The bread monster visits for a third time.
I continued my experiments with homemade bread this weekend. Results shown below, looks better than week 2 but was a bit heavier texture.
This is the recipe I am playing with at the moment.
For your ciabatta you’ll need:
- 4 cups of all-purpose flour (do NOT pack the flour into the measuring cup)
- 2 cups of warm water
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 1/4 teaspoon of granulated yeast (or equivalent)
For the gorgeous readers needing metric equivalents of this recipe, Toon left a comment with the following conversion:
- 500 grams of all-purpose flour
- 4,7 deciliter of warm water
- 4 grams of salt (= 1 teaspoon = 5 ml)
- 1 gram of dry yeast (= 1/4 teaspoon = 1,25 ml)
1. Mix Water & Yeast
Pour the warm water into the medium-size mixing bowl and stir in the yeast with a spoon. No need to be particular, just dump and slosh.
2. Add Flour And Salt
Add flour and salt to your bowl of yeasty water. This, after measuring out the flour, presents another prime opportunity to get flour on your person. This will be regarded by many as a sign of your culinary determination. You’ll need such signs because anybody who actually watches you make the bread will think you’re one of the laziest bakers in existence.
3. Stir Into A Heavy Batter
Use a spoon. You could use your hands if you wanted but you probably didn’t wash your hands before starting this anyhow. Start with a quick run about around the perimeter of the bowl with your spoon. A few quick strokes through the middle and you should have a heavy batter. If it looks too thick to be pancake batter and not thick enough to be playdough, you’re right on target.
4. Set It And Nearly Forget It
Cover your project with a hand towel or plastic wrap and set in a safe place for a few hours. After the dough has rested for 8 to 12 hours, it will have nearly doubled in size. (If you add a bit of sugar at the start and you’re in a hurry, you can rush this process but I don’t recommend it for your first try.)
5. Preheat Oven & Prepare Your Pan
There’s a lot of room for variation at this stage. The goal is to place the dough onto a surface that will keep it from falling through the oven rack and not stick on. I use an old cookie sheet sprinkled with flour and corn meal. You can use a buttered pan, pizza stone, or baking paper. It’s up to you. The flour/cornmeal method takes only a few seconds.
6. Pour Out The Batter
This is the fun part! Uncover the bowl of dough and slowly pour it out onto the pan you just prepared for it. You’ll want to use a spoon to guide the dough into place and get the last bits out of the bowl. The dough will be very wet and sticky. That’s okay!
7. Add Spices (If Needed) & Place Bread Into 400F Oven
If you’re trying to stay within the one-minute prep, you probably won’t have time to sprinkle some of your favorite herbs onto your ciabatta before baking. If you’re not worried about time, some dried oregano, basil, and rosemary make a nice addition.
8. Remove Your Ciabatta From The Oven
Check on your ciabatta after about 25 minutes. Once it’s golden brown on top and looks good to eat, take it out of the oven and set it aside to cool for at least 10 minutes. You can cut into it immediately but if you do it’ll collapse and won’t look as pretty.
Doodle’s Geek Monkey by Alastair Montgomery