Homemade Ciabatta Bread
Servings: 8
Total Time: 15 hours
Ingredients
THE BIGA
1 cup bread flour
1/4 tsp active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water
THE BREAD
2 cups bread flour plus extra
1 tsp salt
2/3 cup warm water
2 tsp active dry yeast
1 TBSP plus 1 tsp olive oil
Directions
THE BIGA
1. Combine the biga ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. Cover the bowl tightly and let sit at room temperature for 12 to 24 hours. The biga will triple in size so make sure your bowl is big enough.
THE BREAD
1. Add the 2 cups of bread flour, salt, water, yeast and 1 TBSP of the oil into the bowl with the biga and mix until thoroughly combined. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and knead by hand for about 5 minutes (the dough will be a little sticky, sprinkle a little extra flour on the dough if it starts sticking to your hands, but not too much because you want the dough to be a little sticky). Form the dough into a ball when finished kneading.
2. Add the 1 tsp of oil to a large clean bowl and add the dough ball. Flip the dough around a couple times to coat in the oil. Loosely cover the bowl and set in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
3. Separate the dough into 2 equal size balls and place them on a piece of parchment paper. Form each ball into a flat rectangle loaf roughly 8x4-inches. Use your finger to poke several holes all over the tops of the loaves. Sprinkle a little flour on top of the loaves and let sit for 45 more minutes.
4. Place a baking dish filled with 4 cups of water on the bottom rack of the oven. Preheat the oven to 425°F.
5. Flip the loaves onto a baking sheet, holes-side down, and peel off the parchment paper. Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, about 25 minutes.
6. Allow breads to cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes before serving.
1. Combine the biga ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. Cover the bowl tightly and let sit at room temperature for 12 to 24 hours. The biga will triple in size so make sure your bowl is big enough.
THE BREAD
1. Add the 2 cups of bread flour, salt, water, yeast and 1 TBSP of the oil into the bowl with the biga and mix until thoroughly combined. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and knead by hand for about 5 minutes (the dough will be a little sticky, sprinkle a little extra flour on the dough if it starts sticking to your hands, but not too much because you want the dough to be a little sticky). Form the dough into a ball when finished kneading.
2. Add the 1 tsp of oil to a large clean bowl and add the dough ball. Flip the dough around a couple times to coat in the oil. Loosely cover the bowl and set in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
3. Separate the dough into 2 equal size balls and place them on a piece of parchment paper. Form each ball into a flat rectangle loaf roughly 8x4-inches. Use your finger to poke several holes all over the tops of the loaves. Sprinkle a little flour on top of the loaves and let sit for 45 more minutes.
4. Place a baking dish filled with 4 cups of water on the bottom rack of the oven. Preheat the oven to 425°F.
5. Flip the loaves onto a baking sheet, holes-side down, and peel off the parchment paper. Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, about 25 minutes.
6. Allow breads to cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes before serving.
