Ciabatta Bread is a rustic Italian loaf that is perfect for dipping into soups or sauces. The high hydration in this bread results in a wonderfully chewy center and tons of irregular holes.
Ingredients for a loaf
- 400 gr flour for bread
- 100 gr. all purpose flour
- 380 ml water
- 100 gr sourdough
- 10 gr salt
- 10 gr extra virgin olive oil (for an excellent oil tap here)
Method
A stand mixer is necessary for the preparation, because it has a high hydration which means it’s very wet and sticky.
The ciabatta dough that we are going to prepare must rest in the refrigerator for one night, so it is advisable to refresh the sourdough in the late morning with the proportion 50 gr of sourdough, 50 gr. of flour and 23 gr. of water. Let rise covered with cling film at room temperature for 4 hours before starting to prepare the bread.
When the sourdough is ready to be used we continue as follows.
In the bowl of the mixer sift the flours and add 300 g of water. Stir briefly and let the dough rest for 1 hour. Meanwhile, break up the sourdough in small pieces, put them in a bowl and soak in 80 ml of warm water. the yeast must dissolve.
After the hour, fit hook K to the mixer and start kneading at low speed. Add the sourdough with all the water and continue to knead by slightly increasing the speed. When the dough begins to detach from the sides of the bowl, add the salt while continuing to knead. Then add the oil and continue to knead until the mass is well strung. It will take about 7/8 minutes. You will get a compact and soft dough.
Transfer it to a bowl, make two folds bringing the outer edges of the mass towards the center, then turn the dough in the bowl so that the folds are at the bottom, seal with the plastic wrap and let it rest at room temperature for 1 hour. At this point, place the bowl in the refrigerator where it will stay all night.
The next morning, remove the dough from the fridge and leave it at room temperature for about two hours before resuming processing. After two hours, pour it into a pastry board sprinkled with semolina, spread it out with your hands, giving it the shape of a rectangle and then begin folding it like a book. Arrange the rectangle with the short sides up and down. Mentally divide the rectangle into three parts then take the right side and fold it towards the center and now do the same with the left side by overlapping the dough on top of the one just folded. Now fold in two. Roll out the dough into a rectangle again and repeat the folds as we did above, skipping only the last fold in half. Place parchment paper on a baking tray. Then give the dough the shape of a loaf and transfer it to the baking tray. Cover with a clean cloth then place the tray in the oven off and let it rise for 4/5 hours. After the rising time, uncover the dough and leave it in the air for at least 15 minutes. Start heating the oven in static mode to 250 degrees. Once the temperature is reached, engrave the loaf surface lengthwise with a sharp knife or razor blade: the incision can be done centrally or laterally.
We cook for 15 minutes, then lower the temperature to 200 degrees and let it cook for another 15 minutes and finally change the mode to the ventilated one and let it cook for 15 minutes with the oven door slightly open (I use a pot holder folded in two) .
Once cooked, we transfer to a grate and let it cool completely before cutting! Look how your bread will be !!!!
