Light Summer Ciabatta
Nb persons: 0
Yield: 2 loaves
Preparation time:
Total time:
Source: King Arthur Flour
| We love this recipe. It yields an extremely light, air pocket-riddled loaf, wonderful for splitting lengthwise, to make a sandwich. | |
| Biga (starter): | |
| 1 1/2 cups | King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour |
| 1 cup | water |
| 1/8 teaspoon | instant yeast |
| Dough: | |
| biga (from above) | |
| 1 tsp. | instant yeast |
| 1 1/2 c. | King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour |
| 1 1/4 tsp. | salt |
| 1 tsp. | sugar |
| 1Tb. | Baker’s Special Dry Milk or nonfat dry milk |
| 1/4 c. | water |
| 2 Tb. | olive oil |
| Mix the biga ingredients in a small bowl until well combined. Let the biga rest overnight, covered, or for up to 15 hours. Place all of the dough ingredients, including the biga, into the bowl of your mixer, and beat it at medium speed (speed 4 on a KitchenAid), using the flat beater, for 7 minutes, until it's extremely smooth and elastic; it'll be soft. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl, cover it, and allow it to rise for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, deflating it once midway through the rising time, if you happen to be around and it fits into your schedule. Note: you may also prepare this dough in a bread machine programmed for the dough cycle. When the cycle ends deflate the dough, and let it remain in the machine an additional 90 minutes. Transfer the dough to a well-oiled work surface. Lightly grease a half sheet baking pan (18" x 13") or similar large pan, and your hands. Using a bench knife or your fingers, divide the dough in half. Handling the dough gently, stretch it into a log about 10" long, and place it crosswise on one half of the baking sheet. Flatten the log with your fingers till it's about 4" wide. Repeat with the remaining piece of dough. Lightly cover the dough with heavily oiled plastic wrap or a proof cover, and allow it to rise for 1 hour. Oil your fingers, and gently poke deep holes all over the dough. Re-oil the plastic wrap, re-cover the dough, and allow it to rise for an additional hour. While the dough is rising, preheat the oven to 425°F. Spritz the risen loaves with lukewarm water. Bake them for 18 to 20 minutes, or until they’re golden brown. Turn off the oven, remove the ciabatta from the baking sheet, and return them to the oven, propping the oven door open a couple of inches with a folded-over potholder. Allow the ciabatta to cool completely in the oven; this will give them a very crisp crust. Yield: 2 loaves. Pan Bagna The name of this delicious stuffed sandwich translates to “bathed bread.” This reference comes from the olive oil drizzled heavily over the inside crust. Split a ciabatta in half lengthwise, and brush or drizzle each half with olive oil. Fill the ciabatta with Italian cold cuts, provolone cheese, chopped olives, softened sun-dried tomatoes, sliced red onions, lettuce, basil leaves, sliced peppers or pimientos, or any combination of any similar sandwich-type fillings. Wrap the sandwich tightly in plastic wrap or aluminum foil, and top with a weighted baking sheet (a baking sheet with a couple of bricks or heavy cans on top). Let the pan bagna rest under the weights for a couple of hours, then slice and serve. Yield: 8 to 12 servings. | |
| Garlic Bread | |
| I'm sure we're all familiar with the typical white/squishy, butter-soaked type of garlic bread so prevalent in the '60s and '70s. In fact, I myself find it still a very tasty treat. But as the recipe's so simple, I decided to do here a “new-age” garlic bread—still simple, but hopefully even more enjoyable. The bread is crustier, the garlic fresher, and olive oil as well as butter plays a major role. Serve this with your favorite tomato-sauce-based pasta dish, and you'll understand again why garlic and tomatoes are just so right together. Ciabatta is the perfect loaf to transform into garlic bread. Topping | |
| 1 medium head | garlic, cloves separated and peeled (about 2 ounces, about 15-20 cloves), finely minced* |
| 1/2 cup (1 stick) | butter, melted |
| 1/3 cup (2 3/8 ounces) | olive oil |
| pinch | salt |
| 4 ounces | parmesan cheese, cut in chunks and grated (1 cup grated) |
| parsley, (if you like) | |
| A mini | food processor is an invaluable tool for this task. |
Assembly: Prepare the topping by combining the minced garlic cloves, melted butter, olive oil and a pinch of salt. Just before serving, cut the two loaves in half lengthwise, like you're going to make a couple of giant sandwiches. Spread the cut halves with the garlic mixture. Bake the bread in a preheated 400°F oven for about 10 minutes, or until the topping is bubbly and the edges of the bread are starting to brown. Remove the bread from the oven, and sprinkle it immediately with the grated Parmesan and parsley, if desired.
Yield: about 24 servings.
Recipe uploaded with Shop'NCook recipe organizer software.
Back to Shop'NCook recipe database