Ciabatta Bread

Ciabatta is a rustic Italian loaf that is perfect for dipping into soups or sauces. Its named after its shape - slipper in Italian. The recipe is adjust using active dry yeast instead of instant yeast.

Ingredients

【Starter】
Bread flour - 1 and 1/2 cups
Water - 1 cup, lukewarm
Active dry yeast - 1/2 tsp
Sugar - 1 tsp
【Dough】
Bread flour - 2 and 3/4 cups
Water - 1 cup
Salt - 1 and 1/2 tsp
Olive oil - 1/2 tsp

Steps

1. To make the sponge, in a small mixing bowl, add yeast, sugar and warm water. Make sure sugar and yeast is dissolved before add flour. Stir with a wooden spoon until the mixture is well mixed and free of lumps. Cover the bowl and refrigerate overnight, at least 12 hours but up to 24 hours. This will add a lot of structure and flavor to the finished bread.

 2. Remove the sponge from the refrigerator and add the remaining water. Gently run a rubber spatula around the outer edge to release the sponge from the bowl. The water you just added will make this easier.

3. Transfer the sponge mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the remaining flour and salt. Beat on low speed for 1 minute. Turn the speed up one notch and beat for another minute. Then turn the speed up one more notch and beat until the dough starts to release from the sides of the bowl, about 4 minutes.

4. Drizzle the olive oil in a large bowl and rub it around to evenly coat the inside of the bowl. With wet hands, transfer the dough to the bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 45 minutes.

5. Using a well-greased scraper, gently fold the dough over onto itself. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for another 45 minutes. Repeat this step once more and let the dough rise for a final 45 minutes.

6. Liberally flour your work surface with flour and let the dough slide out of the bowl onto the counter. Be very gently here so you don't knock all the air out of the dough and try to handle the dough as little as possible.

7. Liberally dust the top of the dough with flour. Using 2 well-floured bench scrapers, carefully manipulate the dough from the sides to form a square. Take care not to put pressure on top of the dough.

8. Cut the dough in half, down the middle of the square. Gently shape each half into 2 loaves by using the bench scrapers to manipulate the sides.

9. Dust two parchment paper with flour and transfer the loaves on to paper.

10. Cover the dough with lint-free cloth and let it rest for 20 minutes.

11. Meanwhile, adjust the oven rack to the lowest position. Place a large inverted baking sheet on the rack and preheat the oven to 450°F.
12. Dust off any excess flour and spray the loaves lightly with water.
13. Carefully slide the parchment with loaves on the heated baking sheet in the oven using a jerking motion.
14. Bake, spraying the loaves with water twice more during the first 5 minutes of baking time, until the crust is a deep golden brown, about 22-27 minutes. The internal temperature of the bread should be 205-210°F.

15. Transfer to an oven rack to cool completely before slicing and serving.