Ciabatta - Italian "Slipper" Bread

Ciabatta dough is very wet and this requires the use of a stand mixer and dough hook. It is simply too wet to work by hand. Ciabatta also requires a "starter dough."  This starter dough is called "sponge" and it is the primary reason Ciabatta has the flavor and texture it is so well known for. For this reason the recipe will be a little more complicated than standard bread or the rustic boule recipe I posted earlier.

This recipe will take fourteen hours to make. Twelve of those hours will be for the "sponge" dough to develop at room temperature.

Wheat Flour
You should use unbleached or white flour. Do not use "whole wheat" or "whole grain" flour for this particular bread.

Beyond the three cups or thirteen and a half ounces of flour, you will want to keep about a quarter cup for dusting the parchment paper and the tops of the loaves.

Pure Water
Water should be pure so you should use bottled water or water you know to be pure such as home filtered water. If you use bottled water be sure it is from a vendor you trust to provide real filtered pure water and not tap water in a bottle. This could even be water from a home filter system.

Yeast
You are also going to use "rapid rise" yeast. The variety purchased at the store in single packets should be fine for this. However, if you suspect you are going to do a lot of bread baking I strongly suggest you buy it in bulk; it will be much cheaper that way. Unused yeast can be stored in a dark pantry, in the refrigerator in a sealed container, or even in the freezer.

This recipe assumes that a serving is one small loaf (out of four) or about 250 calories.

The following notes will help you cook a delightful ciabatta as well explain why some of the steps are taken:

• Flour should always be sifted after weighing or measuring
• You should always wash your hands before any step involving touching the flour or dough
• Do not exceed the salt quantity or you will not get the rise this bread is famous for
• Because the salt is added during the last kneading, this bread will have an open texture
• Covering the dough with a towel prevents airborne yeast from affecting the bread dough
• If you use bleached flour increase the temperature to 450°F and cook for five minutes less
• If cooking in centigrade preheat the oven to 220°C
• You want to shoot for an internal temperature of 205°F to 210°F regardless
• If using centigrade that internal temperature range is 96° to 100° C.
• Allowing the loaves to cool will give the bread time to firm up in the center
• Bread made with no preservatives WILL spoil; keep unconsumed bread in the fridge
• The olive oil within the dough helps create that open structure

Bleached fours may contain residual chemicals, which is why I do not recommend using them. However, if you have no choice or just like bleached flour, use the higher temperatures recommended above. High heat is supposed to cook away any residual chemicals.

This is another home-baked favorite. It's a great alternative to the traditional dinner roll and as mentioned above is a very good sandwich bread. Creating smaller or larger loaves is simply a matter of cutting the dough into the appropriate sizes prior to flour dusting and baking.

A slight tangy "sour dough" flavor is created by allowing this dough to ferment for 12 or more hours. This is flavor is enhanced with the addition of olive oil in the dough.

Though this is a very long process you may find the time required worth it the first time you taste your own home-baked ciabatta.