- 3
Ingredients
- 500g bread flour
- 475g - 485g (~2 cups) water
- 2 tsp. INSTANT yeast
- 15g salt
Preparation
Step 1
In a stand mixer with a paddle attachment(like a Kitchen Aid), combine all ingredients together and roughly mix for 2-3 minutes until the dough is barely combined. Stop the mixer and let this rest for about 10 minutes. Mixture will be lumpy.
Continue with the paddle and begin mixing the dough on the highest speed of your mixer. The dough will start out a shaggy, wet mass. After about 10 minutes or so the dough will begin to transform and will eventually start to pull away from the sides of the mixing bowl. As the gluten forms and the strands develop, you can even hear your dough slapping the side of the bowl. Continue mixing at high speed until the dough begins to climb up the paddle. This first mix with the paddle usually takes about 15 minutes.
Stop the mixer and insert the dough hook. Continue mixing on the highest speed of the mixer. After several minutes, the dough should not only pull away from the sides of the bowl, but actually lift off the bottom of the bowl. Make sure at this stage, you are watching your dough carefully. Your mixer can really bounce around and if you take your eyes away for a moment, it could be a disaster! This final mixing stage will take about an addition 15 minutes. You know the dough is just right and has mixed enough when it has lifted cleanly off the bottom of the bowl and begins to creep up the dough hook.
Stop the mixer and wet your fingers. Remove the wet dough from the hook. The dough will be very "gloppy" and wet. Pour the wet dough into a well oiled container for rising. Cover lightly and allow the dough to triple in size - about 2 to 2.5 hours. IMPORTANT!! The dough MUST TRIPLE!
When the dough has tripled, flour the surface of your counter generously and pour the contents of the dough onto the surface. Use a wet spatula to get the last bit if needed. Your dough will be beautiful and silky.
Next, using a wet dough scraper, cut and separate the dough into three fairly equal pieces. It helps to have a wet dough scraper. It is even easier to use two scrapers if you have them!
Form each loaf into a rough oval shape. Ciabatta is Italian for "slipper", so think slipper when shaping. Sprinkle the tops with flour and with your floured fingers, gently poke the dough quickly to release any large air bubbles.
Using a large piece of plastic (I use a clean plastic garbage bag - my friend, Jen Menke uses a huge plastic GAP shopping bag!), cover the dough lightly to rise a second time in a non-drafty environment. Don't worry if it doesn't look like it's rising too high.. you get a nice oven spring with this bread! Total rising time is about 45 minutes.
While your dough rises, preheat your oven to 500 degrees farenheit and raise your oven rack to the middle of the oven. A good, hot oven will be the key to great looking loaves. Add a small old cake pan to the floor of your oven to hold ice cubes or water during the baking process. Don't add ice or water until the bread is ready to bake. Let your oven heat throughout the second rising period. This bread bakes best on a pizza stone, but it will also bake on a parchment lined baking sheet.
Just before baking, gently remove the plastic from the loaves. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. I bake my loaves on a stone in my oven, so I like to turn my baking sheets upside down and line them with the parchment. That way, I can slide the parchment off of the sheet directly onto the baking stone in my oven.
Lightly dust your parchment paper with flour and using two dough scrapers moistened with water, scoop the long ends of each loaf together and flip them onto the parchment, upside down. Do this quickly. The recipe author, Jason Molina claims that this redistributes the holes in the bread for more even "holing". It looks like you've ruined your loaves by pinching them together and plopping them over, but you haven't. Use your dough scrapers to re-shape the loaves into rough ovals. Again, dough scrapers wet with water helps prevent sticking.
Since I make this bread into three loaves, I bake two loaves on one piece of parchment and the third on the second piece of parchment. I bake in two batches.. the final loaf just rests uncovered while the first two bake. (You can also make 2 larger loaves if you want)
Once you have all your loaves flipped over, give them a light dusting of flour just before putting them in the oven.
In the tin pan on the floor of your hot oven, throw a cup of ice cubes into the tin or a cup of cold water. Let it steam for about 30 seconds, then slide your loaves into the oven, directly on your stone if using or bake directly on the cookie sheets lined with parchment.
Total baking time is about 18-20 minutes. Halfway through the bake, rotate your loaves to ensure even browning. When done, remove to a wire rack to cool. Enjoy!
(NOTE: For additional flavor, you can ferment your dough overnight in the refrigerator after the initial mix and before the first rise. For best flavor, use only unbleached bread flour like King Arthur - the taste difference is amazing!)
WHERE YOU MAY GET FRUSTRATED:
1. If you try and handle the dough with your hands. I never use my hands at any point in baking this bread. I use dough scrapers spritzed with water.
2. Flipping the loaves before final baking. Use TWO DOUGH SCRAPERS for this.. trust me, you'll be glad you did!
3. Buy a scale. King Arthur sells a really good one. Once you have a scale and get into the habit of weighing ingredients, you've taken your bread baking to another level.