Ciabatta

Makes 2. Takes 2 days. 🔒

It's typically ready by 5 pm and uses a poolish. If you need the loaves ready earlier, do the poolish early in the morning, then do Day 2 steps 1-2 at night then step 4 is to leave it overnight - I haven't tested this though.

Kit

• 2 scrapers.
• Blue lid glass bowl.
• Metal bowl.

Ingredients

• 400 gm water.
• 500 gm flour.
• 1 gm yeast (1/4 tsp).
• 7 gm salt.

Method

Day 1 - Make poolish

Take this from ingredients above.

1. Warm 182 gm water to 35 C, add to glass bowl.
2. Add all the yeast to glass bowl. Mix and leave 10 mins to dissolve.
3. Add 182 gm flour to glass bowl and mix well.
4. Cover and leave out overnight.

Day 2

1. Warm remaining water (218 gm) to 35 C and add to poolish. Stir it in.
   
2. Add remaining flour (318 gm)
3. Add salt (7 gm) and mix well.
4. Rest 3 hours. Or leave overnight if you need loaves earlier.
5. Oil up metal bowl, add dough and rest 45 mins.
6. Give it some slap and fold and rest 45 mins.
7. Repeat step 5 two more times.
8. Use big oven tray and flour couche well.
9. Flour bench well and tip out dough.
10. Flour top well and shape into square.
11. Cut in half and push each bit to the side confidently to separate.
12. Put on couche. Tip: Use two scrapers either side to lift it.
13. Rest 30 mins. Put baking stone on middle rack and crank oven to 250 C.
14. Critical bit: you need to flip them over so you don't get flour-creases on the bottom.
15. Take couche off tray. Make sure they aren't sticking and flip them over being careful not to crease them underneath.
16. Take baking stone out of oven and put on the upturned tray. Using two scrapers, scoop up each one at both ends and put on stone, don't stretch it, you'll lose volume.
17. Straighten them up and put in oven.
18. Bake with steam 20 mins @ 250 C.

Notes

20/1/2024

These are awesome. Watch the use of wholemeal flour to dust, it might impact flavour. If going public use white only.