Ciabatta Stirata Recipes

CIABATTA

Steps:

• In small bowl, stir starter ingredients until well blended. Cover with plastic wrap; let stand at room temperature 12 to 24 hours.
• In large bowl, mix starter and all bread ingredients except cornmeal with heavy-duty electric mixer using dough hook on medium speed 4 minutes or in food processor fitted with metal blade for 1 minute. Dough will be very sticky.
• Grease medium bowl with shortening or cooking spray. Place dough in bowl, turning dough to grease all sides. Cover bowl loosely with plastic wrap; let rise at room temperature about 1 hour 30 minutes or until double in size. Dough is ready if indentation remains when touched. Gently stir down dough with rubber spatula. Cover with plastic wrap; let rise 1 hour longer.
• On generously floured surface, divide dough in half. Gently press each half with floured fingers into 10x4-inch rectangle. Sprinkle cornmeal over large cookie sheet; place loaves 3 inches apart on cornmeal. Using spray bottle with fine mist, spray tops of loaves with cool water. Cover loosely with plastic wrap; let rise 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours or until almost double in size.
• Heat oven to 425°F. Using spray bottle with fine mist, spray tops of loaves with cool water. Bake 18 to 22 minutes or until loaves sound hollow when tapped. Remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 1 hour.

CIABATTA

Steps:

• Make the starter: Using your hands, combine flour, yeast, and water in a bowl. Gently work to form a ball. Cover with plastic wrap, and let stand at cool room temperature until it has risen slightly and is bubbling, 12 to 15 hours.
• Make the dough: Whisk together flour and yeast in a large bowl. Add water and starter, and stir with a rubber spatula until mixture comes together in a slightly sticky, loosely formed ball of dough. Cover with plastic wrap, and let rest for 20 minutes.
• Gently turn dough onto an unfloured work surface. Sprinkle with salt, and drizzle with oil. To incorporate oil into bread, use the heel of one hand to stretch half of the dough away from you at the same time your other hand is stretching the other half toward you. Fold in half, and repeat until oil has been completely incorporated (dough will no longer have a sheen to it and there should be no oil on work surface).
• To knead: Gather dough, lifting it above work surface. Hold one end of dough close to you while you cast the other end in front of you, onto the surface. Pull the end of dough in your hands toward you, stretching it gently, then fold the dough in half on top of itself. Repeat: Lift, cast, stretch, and fold. Knead the dough until it is smooth, supple, and elastic, 8 to 10 minutes. Use a dough scraper to clean the surface as needed, adding the scraps to the dough. (Dough will be very sticky, but avoid adding more flour until the end, when it may be necessary to add a very small amount. Add the flour to your fingers, not the dough.) Form into a ball.
• Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with oiled plastic wrap. Let rise at cool room temperature for 45 minutes.
• Gently turn dough onto a lightly floured surface. (Do not punch dough to deflate.) Fold into thirds, as you would a business letter. Then fold it in half crosswise. Return to bowl, cover, and let rise at cool room temperature until it has almost doubled, at least 75 minutes.
• Gently turn dough onto a lightly floured surface. Using a dough scraper or a knife, divide dough into 2 equal portions. Cover with oiled plastic wrap, and let rest for 20 minutes.
• On a lightly floured surface, spread each portion of dough into a rectangle that's roughly 6 by 4 inches. (Be careful not to deflate bubbles.) Fold dough into thirds again, as you would a business letter, pressing seams with lightly floured fingers. Place dough, seam side down, on a generously floured linen towel or a baking sheet lined with floured parchment. Cover loosely with oiled plastic wrap, and let rise at cool room temperature until it has almost doubled and a floured finger pressed into side leaves a slight indentation, 40 to 50 minutes.
• Place a skillet on oven rack adjusted to lowest position and a baking stone on middle oven rack. Preheat oven to 500 degrees. If using a linen towel, gently transfer dough to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Just before baking, stretch each portion into a 10-by-4-inch rectangle. Immediately dimple entire surface with lightly floured fingers. Pour 1/2 cup hot water into skillet in oven. Slide bread and parchment onto baking stone.
• Immediately reduce oven to 450 degrees. Bake, rotating once, until bread is golden brown, sounds hollow when bottom is thumped, and interior registers 205 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool on wire racks. Bread is best the day you make it.

CIABATTA STIRATA

Steps:

• In small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until yeast comes to top of water. Meanwhile, in large bowl, mix 3 cups of the flour, the salt and sugar.
• Stir yeast mixture into flour mixture, using wooden spoon, until flour is moistened. Stir in oil. Shape dough into a ball, using hands. (Dough should be soft and slightly sticky. If dough is too wet, work in small amounts of flour until dough holds together.)
• Place dough on lightly floured surface. Knead 10 to 12 minutes or until dough is smooth and springy. Grease large bowl with shortening; lightly flour. Place dough in bowl, turning dough to coat all sides. Cover and let rise in warm place about 40 minutes or until dough has doubled in size. Dough is ready if indentation remains when touched.
• Gently push fist into dough to deflate. Place dough on lightly floured surface. Divide dough in half; shape each half into a ball. Cover and let rise on surface about 40 minutes or until dough has doubled in size.
• Grease 2 large cookie sheets with shortening; lightly flour (or spray with cooking spray; do not flour). Stretch 1 ball of dough into 18x6-inch rectangle by pulling edges away from each other. (If dough is sticky, dust lightly with flour while stretching.) Place diagonally on cookie sheet. Gently flatten dough with fingers until about 1/2 inch thick. Repeat with remaining dough. Cover and let rise about 30 minutes or until dough has doubled in size. (Top will be uneven and bumpy.)
• Heat oven to 375°F. Dust loaves lightly with flour. Bake 25 to 35 minutes or until loaves are golden brown and sound hollow when tapped. (If necessary, cover and refrigerate 1 loaf while the other loaf bakes.) Remove from cookie sheets to wire racks; cool.

CIABATTA

Steps:

• To Make Sponge: In a small bowl stir together 1/8 teaspoon of the yeast and the warm water and let stand 5 minutes, or until creamy. In a bowl stir together yeast mixture, 1/3 cup of the water, and 1 cup of the bread flour. Stir 4 minutes, then cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let sponge stand at cool room temperature for at least 12 hours and up to 1 day.
• To Make Bread: In a small bowl stir together yeast and milk and let stand 5 minutes, or until creamy. In bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with dough hook blend together milk mixture, sponge, water, oil, and flour at low speed until flour is just moistened; add salt and mix until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Scrape dough into an oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap.
• Let dough rise at room temperature until doubled in bulk, about 1 1/2 hours. (Dough will be sticky and full of air bubbles.) Turn dough out onto a well-floured work surface and cut in half. Transfer each half to a parchment sheet and form into an irregular oval about 9 inches long. Dimple loaves with floured fingers and dust tops with flour. Cover loaves with a dampened kitchen towel. Let loaves rise at room temperature until almost doubled in bulk, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
• At least 45 minutes before baking ciabatta, put a baking stone on oven rack in lowest position in oven and preheat oven to 425 F (220 degrees C).
• Transfer 1 loaf on its parchment to a rimless baking sheet with a long side of loaf parallel to far edge of baking sheet. Line up far edge of baking sheet with far edge of stone or tiles, and tilt baking sheet to slide loaf with parchment onto back half of stone or tiles. Transfer remaining loaf to front half of stone in a similar manner. Bake ciabatta loaves 20 minutes, or until pale golden. Cool loaves on a wire rack.