Such a chewy texture... oh I love it.
I did not plan to post so I wasn't taking any photos of the process. My photos were just a couple I snapped on my cellphone to send to a friend as we were chatting.
It was fairly chilly in the kitchen this day and I really should have helped it along but I decided to let it do what it wanted as I was terribly busy and making ciabattas as a side project while my attention was elsewhere. For the final rise it was late and I wanted to go to bed, so into the fridge it went. With all these short-cuts and leave-outs it still turned out so good.
I grind my own wheat to make the flour so it's not as fine as store bought and gives it even more of an artisan feel.
CIABATTA
From my sourdough starter
1 1/2 c water
2 t salt
1/2 c active sourdough starter
3 1/2 c bread flour
Mix the water and salt in a bowl. Add the starter and stir. Add the flour, and stir until you have a wet, sticky dough ball. Knead briefly with your hands if necessary to incorporate the flour. Cover and let sit for 30 minutes.
With wet hands, grab one side of the dough, and pull up and to the center. Rotate the bowl a quarter turn, and repeat. Do this until you’ve made a full circle. Cover the bowl. Repeat this process three more times at 30-minute intervals for a total of 4 sets of stretches and folds over the course of two hours.
Transfer the dough to a straight-sided container. Cover the vessel with a towel. Let rise at room temperature until the dough nearly doubles in volume. Cover with a lid to prevent it from drying out. Transfer to fridge for 12-24 hours.
Remove from fridge. Sprinkle top of dough liberally with flour. Turn dough out onto a floured work surface. Pat dough into a rectangle. Sprinkle top with flour. Use a bench scraper to cut the dough into 8 small rectangles.
Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. With floured hands, transfer each rectangle to the prepared pan, gently pulling outward. Cover the pan with a towel. Let stand for one hour.
Pre-heat oven to 475ºF. Transfer pan to oven and bake for 10 minutes. Lower heat to 450ºF, rotate pan, and bake for 10 minutes more. Remove pan from oven. Transfer to a cooling rack. Let cool for 20 to 30 minutes before slicing.
Adapted from https://alexandracooks.com/2021/04/25/simple-sourdough-ciabatta-bread/
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