This ciabatta has a super open crumb, it is so light and airy…perfect to dip into an extra virgin olive oil, as your soup companion or as sandwich.

With the present social distancing, for me baking bread has been one of the best therapy, as I twist here and there recipes to see if I can get a better result…and all my friends love it as I tend to send them out very often.

If you are not familiar with ciabatta please look at this post and this one

– Why is this ciabatta so light?

It is so light because has 78% of water in the dough.

– Is the dough very sticky?

Definitely, since 78% it’s water…as the gluten forms less sticky the dough will be. As the ratio of water increases, harder is to handle the dough.

– What is the secret to work with sticky dough?

Wet hands…yes, wetting your hands before handling the dough makes all the difference.

– Is it really a no-knead bread?

Absolutely…only mix well and use two methods, stretch and fold (all four sides) and coil and fold (2 sides).

– Is it hard to achieve such an open crumb?

Yes, just follow the recipe carefully and handle the dough very gently.

In this recipe I added extra steps as compared to the Easy No-Knead Ciabatta and I believe I got a better texture.

– Ready to check on the recipe?

I end up with 3 loaves and gave two to my friends that live in the area…no need to mention that they were so happy as it is so hard to find freshly baked bread now days due to the lock down.

Ingredients for:

2 loaves

  • 530 g bread flour
  • 414 g water
  • 20 g olive oil
  • 8 g salt
  • 3 g yeast

3 loaves

  • 800 g bread flour
  • 624 g water
  • 30 g olive oil
  • 12 g salt
  • 4 g yeast

4 loaves

  • 1100 g bread flour
  • 858 g water
  • 40 g olive oil
  • 17 g salt
  • 5 g yeast

Method:

In a rectangle container with lid, mix the water with yeast.  Stir gently until all the yeast is totally dissolved.

Add in olive oil, salt and flour.  Mix using a Danish dough whisk as the dough will be very wet.

Mix until the dough comes together.

Cover the dough and let it rest for 1 hour in a warm environment.

Using a stretch and fold method, wet your hands and gently pull the dough from one side of the container and fold into the middle of the dough. Do the same on the other three sides of the container, folding always into the middle of the dough.

Once all the sides had been stretched and fold over, flip the dough so the fold in on the bottom of the dough.

Cover and again let it rest in a warm place for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Once the time is up, perform the same stretch and fold (all for sides of the container and tuck the fold on the bottom again). Cover and let it rest in a warm place for another 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Next we will be using the coil and fold method. Wet your hands and reach under the dough which is spread on the container and lift slowly, the front of the dough will detach and go under forming a coil, repeat on the opposite side. Then use the same method on the other side.

Let it rest for 45 minutes and repeat the method of fold/coil. Cover and let it rest in a warm place for 45 minutes to 1 hr. The dough will be very giggling…

Sprinkle flour on the counter and on top of the dough. Turn the container with the dough on the counter and let the dough fall into the flour surface.

Sprinkle more flour on the top of dough and loose the bottom with the help of dough scraper.

Cut into 3 pieces, and gently place them on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet.  Sprinkle more flour on the top to avoid sticking. Cover and let it rest for approximately 1 to 1 ½ hour.

In the meantime, preheat the oven to 450oF with an empty pan on the bottom of the oven and boil approximately 1 to ½ cup of water.

Spray the dough with a little water, then place the dough into the oven and carefully add the boiling water on the empty pan to create steam. Close the oven door and bake for 15 minutes at 450oF.

For the first 10 minutes, spray a little water in the oven every 5 minutes. After the 15 minutes, remove the water in the oven and lower the temperature to 425oF and bake for another 15 minutes.

Turn the oven off and leave the oven door ajar for 10 minutes.

Remove the ciabatta from the oven and let it cool completely on a wire rack.

Ready to be picked up…

– Looking for more bread recipes? Check these out…

Thank you for visiting Color Your Recipes…have a colorful week!

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