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Ciabatti - for Mike Fuller

Wcsjohn@aol.com
Sun, 7 Mar 2004 09:51:26 EST
v104.n014.13
Mike,

Do you mean Ciabatta?

If so the following formula and method, which is the latest version of my 
standard Ciabatta (to the list - If you've saved the older version please 
replace it with this one) will give light, holey very tasty bread. The 
method works very well on any Ciabatta formula with the requisite 80% or so 
hydration.

POOLISH

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

DOUGH

The Poolish
100 gm wholewheat "bread" flour
400 gm high-protein white flour
or
200 gm sifted wholewheat "bread" flour
300 gm high-protein white flour

20 gm 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 - 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 stertched 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.

The rye in the poolish is important for both flavour and structure.

John