BBD #37 – Ciabatta

(Für Rezept in Deutsch hier klicken)

The hostess of this months Bread Baking Day is Champa from Versatile Vegetarian Kitchen. She invites us to bake bread made with sponge/pre-ferment.

Perhaps some of you may know my bread baking project, which I startedlast year and prolonged for another year. The aim of the project is to bake 12 – now 24 different – breads based on one formula. And guess what formula I use? Of course one with pre-ferment. So it is two at one blow again!

The dough of Ciabatta is very soft and thus quite tricky to handle. Not really a bread for beginners. But once you are a bit experienced just dare!

Ciabatta
makes 2 loaves

Preferment
150 g flour
100 g water
2 g fresh yeast
2 g salt

Final dough
345 g flour
5 g gluten
250 g water
1 tb olive oil
7 g fresh yeast
8 g salt
preferment from above

Preferment: Mix all ingredients together, knead and let rise for 2 hours at room temperature then put in fridge overnight (12 to 24 hours). Before using let preferment get back to room temperature. Or if your room temperature is about 16 C just let it rise at room temperature until next morning.

Final dough: Mix yeast and flour. Add water to the preferment and dissolve. Add all ingredients except salt and knead on low speed for 4 minutes. Add salt and mix another 6 minutes on a higher speed. Place the dough into a oiled container large enough for the dough to double in bulk. Cover and ferment for 20 minutes.

Gently knock back the dough by the folding method, using plenty of dusting flour. Rest for a further 20 minutes.
Gently knock back the dough by the folding method, using plenty of dusting flour. Rest for a further 20 minutes.

Turn the dough out onto a well floured work surface, using a metal dough scraper cut two rectangles of dough.

Very gently stretch to dough piece and fold it into thirds, like folding a business letter with the last seam slightly off center. Try to handle the dough as little as possible as rough handling will result in lose of air and gas bubbles. Loosely roll in flour.

Place onto well floured couch cloths and dry proof for approx 30 minutes.

Preheat oven and baking tray to 230 C. Transfer Cibatte carefully onto the hot baking tray. Bake for 15 minutes, quickly open oven door to release steam and reduce heat to 200 C and bake another 15 minutes. Turn off oven but leave Ciabatte in the oven for 5 more with door slightly ajar.

In addition, this is my submission Susan’s YeastSpotting, the weekly showcase of yeasted baked goods and dishes.

More recipes and entries in English.