Ciabatta bread.

Now normally I find my self writing a recipes and saying that it is easy to do but I will admit the first, actually it was more than the first time it was several times, I made this bread it did not work out. Then one day I made it and it worked, I did not know why but it did had that is the way that I have made it ever since. It is a bit of a pain and I am sure that there is a probably a better way to make this but this works so that is what I am going to do.

You will need.
225g/8oz of biga
15g/½oz fresh yeast
200g/7floz warm water
300g/10oz strong white flour
A good pinch of salt
2tsp dry milk powder
1tbsp extra virgin olive oil.

Now the first thing you will all ask is what is biga, well I will tell you as you will have to make it you will need

225g/8oz white strong flour
7g/¼oz fresh yeast
90ml/3floz tepid water

Basically you make it in to a dough like any normal bread but just let it stand for about 12 hours or overnight at about warm room temperature. It should rise and fall back on its own before you use it. It sounds like a lot of fuss but it makes all the difference.

Put the bigger in a large bowl crumble in the yeast and the water and stat to work everything together make a sort of bread dough soup. Sift the flour milk powder and salt together and then add that to the liquid.

Do not use a machine but use your hands and keep working this together. You need a sort of cupped hand pulling up and stretching action to get the gluten in the flour really working , also add the olive oil as well.

The dough will be very wet but once it start to come together and is just handling start to knead it like a normal bread. Adoring to the recipe I got this from it said that you need to knead the dough 1000 times. I do not think I have ever done that but the more you work it the better it is.

Once you have done this you can cover it with cling fill and let it rise, it takes about 2 hours. Then as best you can take the bread and on a very well flours baking try form your loaf. It is hard to work and form so do the best you can then cover with an oiled piece of cling film for another 45 minutes to let it rise once more.

Now in a preheated oven set at 230c or 450f bake it for about 20 to 25 minutes till it is done and has a nice hollow sound when you tap it.

Like I said not the easy thing to make but well worth trying to make , if you master something like this then any bread after that will seem simple.