Ciabatta

Serves	Total Time
2 loaves	18.63 hours

Ingredients - Biga

180 g all-purpose flour
0.25 tsp instant yeast
114 g water

Ingredients - Dough

1 tsp instant yeast
2 tsp nonfat dry milk or 38 g milk
1.5 tsp salt
213 g water or 175 g
11 g olive oil
240 g all-purpose flour

Cookware

1 medium bowl
1 stand mixer
1 bench knife or dough scraper
1 plant mister

Instructions

Step 1

To make the biga, mix all-purpose flour, instant yeast, and water in a medium bowl, cover the bowl, and let rest for about 12 hours, or overnight.

Step 2

To make the dough, use your fingers to pull the biga into walnut-size pieces, and place the pieces in the bowl of a stand mixer.

Step 3

Add instant yeast, nonfat dry milk, salt, water, olive oil, and all-purpose flour to the biga and beat slowly with a flat beater paddle or beaters for about 3 minutes.

Step 4

Replace the beater paddle with the dough hook, increase the speed to medium, and knead for 10 minutes. The dough should be very sticky and slack.

Step 5

Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl or dough-rising bucket, cover the bowl or bucket, and let the dough rise for 2 to 3 hours, gently deflating it and turning it over every 45 minutes or so.

Step 6

Transfer the dough to a lightly greased work surface and use a bench knife or dough scraper to divide it in half.

Step 7

Working with one half at a time, shape the dough into a rough log.

Step 8

Transfer the log to a parchment-lined baking sheet, or one sprinkled with cornmeal or semolina, and flatten it into an irregular 10" X 4" oval.

Step 9

Use your fingers, your entire finger, not just the tip, to indent the surface of the dough vigorously and thoroughly. Repeat with the remaining piece of dough.

Step 10

Cover the loaves with heavily greased plastic wrap or reusable cover, and set them aside to rise until very puffy, 2 to 3 hours, depending on the warmth of your kitchen.

Step 11

Half an hour before you want to make the bread, preheat the oven to 425°F. Spritz water into the oven with a clean plant mister for about 5 seconds. Place the bread in the oven and spritz water into the oven three more times during the first 10 minutes of baking.

Step 12

Bake the loaves for total of about 25 minutes, or until they're a deep golden brown and their interior temperature measures 210°F.

Step 13

Remove the loaves from the pan and return them to the oven. Turn off the oven, crack the door open a couple of inches, and let the loaves cool completely in the oven.