ciabatta

I already made a post about kalamata olive ciabatta, but I don't think I really made it properly that time. I used bread flour instead of all-purpose, and I added too much flour when kneading the dough. This really makes it a different kind of bread.

Today I attempted ciabatta because I borrowed my friend Rachel's beautiful Kitchen Aid with dough hook attachment. This allowed me to really knead the dough without adding more flour, which is really hard to do by hand.

I've attempted to make this recipe many times and it never works out. The dough is always too wet. When I'm done kneading the dough doesn't look like the picture in the magazine and it is impossible to fold over like they ask you to. This time it worked, I think because I kneaded for longer and got a silky dough before rising. Yes... I think that is the trick...

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Ingredients

For the Biga
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/8 tsp dry active yeast
1/2 cup water, at room temperature

For the Dough
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp instant yeast
1 1/2 tsp table salt
3/4 cup water, at room temperature
1/4 cup milk, at room temperature

Directions
1. FOR THE BIGA: Combine flour, yeast, and water in medium bowl and stir with wooden spoon until uniform mass forms, about 1 miut. Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature (about 70 F) overnight (at least 8 hours and up to 24 hours).

2. FOR THE DOUGH: Place biga and dough ingredients in bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment. Mix on lowest speed until roughly combined and shaggy dough forms, about 1 minute; scrape down sides of bowl as necessary. Continue mixing on medium-low speed until dough becomes uniform mass that collects on paddle and pulls away from the sides of bowl, 4 to 6 minutes. Change to dough hook and knead bread on medium speed until smooth and shiny (dough will be very sticky), about 10 minutes.

This is the part I had done wrong before. You really have to knead it on the machine for about 10 minutes until you get a silky dough that collects on the hook.

Transfer dough to large bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Let dough rise at room temperature until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

3. Spray rubber spatula or bowl scraper with non-stick cooking spray; fold partially risen dough over itself by gently lifting and folding edge of dough toward middle. Turn bowl 90 degrees; fold again. Turn bowl and fold dough six more times (total of eight turns). Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for about 30 minutes. Repeat folding, replace plastic wrap, and let rise until doubled in volume, about 30 minutes longer. Meanwhile, adjust oven rack to lower-middle position, place baking stone on rack, and heat oven to 450 F at least 30 minutes before baking.

4. Cut two 12- by 6-inch pieces of parchment paper and liberally dust with flour. Transfer dough to liberally floured counter, being careful not to deflate completely. Divide dough in two with a bench scraper. Press each half into rough 12- by 6-inch rectangles. Shape each dough half like a business letter into 7- by 14-inch loaf and let rest 30 minutes. Gently transfer each loaf seam-side down to parchment sheets, dust with flour, and cover with plastic wrap. Let loaves sit at room temperature for 30 minutes (surfaces of loaves will develop small bubbles).

5. Slide parchment with loaves onto inverted rimmed backing sheet or pizza peel. Using flour on fingertips, evenly poke entire surface of each loaf to form a 10- by 16-inch rectangle; spray loaves lightly with water.

My advice here is that you sprinkle some cornmeal on the hot, preheated baking sheet, and flip the risen loaves directly onto the sheet. Put them in the oven, toss a cup of water in the oven (just the water) and close it quickly. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown. This picture shows the two options: when you flip the bread over before baking it (left), and when you don't (right). I like the left one, personally. This is what they recommend:

Omit this if you took my advice: Carefully slide parchment with loaves onto baking stone using jerking motion. Bake spraying loaves with water twice more during first minutes of baking time, until crust is deep golden brown and instant-read thermometer inserted in centers of loaves registers 210 F, about 20 minutes.

Transfer to wire rack, discard parchment and cool loaves to room temperature, about 1 hour before slicing and serving. This will help the crust solidify properly.

Recipe from Cook's Illustrated.

kalamata olive ciabatta

Ciabatta is a rustic Italian bread shaped like a slipper. I made a ciabatta loaf with kalamata olives, as requested by my good friend Julia, who almost took a part in the making of this bread. I looked at several recipes and combined them as I pleased. I like doing this to see what I could improve in each recipe. The first was from the Cook's Illustrated magazine, where they have a team of chefs that take about 25 tries until they find the best recipe. The other is from Richard Bertinet's Dough, a book that shows simple recipes for beautiful breads, but it's so simple that it is sometimes difficult to know exactly, what he wants you to do.

By the way, my ciabatta was much too "springy," because I added too much flour as I was kneading it. Remember that the dough must be wet!

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Wet and very sticky dough is the key to making good ciabatta. The key to manipulating the dough is working quickly and gently. When possible, use a large rubber spatula or dough scraper to move the dough. If you have to use your hands, make sure they are well floured. If you don’t have a baking stone, bake the bread on an overturned and preheated rimmed baking sheet set on the lowest oven rack.

Ingredients

Biga

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

1/8 tsp dry active yeast

1/2 cup water, at room temperature

Dough

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp instant or rapid-rise yeast

1 1/2 tsp table salt

3/4 cup water, at room temperature

1/4 cup milk, at room temperature

2 Tbsp black olives (optional)

Directions

FOR THE BIGA: Combine flour, yeast, and water in medium bowl and stir with wooden spoon until uniform mass forms, about 1 minute. Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature (about 70 degrees) overnight (at least 8 hours and up to 24 hours).

Remember to preheat your oven to 475 F (250 C) at least one hour before you start making the dough. This is important for ensuring a beautiful crunchy crust.

FOR THE DOUGH: Preferably make the dough by hand. Put the flour in a mixing bowl and rub in the yeast. Scoop the ferment into the bowl, then add the water, and salt, mixing well until all combined (if desired, add olives now). Once the dough is no longer sticking to the bowl, transfer it to your counter with the help of a dough scraper or spatula, and knead the dough until it looks shiny and elastic. Remove the dough from the bowl, transfer to a lightly oiled surface and mold into a ball (see future post for how to knead and form dough into a ball).

Lightly oil a bowl, place the dough in it, and let rest for 1 1/2 hours, covered with plastic wrap, until it has risen and feels bubbly and light (so when you poke it the dough doesn't come back up).

Flour your work surface generously with white flour or cornmeal, and with the help of a dough scraper or spatula, turn the dough out in one piece. Flour the top. Press the dough lightly and gently, dimpling it slightly with your fingers. Divide the dough into four roughly equal strips, and fold into three. Do this by folding one side of your flattened dough into the middle and press it down and seal. Bring the other side over to the middle and again press down to seal. Finally fold in half lengthwise and seal the edges.

Place the pieces of dough onto well-floured lint-free dishtowels. Cover with another towel and let rise for 30-45 minutes.

Flour a baking tray (turned upside down) or wooden peel, pick up one ciabatta at a time, turn it over, stretch it lengthwise a little at the same time, and lay it on the peel or tray (This stretch is what gives the bread its characteristic "slipper" shape.) Spray the loaf with water and then quickly slide the ciabatta onto the baking stone or tray. Turn down the heat to 435 F and bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Recipe from Cook's Illustrated and Richard Bertinet's Dough