I love this bread. It goes well with everything. I particularly love it freshly baked dipped in olive oil and balsamic vinegar or dipped in soups. I will ask for nothing else. This is my first Ciabatta trial and I can say it’s a success. The recipe makes wonderful bread with a crisp, thin crust and a soft, delicious crumb with just the right size of holes. Next time I will use a starter dough to give it that typical sourness flavor. The dough is sticky and wet, so i twas a bit challenging to transfer it from the working surface to the baking sheet. You may want to half it to make your life easier.
Ingredients
4 cup all purpose flour
1.5 tsp salt
1 Tbsp active dry yeast
1 Tbsp maple syrup (you may use honey)
1.5 cup luke warm water
4 Tbsp Olive oil
Directions
- In a stand mixer (or bowl), combine the flour, and salt .
- Add the yeast, syrup, oil, water and mix on low speed for 3-4 minutes until combined and the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
- Cover and let it rest 15 minutes.
- Knead dough on medium speed for 5 minutes (if you are not using a stand mixer, do it on a floured surface for 10 minutes)
- Place it in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 1-1.5 hour until doubled or until your finger leaves an impression when you poke the bread gently.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Transfer the dough into lightly floured surface and press it gently to form a rectangle around 12 x 8 inches or a flattened loaf.
- Transfer to the bake sheet, dust with flour, cover and let it rise for 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F (230 DegC).
- Bake 10 minutes on the middle rack of the oven then turn down the temperature down to 400 degrees F (200 DegC) and allow to bake another 30 minutes, or until the crust is golden and the bottom of the loaf sounds hollow when tapped. Cool on a wire rack.
Every oven is different and convection-ovens are even more different. The baking time provided here is for my conventional oven (not convection), which maybe longer or shorter than it would take in yours, so you will have to watch.
