Ciabatta Bing Ciabatta Boom

It’s tempting to say, “Shhhh! Dough at rest!”  My dough is so spoiled.  You are looking at a homemade cradle for dough.  Otherwise known as a couche.  They are usually made of a heavily floured stiff cloth, but what the heck, it was a very busy week.  And two rolls of paper towels (one supported by a wine bottle – also designed to support me if the bread turned out terribly) on a baking sheet and then covered with parchment worked just fine.  Really.  I think one can either get hung up on having all the right equipment, or one can make do, and this time I chose to do the latter – though I’ll admit I’m rarely that relaxed.

It reminds me of a time many years ago when I asked a friend if she had purchased a crib for her nearly-born baby, and she said she hadn’t found the right one yet.  I was pretty concerned until she told me that in her country, they often used a dresser drawer as the baby’s bed for the first few weeks.  I was impressed.  That’s just darned practical, mixed with zero stress.

Peter Reinhart’s ciabatta recipe is low stress, as well.  I tried his poolish version, which involves mixing up some flour, water, and yeast, and then letting it bubble up before storing it in the refrigerator, at least overnight.  You then use this as the starter for the rest of the dough.  It’s not the super-wet dough I’m used to using for this bread, and it therefore didn’t produce the giant holes I’m used to either.  But the subtle earthy flavor that develops during a long rise, from a mix of flour, water, yeast, and a tiny amount of salt was most definitely there.  It was chewy, and gave us a break from all the enriched soft breads we’ve been eating lately.

I added a lot more water than the recipe called for, just to get the dough wet enough to stick to the bottom of the mixing bowl. ( Usually, here in the damp Bay Area, I have the opposite problem and end up adding more flour!)

The dough didn’t attempt to “weep” out of the rectangular shape, which meant it was still much drier than the other recipes I’ve used.  However, this also made it much easier to work with.  I read a lot of posts from other BBA Challengers who had the same experience.  The Bread Baker’s Apprentice has a biga version which I may try soon.  I’ll be sure to report here if I do!

This was my first time using the stretch-and-fold method of shaping ciabatta, and it made for a traditionally-shaped, long, low slipper loaf.  I made one large and two small loaves, which we happily made into toast and sandwiches all week.

Tagged as: BBA Challenge, ciabatta, Peter Reinhart