soft, but slice-able country bread with little flecks of potato running throughout.  Such a little amount of work for two huge loaves of this yummy bread!  It's great warm, slathered with butter or as an accompaniment to a hearty soup.  Good stuff for a winter's day.

Other Recipes from the Great Bread series:

King Arthur Oatmeal Bread

Flaky Buttermilk Biscuits

Rustic Potato Bread
from Baking With Julia

Makes 2 loaves.

1 1/2 pounds russet potatoes (about 3-4)
4 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup tepid reserved potato water (80-90 degrees)
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

Cooking the Potatoes:
Scrub the potatoes and cut them into quarters, peel and all.  Toss them into a 2-quart pot, cover with water, add 2 tsp salt, and boil until the potatoes are soft enough to be pierced easily with the point of a knife.  Dip a measuring cup into the pot and draw off 1/2 cup of the potato water, reserve.  Drain the potatoes in a colander and then spread them out, either in the colander or on a cooling rack over a jelly-roll pan, and let them cool and air-dry for 20-30 minutes.  It is important that the potatoes be dry before they're mashed.

Mixing the Dough:
When the potatoes are cool, stir the yeast into the reserved potato water (if the water is no longer warm, heat it for a few seconds in the microwave- it should feel warm to the touch) and allow it to rest for 5 minutes, it will turn creamy.

Meanwhile, turn the cooled potatoes into the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mash them.  With the mixer on low speed, add the dissolved yeast and the olive oil and mix until the liquids are incorporated into the potatoes.

Replace the paddle with the dough hook and, still mixing on low speed, add the flour and remaining 2 tsp salt.  Mix on low speed for 2-3 minutes, then increase the speed to medium and mix for 11 minutes more.  The dough will be firm at first and soft at the finish.  At the start, it will look dry, so dry you'll think you're making a pie crust.  But as the dough is worked, it will be transformed.  It may even look like a brioche, cleaning the sides of the bowl but pooling at the bottom.  Have faith and keep beating.

First Rise:
Cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise at room temperature for 20-30 minutes, at which point the dough will have risen noticeably, although it may not have doubled.

While the bread is proofing, position a rack in the bottom of the oven and fit it with a baking stone or quarry tiles, leaving a border of at least 1 inch all around.  Preheat the oven to 375.  Place a linen towel on a baking sheet, rub the towel with flour and set aside; this will be the resting place for the bread's final rise.  Rub a baker's peel or baking sheet with cornmeal or flour.  Fill a spray bottle with water, set aside.

Shaping the Dough:
Turn the bread out onto a lightly floured surface and, using a dough scraper, cut the dough in half.  To shape each half into a torpedo shape, first shape it into a ball and then flatten it into a disk.  Starting at the end farthest from you, roll up the dough toward you.  When you're on your last roll, stop and pull the free end of the dough toward you, stretching it gently, and dust its edge with flour.  Finish the roll and, if necessary, rock the loaf back and forth a little to taper the ends and form a torpedo, or football.

Second Rise:
Place the loaves on the floured towel, seam side down, and cover them with the ends of the towel or another towel.  Let rise at room temperature for 20 minutes.

Baking the Bread:
When you're ready to bake, spray the oven walls with water and immediately close the oven door to trap the steam.  Turn the breads out, seam side up, onto the peel or baking sheet and transfer them into the oven.  Spray the oven with water again and bake the loaves for 45-50 minutes, or until the crust is very brown, the loaves sound hollow when thumped on the bottom, and, the most important test, the interior temperature measures 200 degrees when an instant read thermometer is plunged into the center of the loaves.  Remove the loaves from the oven and cool on a rack for at least 20 minutes before slicing.  While you should wait for the bread to firm up in the cooling process, slathering this bread with butter while it's still warm is a great treat.

Storing:
The breads should be stored at room temperature.  Once sliced, the bread should be turned cut side down on a cutting board; it will keep at room temperature for about 2 days.  For longer storage, wrap the breads airtight and freeze them for up to a month.  Thaw, still wrapped, at room temperature.