Ciabatta by brianjwood

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Ciabatta
Submitted by brianjwood on March 16, 2004 at 1:08 am

DESCRIPTION
Ciabatta

SUMMARY
Yield 0 File under Yeast Bread/Rolls (not sourdough)

INSTRUCTIONS
I came acroos this recipe ecently in a bread group. Its author, John W gave me permission to post it. I tried it and the result was excellent - but, as he says, the handling is tricky and takes resolve!!
Cheers, Brian

Ciabatta - will give light, holey very tasty bread. The
method works very well on any Ciabatta formula with the requisite 80% or so hydration.

POOLISH

2oz(50 gm) rye flour
450 gm high-protein white flour
30oz(850 gm) water
1/2 tsp instant yeast

DOUGH

The Poolish
4oz(100 gm) wholewheat "bread" flour
14oz(400 gm) high-protein (strong or bread) white flour
or
7oz(200 gm) sifted wholewheat "bread" flour
11oz(300) gm high-protein white flour

3/4tsp salt
1 tsp instant yeast

METHOD

Mix the Poolish ingredients to a smooth batter and leave AT ROOM TEMPERATURE overnight. The resultant goo will smell strongly of sour rye and yeast by-products.
Add the dough's dry ingedients to the Poolish and mix roughly until just hydrated. Leave for 20 minutes.

If you are making the dough by hand. Mix with a wet spoon or hand (Thanks to my American lady baking correspondent for pointing out that a cupped hand is more effective than a spoon in doughs like this.) for 5 minutes or
so, until fairly smooth and showing signs of elasticity.
If you are making the dough by mixer, run the machine at medium (3 on a Kenwood) for 5-6 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic.Flour your counter, generously, and scrape the very wet dough onto the
flour, dust all over with more flour and use a scraper to help you roll the dough in the flour until it's coated all over. Leave for 10 minutes, sprinkle more flour around the dough and use your scraper under the dough to release it. With floured hands perform a stretch and fold. Leaving to
relax as necessary, repeat the stretch and fold 3 more times if made in a mixer 4 more times if made by hand, then leave to rise for about an hour - 1.5 to 2 times growth.
Degassing as little as possible, cut the dough into 4 strips, shape into fat loaves by stretching and folding and proof, en couche, to at least 1.5 times increase.
Invert the loaves out of the couche and stretch to the typical Ciabatta shape by gently grasping the ends of each loaf and pulling. Place each loaf as it is stretched on parchment or peel or whatever arrangements you
normally favour for getting loaves into the oven
Bake, immediately, no recovery, at your oven's max, on stones, steam optional, can't say it made a difference in my bakes, for 1/2 hour, or 40 minutes if you like dark tasty crusts - I do.
Cool on racks for at least 1 hour before eating.

NOTES
The dough is a bit of a bugger to handle but the elastic crumb produced, in part, by the high hydration is magnificent. The bread is obviously a Ciabatta variant but it is a lean dough so will not keep as long as a typical Ciabatta made with oil and milk.

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