Ciabatta. Old Italien baking tradition. Did you think so?
Well, I did. But to my surprise, I could read a few days ago, that it was invented as late as 1982 by two gentleman called Arnaldo Cavallari and Francesco Favaron.
It was a response to the French baguette that was very popular in Italy at that time, and the two bakers were determined to produce something equivalent.
One of them, I don’t know who thought that the shape reminded him of his wife’s slippers. Therefore, they named the bread Ciabatta, slipper in Italian.
Despite the low age, the bread has been very successful. You can find it almost all around the world.
And that is not so strange. It is a real crowd-pleaser with its thin crispy crust and soft crumb filled with oversized air pockets.
It’s the number one choice for all sorts of grilled sandwiches.
After reading this, I realized that It was quite some time since I baked Ciabatta. I couldn’t understand why.
ABOUT FLOUR AND STARTER
Below you will find the amount of flour and starter used for this recipe.
The total hydration of the dough is 77%
MIXING THE LEVAIN
A “real” ciabatta always begins with a Biga. A Biga is a starter based on flour, water, and yeast that is left to ferment for at least 12 hours. I prefer to use a mature and lively sourdough starter instead. But then it’s not allowed to be called a Biga anymore (according to real baking aficionados), so let’s call it levain instead. Making a levain is easy. You just mix water with flour and starter in a kitchen bowl. Be sure that all flour is hydrated. Cover it with clingfilm and let it ferment for 12 hours at room temperature. When it’s ready, it should look something like this.
MIXING THE DOUGH
Now it’s time to add the rest of the ingredients, except salt.
Mix everything thoroughly and let the dough rest for an hour.
There is one thing you should know before you start baking this Ciabatta. The dough is wet. Very wet. If you hate dealing with wet sticky doughs, you should probably try something else. The easiest way to deal with it is probably with a dough mixer, but not everybody has a mixer. Therefore I decided to use the stretch and fold technique. It worked pretty well. Just dip your hands in some water now and then. It will prevent the dough from sticking to your fingers.
After a while, you will feel how the dough changes and becomes easier to handle.
I repeated the stretching and folding once every half an hour during the bulk fermentation process. I added the salt during the first stretch and folding session.
After the last session, I let the dough ferment for an additional hour.
SHAPING THE LOAF
Now it’s time to stretch out the dough. Spread flour on your working surface. Don’t make the same mistake as I did. Don’t skimp with the flour. You will regret that later. I thought I had spread out tons of flour. But it was still not enough. I’ll come back to that later.
Stretch out the dough to a flat rectangular shape. Be careful not to pressure out too much gas out of the dough.
Let it rise for an hour.
Now it’s time to cut the dough into pieces. Cut the dough in half lengthways and divide each half into strips.
It was at this point I started to face some problems. The dough was sticking to the surface despite all the flour I had spread on it. It also stuck to the bench knife I was using. The first Ciabattas looked like something made by an ape. And suddenly I remembered why it was so long ago since I baked Ciabatta.
But I didn’t give up. I cut the rest of the Ciabattas with a knife dipped in the water while I scraped them loose with the bench knife. The last ones looked pretty decent.
Lessons learned.
Next time I will use a bread mixer. The stretch and folding worked pretty well, but I think the structure of the dough will improve if you run it in a mixer.
Use more flour on the working surface.
About flour.
The hydration of this dough is about 77%. That may not sound like much. Especially if you’re living in the US or Canada. Remember that your bread flour is stronger than what we are used to here in Europe. The flour I used has 11.5 % protein. You may have to increase the water amount to get the same result if you are using a much stronger flour. I have found recipes from the US with 80% hydration.
Sourdough Ciabatta
Ingredients
Levain
- 250 gram Wheat flour
- 250 gram water
- 80 gram sourdough starter
Ciabatta dough
- 420 gram water
- 580 gram levain
- 630 gram Wheat flour
- 2 tabelspoon olive oil
- 20 gram sea salt
Instructions
Levain
- Mix water with flour and starter. Be sure that all flour is hydrated. Cover it with cling film and let it ferment for 12 hours at room temperature.
