My First Homemade Ciabatta Bread

My hubby love ciabatta bread, so I've been wanting to make it for a long time. I've watched numerous videos and recipes in the past and it seems to be a little more complicated than any normal dough. I remember making it is not easy, and it requires a good oven. Hence, I've been delaying my intention to bake one.

...the high hydration in this bread gives it a lovely chewy center...
But I was wrong! Lucky for me that I decided to bake it few days ago. Yes, the dough was a little tacky to handle but it's not anything too complicated for me. The dough needs to be wet and sticky. The high hydration in this bread gives it a lovely chewy center with tons of irregular holes.


I've make this bread with a bread flour and instant yeast which are a few months passed their 'best used by' date, and it still yields a good ciabatta bread. I can't wait to bake this again using fresh ingredients.

Okay, here's the recipe. I've halved the recipe from Baked by An Introvert because I don't have a big oven. This recipe make a two 6" loaves or a 12" loaf. Happy baking!


CIABATTA BREAD
(Recipe adapted from Baked by An Introvert)
Prep Time  : 182 mins (+ 24 hours refrigerate)
Cook Time : 27 mins
Total Time : 3 hours 29 mins (+ 24 hours refrigerate)
Makes       : Two 6" loaves or One 12" loaf

Ingredients:
Sponge
100g bread flour
120g water
1/8 tsp instant yeast

Dough
177g bread flour
120g water
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp oil (for greasing)

Directions:
Sponge
1. In a large bowl, combine flour, water and yeast. Mix with a wooden spoon until it is free of lumps. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 12 to 24 hours.


Sponge: After 24 hours

Dough
2. Remove your sponge from the fridge and add water to it. Using a rubber spatula, run around the inner wall of the bowl to release the sponge from the bowl.

3. Transfer the sponge mixture into a mixer bowl, fitted with paddle attachment. Add the flour and salt, beat low speed for a minute.

4. Increase the speed up a notch and continue to beat for another minute. Then increase the speed up a notch and continue to beat until the dough starts to release from the sides of the bowl, about 3-4 minutes.

5. Evenly coat the inner of a large bowl with a thin layer of oil. With wet hands, gently scoop the dough into the greased bowl, Cover and let it rest for 45 minutes.

6. Using a well greased scraper, gently fold the dough over on itself. Cover and let rest for another 45 minutes. Repeat this step once more.

7. After your 3rd 45 minutes rest, cut a big piece of non-stick baking parchment paper to be used as your work surface. Generously floured your work surface and let the dough slide out from the bowl onto your work surface. At this point, your dough is full of the wonderful air bubbles. Be careful not to knock all the air out of the dough. The dough will be very sticky, so you need to dust the top of the dough with generous amount of flour.

Two Mini Loaves
8a. Using two well-floured scrapers, shape the dough into a square, take note not to put pressure on top of the dough. Cut down in the middle and gently shape them into 2 loaves. Move one of the loaf away from the other so that there is enough space in between to create a divider/ wall. To do so, fold up the parchment paper in between these two loaves. Cover with a cloth and rest for 20 minutes.

One Loaf
8b. Using two well-floured scrapers, shape the dough into a loaf, take note not to put pressure on top of the dough. Cover with a cloth and rest for 20 minutes.

9. Preheat oven at 230°c, with a baking sheet at lowest rack.

10. Cut your work surface (the non-stick parchment paper) to the size of the baking sheet. Dust off any excess flour on the parchment paper. Spray the loaf/ loaves lightly with water. Transfer the whole parchment paper and loaf/ loaves on the preheated baking sheet. Bake for 22 - 27 minutes, until the crust is deep golden brown .

11. For the first 5 minutes of baking, spray the loaf/ loaves twice more. This will give the breast a nice rustic crust.

12. Cool completely on wire rack before slicing. This bread is good for dipping in soup or sauces. Enjoy!

Notes:
● The longer you let your sponge to sit in the fridge, the more flavor and structure your bread will have.

● I find that using a non-stick parchment paper as work surface is so much easier to handle than working on a countetop surface.

● Make sure to use a lint-free cloth to cover the dough.


#msyummyliciousrecipe
Make this recipe? Don't forget to snap a photo of it and tag #msyummyliciousrecipe on social media! I would love to see them! Enjoy my recipe!





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