Comments on: Ciabatta using Double Hydration

By: SteveB

SteveB — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 23:03:43 +0000

Hi jade,
Congratulations on your success! Keep it up. There are so many breads out there, just waiting for you to bake them!

By: jade

jade — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 17:53:14 +0000

hi steve,
i made two more ciabatta today, following your EXACT recipe this time and they came out PERFECT and DELICIOUS. beautiful crumb, light and moist and open. the dough was a breeze to handle after my superwet experiment over the weekend.
now i am so motivated to try out more of your recipes! thanxxx

By: jade

jade — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 06:37:14 +0000

well, after a labourous 36 hours @_@ (well, not really labourous, but it was definitely 36 hours) I finally had my first successful ciabatta!
my mistake was –
(1) used wrong poolish. I took the kefir rye sourdough starter by mistake, as I had 2 jars of unmarked poolish going at the time;
(2) ran out of yeast so didn’t add any for the final dough;
(3) added 190g of flour instead of 310g for the final dough so I ended up with a thick pancake batter which was super messy and sticky I really struggled to shape ( why didn’t I read the recipe properly);
(4) just before baking I suddenly discovered I added too little flour so I added the rest of flour and had to proof again;
(5) bad time management – so had to leave the final final dough in the fridge for another day;
But guess what? the dough was very forgiving – it worked out beautifully despite my mistakes. the loaves were light and wonderfully holey. Perhaps a bit more tangy because of the kefir and rye and long proofing time but we really enjoyed the ciabatta.
So thanks again for sharing your technique!
Next time I will make sure I follow your recipe properly
Jade

By: SteveB

SteveB — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 10:08:14 +0000

Hi jade,
For ciabatta, the key to an open crumb is high hydration, sufficiently developed gluten and gentle dough handling. Good luck and have fun!

By: jade

jade — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 04:25:25 +0000

hi steve
thank you for your wonderful instruction and explaination on hydration and technique- I now have a much better understanding on the secrets behind real ciabatta making. I tried a few times in the past and each time my ciabatta was more like a log-shaped regular bread – the texture was always too even no matter which recipe I follow – I could never achieve the open irregular holes like yours. I pretty much given up on ciabattas. Now I think it was because of hydration and my handling of the dough- I am itching to try again after discovering your blog. ctually i am going to start my poolish right now and will let you know how it turns out. Thanks again.

By: SteveB

SteveB — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 17:35:03 +0000

Libby, both the hand mixing method shown in this post and the double flour addition/double hydration method using a stand mixer shown here produce wonderfully light and airy ciabatta.

By: Libby

Libby — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 15:44:30 +0000

Looks wonderful. I am marking your post and will give this one a try. One Ciabatta I tried was a dismal failure, in part due a lot of mistakes by the writer. To me this looks like a very sensible approach.

By: emilie

emilie — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 15:05:52 +0000

Thanks! I’m really enjoying your site. Its very helpful. Your way of explaining things and your videos make a lot more sense than culinary school did. Its one thing to go through the motions of following a recipe, but its another to really understand whats going on in there to learn the technique and make corrections and adaptions. I’ve become bread obsessed and my family is reaping the benefits =)

By: SteveB

SteveB — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 12:08:24 +0000

emilie, Just in case you are not aware of it, I published a post on making ciabatta using a home stand mixer, for those who are unable or who don't wish to hand mix. It can be found here.

By: emilie

emilie — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 05:12:44 +0000

Thanks SteveB…Im thinking the flour may be a problem too. I’ve successfully made various breads in the past, but having relocated to Taiwan, I have limited access to quality ingredients. I dont have much of a choice besides the all purpose flour available at the local grocery stores, I cant order a 25kg bag of flour to keep around. I been attempting bread for about a week and a half now and failing miserably. Breads come out pretty much inedible. I’ve been trying different things everyday to trouble shoot. Not developing enough gluten might also be a problem I am having.. Im pretty small, my hands are small and my arms arent very strong so it usually takes a lot longer for me to get the ‘window pane’. So the dough folding method makes it a lot easier for me. I will try kneading a bit longer and reducing the water. Thanks!