Artisan Ciabatta Bread

The Italian elongated flat Ciabatta (also known as the slipper bread) is made with white flour and yeast. It has a crisp crust with soft light spongy texture. The white Ciabatta has been popular since the middle 80’s. This bread can be made with wholemeal flour and is called ciabatta integrale. The bread is often seasoned with ingredients such as olive oil, marjoram and sea salt. If milk is added to the dough it is called ciabatta al latte.

Ingredients

Biga starter

250 g white bread flour

190 ml water

1 tsp instant yeast (3g)

Dough

250 g white bread flour

190 ml water

½ tsp instant yeast

1½ tsp salt

Method

To make the biga you blend the flour, yeast and water in a large bowl for approx. 3 minutes. Cover the bowl with food wrap and rest for at least 8 hours or overnight. Remove the cling wrap and add the dough ingredients and mix for approx. 5 minutes until sticky dough is developed. Sprinkle flour in the bottom of the bowl and place the dough on top. Cover the dough and allow resting for approx. 60 minutes. Transfer dough to a floured work surface and rest for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 220ºC normal bake. Cut the dough into 3 long strips and place on a baking trays with space in between the dough pieces. Leave for approx. 15 minutes until the oven is hot and bake for approx. 25 minutes. Allow cooling before cutting and serving.

Note: It is important not to deflate the dough in the late bread making process to keep the bigger holes in the bread.