Recipe(tried): Ciabatta

Hi bread lover. BB's recipe looks delicious, but it sounds like what you want is basic, chewy, crusty Italian bread. First let me tell you, it's almost impossible to make that at home. The ovens these bakeries use are usually very old, coal burning ovens which are hard to duplicate. Below however, is a recipe I found on the internet, then modified a little. It's pretty darn close to what you're looking for. I use ceramic baking stones to help duplicate a bakery oven but if you don't have one, a cookie sheet is fine. Just be careful in the final stages, it's easy to defate the loaves and end up with a focaccia!
Spraying the inside of the oven with water helps to produce the crunchy crust.
Good luck!

Ciabatta
Slipper Shaped Bread

2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water
1 1/4 cups + 2 tablspoons water
3 3/4 cups white, all purpose flour
1 teaspoons salt
Optional: teaspoon malt

In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast in 1/4 cup water and allow it to stand for approximately 5-10 minutes.
Add the 1 1/4 cups water to the dissolved yeast.
Add the flour, malt and salt to this mixture and continue to mix until the dough begins to hold together.
Knead the dough to a soft consistency and continue to knead until the dough is smooth and elastic. It will be sticky.
Place the dough in a lightly floured bowl, cover it with a clean towel, and allow it to rise in a warm place until doubled, about 11/2 hours.
Punch down the dough and turn it onto a flour dusted work surface. Divide it into two portions and pat each portion into a 4 by 6-inch rectangle. Dust each portion with flour.
Dust a piece of canvas (untreated, 100% cotton) or a proofing board with flour. Transfer the dough to the floured canvas or proofing board, and cover it with a cotton towel. Cover the dough with a clean towel and allow it to rise at room temperature until more than doubled, about 2 hours.
Set your oven temperature to 500 F. Place a baking stone in the oven and allow the oven to heat for 30 minutes.
Turn each portion of dough onto a lightly floured sheet of wax paper and let the dough rest for 15 minutes.
Slide a baker's peel beneath the parchment paper.
Lower the oven temperature to 425 F. Slide the parchment paper from the peel onto the baking stone. Using a plastic spray bottle, quickly spray the oven walls with water.
Spray again in 5-minute intervals within the first 15 minutes.
Allow the dough to bake until it is a deep golden color (approximately 10 more minutes).
Remove the loaves from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack.
Total baking time 20-25 minutes.