Baking Ciabatta Bread from Scratch

Three Kitchens Podcast

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On this episode of Three Kitchens Podcast, Erin is again baking bread. This time it's the Italian sandwich bread, ciabatta. This is her first time trying this recipe and she's got some great tips for you if this is also your first time baking ciabatta.
Ciabatta bread was first baked in 1982 by Arnaldo Cavallari in response to a concern he and other Italian bakers had about the popularity of sandwiches made from baguettes imported from France. They wanted an Italian alternative for sandwiches and so the recipe for ciabatta came about. Ciabatta is created with a soft, wet dough made with high gluten flour.
Baking ciabatta takes a little bit of planning and preparation as you need to begin with a yeast starter (similar to sour dough), which you make the day before. It's a very wet dough (Erin likens it to cake batter), and it takes some work to form a ball of dough. Erin gives some good tips for working with it to make buns or loaves.
Once you have your basic bread dough, you can add herbs or whatever you like. Erin made two varieties for us - one with sundried tomatoes and the other with sliced olives. Finally, she placed a pan of hot water in the oven while baking. It was a soft, fluffy and delicious bread, perfect for toast, a quick pizza or your favourite sandwich. Store-bought ciabatta bread absolutely does not compare to the home-baked stuff. It was amazing and well worth the effort.
Episode Links
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~ Ciabatta Bread Recipe
~ Fluffy Focaccia Bread Recipe
~ You Gotta Focaccia S1 E15
~ Baking Sourdough Bread with Guest, Larry Harris S3 E25
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