Ciabatta (Light-as-Air Loaves)
rec.food.cooking/Ramone/1997

In Italian, Ciabatta (cha-BAH-tah) means "slipper" -- the finished loaves can look like old shoes. While the appearance of the loaf is rustic, the bread itself is light and porous and the flavor is delicately sour. The dough is extremely wet and sticky; when shaping the loaves, you must sprinkle generous amounts of flour on everything the dough will touch. (This recipe requires a heavy duty electric mixer such as a KitchenAid.) GUARANTEE: Everyone loves this bread.

[Adapted from FINE COOKING, Dec. '95]

NOTE: This is messy, but worth the effort. Try not to add extra flour until you've tried the recipe as is. (Additional flour will cause the texture to be more like that of French bread than of this feathery light loaf.) The dough should spring up in the oven and give you a nicely rounded bread, even though it may look flat after the second rising.

SPONGE
1/2 teaspoon yeast
2/3 cup water (filtered or bottled), warm (110 F)
1 cup BREAD flour

YEAST MIXTURE
1 1/2 teaspoons yeast
1/2 cup water (filtered or bottled), warm (110 F)

DOUGH
2 cups ice water
27 ounces BREAD flour (5 1/4 - 5 1/2 cups)
1 tablespoon salt

1. SPONGE: Dissolve 1/2 tsp. yeast in 2/3 cup warm water. Add 1 cup flour and stir to incorporate. Let rise, covered, until tripled in volume (about 4 hours).

2. YEAST MIXTURE: When the starter is ready, dissolve 1 1/2 tsp. yeast in 1/2 cup warm water and let stand for 10 minutes.

3. DOUGH: In the bowl of a heavy duty mixer (KitchenAid), combine
-- the YEAST MIXTURE
-- 2 cups ICE WATER
-- 1 cup SPONGE
-- 27 ounces bread flour (5 1/4 - 5 1/2 cups)
-- 1 TBL salt

Mix at speed #2 for 1 minute.

4. Add the SALT and mix for 2 minutes. Let rest 20 min. (the dough will be very wet and will not hold a shape).

5. After the 20 minute rest, knead at speed #6 until the dough pulls away from the sides and bottom of the bowl, about 12 to 15 minutes. -- If the dough first cleans the sides of the bowl and later starts sticking again, just keep kneading, for a minimum of 12 minutes. (You can prepare the ingredients the day before and refrigerate overnight if you wish, doing the kneading in step 5 the next day.)

6. Decrease speed to #4; knead another 5 or 6 minutes.

7. FIRST RISE: Transfer the dough to a large, oiled mixed bowl. Cover with a tight-fitting lid or plastic wrap and let rise until TRIPLED IN VOLUME, about 2 to 2 1/2 hours. (The ideal temperature is about 75 F.)

8. SHAPING: Pour the dough onto a heavily floured work surface and cut into two pieces. Flour your hands. Keep the floured side of the loaf facing down and pull five ends of the dough from the outside edge to the center. Press these ends down and flip the dough over. Cup the heels of your hands around the dough and rotate, all the while pinching the dough underneath with the both heels of the hands to shape a taut, smooth ball.

10. SECOND RISE: Set the loaves (preferably on baking parchment) in a cool spot, dust WELL with flour, and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Let rise until doubled, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

11. BAKING: Meanwhile, 20 minutes before the bread finishes rising, put a baking stone on the oven's lowest rack and heat the oven to 450 F. To prevent the loaves from sticking (if not using baking parchment) sprinkle the baking stone now with cornmeal.

12. STEAM: For a crisper crust, put 1 cup of ice cubes(or 1 cup boiling water) in a pan on the oven floor (or lowest rack in an electric oven) just before putting in the bread.

13. Using a baker's peel or a baking sheet, gently transfer the loaves to the stone, taking care not to deflate the dough. Bake until the crust is dark brown, about 30 min. (For a lighter colored crust, reduce the temperature to 425 F after five minutes.)

14. Remove the finished loaves from the oven and let cool on a rack about one hour. Freezes well.