Ciabatta bread

Ciabatta bread

Ciabatta is a Italian classic bread.Ciabatta is a Italian terms which means "slipper" due to the shape of bread resembling itself.Ciabatta is white bread that stems from a baker in Rovigo, Veneto, Italy.The Ciabatta invented in 1982 due to an overwhelming affinity towards french baguettes, which had taken Europe by storm.The main difference between these loaves of bread comes down to the hydration levels.Ciabatta is baked with much high hydration levels,making the big hole within the dough much bigger than baguette. Ciabatta has been more popular since the late 1990 across in the Europe and United state,its widely use as a sandwich bread.At least one kind of Ciabatta can be found in nearly every region of Italy.When milk is added with dough its becomes Ciabatta Al Latte.Its a perfect accompaniments in Italian dishes all around the world. 

I will share here the original Ciabatta recipe and how to prepare it.

Ingredients.

☺ Flour:3000gram.

☺ Salt:60gram.

☺Yeast:45gram.

☺Water:1900gram.

☺Sugar:60gram.

 

Ciabatta bread

How to prepare Ciabatta.

 Step 1:

Combine flour, yeast, and water in a large bowl. Stir it with a wooden spoon until it's well mixed and free of lumps.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for at least 15 hours but up to 20 hours.the longer you let the sponge sit, the flavor and structure the final bread will have.

 

Step 2: make the dough.

In the dough mixer, combine the sponge with more flour, water, salt, and yeast. Mix it with the dough hook until the dough no longer sticks to the sides of the bowl.

The dough will be very soft and batter-like. This is normal for ciabatta.  

 

Step 3: Rise and turn the dough.

Transfer the dough to a large bowl greased with olive oil. Cover and let it rise for 1 hour. Use wet hands or a greased silicone dough scraper to gently lift and fold the dough over onto itself. Flip the dough over so the top is now the bottom.

Cover the bowl and let the dough rise for 45 minutes. Repeat the folding process twice more and let rest for another 45 minutes after each.

 

Step 4:Shape the dough

Transfer the dough to a well-floured surface and liberally flour the top of the dough. Use two well_floured bench scrapers and carefully manipulate the dough from the sides to form a square.

Don't add any pressure to the top of the dough or it will deflate. Cut the square in half and use the bench scrapers to gently shape each half into a loaf.

Gently slide the bench scrapers under the dough and transfer each loaf to an inverted baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Cover the loaves with a cloth and let rise at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Step 5: Bake

Invert a baking sheet onto the rack just below the center of the oven and heat to 232 degrees Celcius.
Spray the loaves lightly with water. Then, carefully slide the parchment with the loaves onto the heated baking sheet in the oven. Bake for 25_30 minutes.

It's important to bake with stem to create a crisp, golden crust. Do this by placing a cast iron on the lowest rack.
When Transfering the loaves to the oven, add one cup of ice to the cast iron. The ice will melt and steam during the first few minutes if baking.