This looks a lot more complicated than it is. Once you’ve done it, you probably won’t have to refer to the instructions for anything more than the ingredients.
If you have any questions, I’m glad to share what I know.
(Oh, and if anyone knows how to put this massive thing behind a cut, I'd be greatful!)
CIABATTA
Equipment you’ll need:
A large sized bowl (think punchbowl or salad bowl)
Measuring cup*
Measuring spoons
Wooden or plastic spoon/spatula
Plastic wrap/clean towel
Pizza stone**
Oven safe metal baking dish of any kind (muffin tin, bread pan, cake pan, cast iron skillet, etc). The heavier, the better.
The Plan:
Find a day when you’ll be spending all day at home and can get away from your chores/gaming/podding/children to poke at the dough as needed.
The night before, make up the starter or “Poolish”.
The day of, you’ll mix up your dough using the starter.
Let it set for 1 hour, “Stretch” the dough.
Let it set for 1 hour, “Stretch” the dough.
Let it set for 1 hour, shape the dough in to loaves.
Let it set for 1½ hours, bake.
The Night Before
Starter:
Flour 9.6 oz (~2 1/2 cups) (White Flour or Bread flour)
Water 9.6 oz (~1 1/4 cups)
Yeast (probably less than most home bakers can measure on a scale...a scant 1/8 t of instant 'bread machine' yeast)
In to the bowl pour the water (room temperature or just above, but not hot), and slowly add the flour and yeast. It should be about as thick as pancake or crepe batter. Mix by hand or by machine until the batter is nice and smooth, with out lumps.
Cover with plastic wrap or a clean towel (plastic wrap is better for this) and place in a warm room (75°) for 12-16 hours. When you come back to it the next day the batter should be well risen, and just starting to collapse in the middle.
The Day Of
Dough:
Bread Flour 1 lb, 6.4 oz (~5 1/8 cups)
Water 13.8 oz (1 3/4 cups)
Salt .6 oz (1 T)
Yeast .13 oz instant (1 1/4 t)
Starter 1 lb, 3.2 oz (all of it)
-In to the starter you want to add the water, salt, and yeast. This will thin out the batter making it easier to add the flour. Slowly add the flour being careful not to create lumps. You can do this by hand, or using a mixer. Make sure all the flour is evenly incorporated.
The “dough” will be a very thick and stretchy batter, not resembling bread dough at all. It will be rather loose and sticky, but when tugged on, some definite dough strength should be noted.
Keep mixing by hand for 5 minutes, or my machine for 3 minutes.
Bulk Fermentation:
-Cover with plastic wrap or a clean towel. Leave somewhere warm for about 1 hour, or until it has doubled in bulk. “Stretch” the dough.
Stretching the Dough
Instead of kneading the dough (which forces all the air out), you stretch it. This gets a bit messy.
What this does is stretch out the gluten strands in the dough, giving the bread some internal structure, which helps create the big air pockets Ciabatta is known for. This dough relies on there being a LOT of air in it, so you need to be gentile.
-Liberally coat your work surface with flour (you’ll need about 2’ by 1½’ of space). Pour/dump the dough out on to the work surface, using a spatula to get it all out of the bowl. It’s going to be a sloppy, sticky mess.
-Liberally coat your hands with flour.
-Grab on to the left side of the mass, stretch it out to the left, and then fold it back in to the middle. Dust off the excess flour.
-Liberally coat your hands with flour.
-Grab the right side of the mass, stretch it out to the right, and then fold it back in to the middle. Dust off the excess flour.
-Rotate 90, do the same thing again.
-Gently slop it back in to the bowl.
-Re-cover with plastic wrap or a clean towel. Leave somewhere warm for about 1 hour, or until it has doubled in bulk. “Stretch” the dough for the second time. It will be easier this time.
-Re-re-cover with plastic wrap or a clean towel. Leave somewhere warm for about 1 hour, or until it has doubled in bulk. Shape the dough.
Shaping the dough
-Gently tip the dough out of the bowl and, using a sharp knife (non-serrated), cut the dough in to three evenly sized lumps. Dipping the knife in cold water will help it cut the dough with out it sticking to the blade.
On a well floured surfaced, gently prod the dough in to roughly rectangular shapes, liberally flour the dough and cover with a lint-free kitchen towel or plastic wrap.
Let rise in a warm room for about 1½ hours, or until doubled in bulk: As a tip, countertops are bad for this because they suck the heat out of the dough.
Put your oven safe dish on the oven floor or lowest rack, and whatever you’ll be baking on (pizza/bread stone, cookie sheet, etc.) in the oven on the middle rack.
Warm the oven to 550° for 45 minutes.
Once your dough is fully risen, and the oven is up to temp, put the dough near the oven and get ¼ cup of water ready.
This step is all about getting the dough in to a hot oven as quickly as you can, and getting the door shut:
-Uncover the dough and dust off the excess flour on top.
-Gently grab each either end of a loaf, scrunch it up slightly, and gently flip it over on to an un-floured work surface. Dust the excess flour off the ‘new’ top. Do this to all loaves.
-Open the oven, and pull out the middle rack.
-with both hand, scrunch up the dough, pick it up, and as you lay it on the baking surface, stretch it out. Do this with as many loaves as will fit.
-pour the water in the baking dish†
-close the oven door and turn the temperature down to 460°
This should take as little time as possible, and it’s really not that difficult when you actually do it.
After 1 minute, splash another ¼ cup of water in to the pan.†
After 2 minutes, splash another ¼ cup of water in to the pan.†
Bake for about 20-35 minutes, or until the bread is a beautiful golden-brown.
Eat warm, or let cool on a cooling rack.
This bread freezes well, and makes incredible sandwiches and garlic bread.
--Footnotes--
*I’ve included weights because they’re much more accurate, and baking is chemistry, so proportions are everything.
**A pizza stone and a bread stone are the same thing, just different sizes. If you don’t have either, you can use heavy glass baking dish, cookie sheet, or even just aluminum foil strung across the oven shelf (but don’t cover the whole shelf).
†This creates Steam. Steam is very important in baking bread because it keeps the crust moist, letting the dough rise in the oven, and transfers heat from the air, in to the loaf.
Even better than having a pan of steaming water, is to spray the oven walls and floor with water from a squirt-bottle. On occasion, I’ve been known to ‘borrow’ the one my girlfriend uses for “remote cat behavior modification.”
