I always thought that the ciabatta or ciabatta bread It was something tremendously complicated and unattainable, but it was enough for me to attend a bread workshop to verify that reality was quite far from my preconception. It is true that the dough of this bread is very sticky and moist, but it is precisely this aspect that makes its preparation simple, since it does not involve kneading. And it's not an option, it's just that it's “unkneadable.”
The same thing happens to glass bread, which is worked with a system of dough folding. Zero kneading. The most cumbersome thing is transferring the ciabattas or ciabattas to the oven tray and, even with that, the process is quite manageable and acceptable. You just have to organize your time well and get ready.
The production begins on previous day, when all the ingredients are mixed and the dough is put in the refrigerator for 24 hours. This is where the magic begins, slowly fermenting cold. Without touching her. The next day is when the folds are made, the ciabattas are formed and baked. The result is a bread with a crunchy crust and lots of alveolus, with a light olive oil flavor that is difficult to resist.
In a deep and wide container, place the flour and salt. We mix well and make a space in the middle. In another container we mix the water and yeast. We stir and work with our fingers to dilute it well and pour it into the hole of the first container.
We stir and integrate the flour little by little until we obtain a homogeneous, very sticky and hydrated dough, which we transfer to a large container. We cover it and put it in the refrigerator for 24 hours. We let ferment coldslowly, until it doubles or triples its volume.
After 24 hours, pour the dough into a tray. well greased with olive oil. This is important because it will prevent it from sticking and will allow us to make the folds easily. So that the dough does not stick to our hands, it is key to wet them when handling it.
To fold, we introduce our hands (wet) under the top part of the dough, the one furthest from us. We lift her slightly and draw her towards us, letting it fall about half of the dough that we have not risen. With this we fold it in half.
We rotate the tray 45º and repeat the operation three more times, rotating the tray after each fold. We cover the dough with a clean, dry cloth and let it rest for 45 minutes. With this the dough relaxes and we can fold it again.
We do this operation two times more. After the third folding and its corresponding 45 minutes of rest, we turn on the oven at 250ºC with heat up and down. We place a baking tray in the central position of the oven so that it gains heat. In it we are going to deposit the formed ciabatta and it has to be very hot.
We sprinkle the table with a generous amount of flour and we pour the dough over it, giving it a rectangular shape but without deforming it too much. Sprinkle the dough with more flour and cut it in half, lengthwise. If we use a moistened or floured scraper we prevent the dough from sticking.
We transfer the ciabatta to a tray covered with greaseproof paper. We use this tray to slide the paper with the ciabattas to the tray that we have in the very hot oven. We place a container with water at the base of the oven and program 15 minutes.
After this time we remove the container with the water and we lower the temperature from the oven at 200ºC. We program 30 more minutes until the ciabattas are cooked well. At the end of the time, we remove the ciabattas and let them cool before consuming.
What to accompany ciabatta or ciabatta bread with
Any time is good to enjoy the ciabatta bread. My favorite is breakfast, accompanied by a cup of freshly infused tea, although at snack time I don't mind it. It is delicious and its crunchy texture is addictive. Make a lot of it because it will fly out of your kitchen.
In DAP | Cheese and potato bread in a skillet
In DAP | Homemade paninis or bread pizza