Ciabatta

[heliman]

Using Reinharts recipe and formed with a baguette tray. Pleased with the results. Nice and easy and to be served with dipping oil and balsamic to guests coming for a BBQ tonight.

[texassourdough]

Looks pretty good Rossco! I like the darker finish!

Bake On!
Jay

[heliman]

Thanks Jay...

I got some good feedback from the wife and guests at the BBQ last night too which was nice. It looks like ciabatta will be a regular on the baking list from now on. It keeps so well and is perfect for toasting (esp. for bruscheta) up to a few days after baking it.

[texassourdough]

Hi Rossco!

I really like ciabatta as an alternative to sourdough. I make mine pretty wet (usually around 80% hydration) which makes it pretty thin. It appears your loaves are relatively conventional in both hydration and shaping. (probably 68-72% hydration based on the shape). Ciabatta is a good bread to learn to handle wet dough. Fold it very gently and use lots of flour on the outside.

Wetter gives bigger holes which some people don't like (food falls through!)

But I love the texture!
Jay

[heliman]

Hi Jay,

Thanks for your comments ...

Yes, I am pretty well hooked on ciabatta too. It is definitely done on the wet side (as per Reinhart's recipe). Making a batch to have a "ploughmans" lunch today. I have a neighbour whose wife has cancer and is bedridden, so I will make an extra loaf and a pizza for them also. The standard batch is a bit too much for two people but I find that it keeps so well for toast that we seldome buy supermarket bread any longer.

[texassourdough]

Reinhart's ciabatta is wet but not super wet. It can be fun to work back and forth between ciabatta and focaccia to learn to deal with super wet doughs. Couple of years ago I did 1 100% hydration focaccia and it was amazingly good (but I wasn't enamored enough to repeat it). (It WAS interesting to work with!)

80 percent ciabatta is fun too. It is SOOOO delicate!
Jay

[heliman]

Yes, Rinehart's is probably about as wet as I am comfortable dealing with!!!

A quick pic of the next batch about to go into the oven today. Consistently happy with the results... great recipe.

[texassourdough]

Those look good. I prefer my ciabatta to be relatively flat and thin so I can slice it in half to make buns for sandwichy/burger uses.

To do really wet dough you need more flour. Literally have a pan of flour and dip the pieces in it. Also helps to make smaller/shorter loaves so you can better handle them. An alternative is to put them on parchment upon forming but I prefer to not do that. You end up with a heavy flour coat but the bread rises and cracks the flour crust and gives a lovely look - as in your earlier photos!

Bravo!
Jay

[Pdiff]

Originally Posted by texassourdough

Couple of years ago I did 1 100% hydration focaccia and it was amazingly good (but I wasn't enamored enough to repeat it). (It WAS interesting to work with!)

So .....


Do you just pour that out of a pitcher on to the hearth floor, like pancake batter

[texassourdough]

Hi Pdiff!

Almost! )

While one would expect it to spread and be uniform thickness it still resisted stretching out and the dimpling process was still necessary. Not as hard to spread as regular foccacia but still took some effort. The crust was REALLY airy. I prefer a more normal 80-85% for it has a bit more "bite" (substance). But...it was interesting to work with. While I could probably make a 90 percent ciabatta and MAYBE a 100% I am not interested. It isn't really all that interesting to me. (Mainly involves using tons of flour to keep the dough from touching anything!)

Your comment raises a new vision...a pitcher of dough! Funny!
Jay