Recipe: Bread Machine Ciabatta and Hand Made

Ciabatta with Bread machine

You can buy ready made dough enhancer or make your own below. Ready made called Lora Brody all Natural Sourdough Bread Enhancer...this improves rise, texture, crumb and crust.

Dough Enhancer (homemade)

The ginger makes the yeast act more swiftly, the ascorbic acid strengthens the gluten, and the lecithin aids the oil in causing the strands of gluten to slip against each other more easily and thus rise better.

1 cup Lecithin granules
1 tbsp Vitamin C powder
1 tbsp Ginger, ground

Mix all ingredients and store in tightly closed glass jar. Add to breadmaker in amount EQUAL to yeast with other dry ingredients. Start machine.

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Ciabatta with Bread machine:

Called Italian slipper bread because of its rustic shape that resembles a slipper. This chewy, homely loaf is great with a chunk of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and sliced dry sausage. Since the dough is so wet, the bread machine is the perfect place to make it.

1 tablespoon dry yeast (not quick rising)
1 1/2 cups (or more) warm water (105 degrees F to 115 degrees F)
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 to 2 tablespoons Lora Brody's Sourdough Bread Enhancer (optional) or homemade.
Olive oil

Place first 5 ingredients in bread machine in order listed. Program machine for dough or manual cycle and press start. Check dough after first few minutes of first knead cycle and add more water if necessary to form very wet batter-like dough that barely forms ball and does not clean sides of pan. Allow dough to go through one knead cycle and one rise cycle only.

Line very large baking sheet with parchment paper. Pour and scrape dough onto lightly floured work surface. Using dough scraper, divide dough into 3 equal pieces. Using floured hands, transfer dough pieces to prepared baking sheet, forming flat irregular oval shapes and spacing at least 2 1/2-inches apart. Drizzle tops with olive oil and allow dough to rise in warm draft-free area until almost doubled, about 20 minutes.

Position rack in upper third of oven just below highest position and preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Press fingertips into dough in several places to dimple surface (characteristic of this bread). Bake until tops are dry (if using Sourdough Enhancer, loaves will remain pale after baking). Transfer ciabattas to rack and cool at least 15 minutes before serving.

Serving size = 1/2 loaf

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Hand Made Ciabattas

Sponge:
1 tsp. dry yeast
250 ml....1 cup warm water
350 g....1 1/2 cup sifted flour

Dough:
1 1/2 tsp. dry yeast
5 tbs. warm milk
1 tbs. olive oil
250 ml....1 cup warm water
600 g....3 cups flour (more or less)
2-3 tsp. salt
(2-3 tbs. warm water additional if needed)

1. Sponge: In a mixer bowl, add the yeast to the water, allow to stand for 3-4 minutes, stirring gently. Sift the flour and add to the yeast. Combine ingredients well, cover and let stand at room temperature for 12 hours.

2. Dough: Add the yeast to the milk, stir and let it stand 3-4 minutes to be sure the yeast is working.

3. Add the yeast mixture, water and oil to the sponge and mix with a dough hook.

4. Add 2 cups of flour and the salt and knead for 2 minutes at low speed, 3 minutes at middle speed, adding the remaining flour slowly, or more water, until the dough begins to pull from the sides of the bowl.

The dough should be quite soft; firm enough to handle without sticking to the hands, but still very soft. Add the last of the flour slowly. Or, add water if necessary.

5. Cover or place in a large, oiled bowl and let rise in a warm place for about 1 hour or until tripled in size and bubbly.

6. Place the dough on floured baking paper or other surface and divide into 4 pieces, but do not punch down. Form in rectangles about 10" x 4"/25 x 10 cm in size and press down lightly with the fingers. Cover the dough and let rise for 90 minutes. The dough will rise only slightly.

The flour on the surface where the bread makes its final rise is what remains on the top of the loaf after baking. With practice you can adjust the amount to get a pleasing appearance. You can also form them into about 6 to 8 rolls.

Preheat oven to 200 degrees C....400 degrees F.

7. Heat two baking sheets in the oven for about 15 minutes. Pick up the loaves, turn them over and lay them upside down on the sheets, being careful not to press out the air. Bake the bread for 25-30 minutes until bread just begins to turn golden. During the first 10 minutes, paint or spray the bread with water 3 times.