Moving right along with the BBA challenge (my carb-hungry household needs bread), I made ciabatta the other night. I had made ciabatta at least once before, using Daniel Leader's method, with middling results. In the BBA book, there are two versions, poolish and biga. Both are pre-ferments, with different proportions and methods, but according to Reinhardt, create similar results. The poolish fermented for a few hours in the open air, then hung out in the refrigerator for a few days until I was ready to make dough.Ciabatta is one of those breads that most cookbook writers advise making in a mixer, because it should be as wet as possible, and is hard to handle. My mixer can't even begin to handle bread dough, so that was out. Instead, I used a new method, suggested by Reinhardt, that involved using my hands as if they were a mixer--squeezing with one and rotating the bowl with the other. It was messy, and I feared for my ceramic bowl on my faux-marble countertop, but it was successful.
The dough is then stretched and folded up, and left to rest for a while. After that, it is cut, folded again, and put to proof in an improvised couche.
At this point, I slipped the dough into the refrigerator and went to dinner. When I came back, I gave it a little time to warm up, then dimpled and stretched it as advised, and baked.
It came out beautiful, if a little wiggly, but I wasn't entirely satisfied with the inner crumb. Ciabatta is supposed to be almost non-existant inside, full of huge, glossy holes, and mine achieved more the texture of soft flatbread. I think this was due to all the temperature fluctuations, possibly also to my failure to stretch it out enough, and definitely to the lower hydration caused by using a cup of whole wheat flour (although I did add a lot of extra water to balance).Has anyone else doing the BBA project noticed that they are routinely adding more water than Reinhardt suggests, even after compensating for flour substitutions? I wonder if I just have really dehydrated flour.
When I took this loaf out of the oven, Sophie said, 'Oh, it looks like Batman.'
5 comments:
Ok I have to confess I'm afraid to make the Ciabatta. I'm a flour adder big time and especially since I started with the BBA book. I "SHOULD" start weighing into scooping the flour and see how it goes.
I got by the dough feel.
You did great. Wish I could see the inside.
Wonderful.
Susie
would love to have seen an inside shot. it looks lovely though.
Love your "Batman" cibatta! Very artisnal.
Awesome Batman shape!
I am actually adding more flour on occasion, but just about 100g or so. But then, I have an Electrolux DLX, so I really can't adjust the water, and I am also baking with German flour, so that changes stuff a bit.
Sorry about the lack of interior shot. I was embarrassed, and now I've been away from my computer for a few days, and so can't load photos. Suffice it to say I've seen much better on the BBA bakers blogroll.
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