Ciabatta & Pan Bagna

By Tamipri

Ingredients

• Sponge:
• Ciabatta...a somewhat flat, chewy, large-holed loaf, becomes pan bagna when brushed with olive oil and sandwiched around your favorite Italian-type filling. This is a wonderful picnic loaf.
• 1 3/4 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 1/8 teaspoon pain de campagne starter
• 1/8 teaspoon instant yeast
• 3/4 cup warm water
• Dough:
• all of the sponge (above)
• 1 1/4 cups warm water
• 1/2 teaspoon instant yeast
• 3 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt

Details

Servings 8

Preparation

Step 1

The Sponge: Mix together all of the starter ingredients, and stir until well-blended. Cover and let rest in a warm place for 12 to 20 hours, or until the mixture has doubled.

The Dough: Combine all of the dough ingredients, and mix and knead them together -- by hand, mixer or bread machine -- till you've made a very soft, smooth dough. Allow the dough to rise, covered, for 1 1/2 hours.

Gently transfer the risen dough to a parchment-lined or lightly greased baking sheet, and pull and stretch it into a rough 8 x 14-inch oval. Cover it with a dough rising cover or very heavily greased plastic, and let it rise until it feels very light, about 2 hours. Bake the ciabatta in a preheated 475�F oven for 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to 425�F, and bake for an additional 10 to 15 minutes, or until it's a dark, golden brown.

Pan Bagna

Split a ciabatta in half lengthwise, and brush each half with olive oil. Fill the ciabatta with Italian cold cuts, provolone cheese, chopped olives, softened sun-dried tomatoes, sliced red onions, lettuce, basil leaves, sliced peppers or pimientos, or any combination of any similar sandwich-type fillings. Wrap the sandwich tightly in plastic wrap or aluminum foil, and top with a weighted baking sheet (a baking sheet with a couple of bricks or heavy cans on top). Let the pan bagna rest under the weights for a couple of hours, then slice and serve. Yield: 8 to 12 servings.