Ciabatta
- Mix all ingredients except salt. Be sure that all flour is hydrated. Let it rest for an hour.
- Add the salt and stretch and fold if you don't have a dough mixer. I repeated every 30 minutes, 4 times in total. I normally stretch 4 times each set. Total time for bulk fermentation was 3 hours. If you have a mixer you just run it on a medium speed until the dough is smooth and stretchy.
- Scrape out the dough onto a floured working surface. Stretch out the dough carefully to a rectangular shape. Try to degass the dough as little as possible. Let it rise for 1 hour. Pre heat the oven to 480ºF / 250ºC with two oven plates. If you have a baking stone you should place it on the upper plate.
- Cut the dough in half lengthways and divide each half into strips. Transfer the dough stripes to a parchment paper. Slide the dough stripes and parchment paper into the oven and bake for approx. 20 minutes. Pour water on the bottom plate to get some steam.
- Let the ciabattas cool on a wire rack.
73 Comments
I know the Biga is 580 grams, but how many grams of water, flour and starter specifically should we use for this recipe?
I have specified that in the ingredient list under the heading “Biga”.
Easy and fabulous, now a regular favourite
Great to hear that, Keith.
Hi there. So, if we were to use a mixer, how would the process change? I’m assuming you’d mix for a while and then let it rise for a while, skipping the stretches and folds?
I would appreciate if you could describe the process via mixer method. If not, I’ll definitely try the recipe using the folding method either way!
Hi, Jenna.
You can skip both the Autolyse (resting time) and all the stretching and folding.Run everything in the mixer until you get an elastic dough. Make windowpane test. Add salt and mix the dough for an additional 3 minutes. Let the dough rise for 3-4 hours. After that, you can shape the dough according to the recipe instructions before the final rise.
I used the mixer, and placed the dough overnight in the refrigerator because it was getting late, before shaping and final rise. The resulting large rolls were wonderful, though they did not look like this recipe’s photo.
Well, If you were happy with the end result I think that’s all that matters. There are many ways to bake a ciabatta.
I’m confused about the sizing. I’m getting 4 small ciabatta not 8 large. If devided into 8 thats 217g each which is a little larger than a burger bun. From my results this makes 2 large ciabatta or 4 small.
Hi Ian,
Size is a relative thing. However, I do think you have a point. Claiming that you will get 8 large ciabattas out of this recipe can be a bit misleading. Therefore I have changed the recipe to only 8 ciabattas instead.
Thanks for the input.
I think you mean a poolish and not a biga?
Well, that depends.
If we consider the hydration you are right. It’s more appropriate to call it poolish. But if we are talking about origin it’s perhaps more accurate to call it biga as it originate from Italy. Poolish originates from Poland, where it was used in the pastry production in the beginning. But perhaps it’s not correct to use none of them, because originally, both were based on commercial yeast. Perhaps I should just have called it Pre-ferment.
My ciabatas were stiff and heavy. Is it because i did the stretch and fold only 4 times at each hour for a total of 12 stretch and folds ? I think I miss understood the total number of stretchs and folds are required at each hour during the 3 hour session. Can you tell me exactly what should de done ? Thank you very much for your help !
Hi Alain,
I’m very sorry to say that I have recognized that this recipe is not correct. There are far too many stretch and folds. Again, I’m very sorry about this, and I will correct it immediately.
Try this instead. Make a total of 4 sets of stretch and folds, spaced out by 30 minutes. Every set should consist of 4 folds, total amount 16 folds.
This may solve your problem, but I’m not that sure.
Perhaps it’s your starter or surrounding temperature that is the problem. If your starter is a bit weak you may have to increase the time for both bulk fermentation and final rise. Try 4 to 5 hours bulk fermentation and 1.5 to 2 hours final rise next time.
If possible, place the dough in a warm place, preferably 78ºF/25ºC.
One trick about Ciabatta is to handle the dough gently when forming it before the final rise. Stretch it carefully to a rectangle and try to degassing it as little as possible.
The last thing I want to mention is the flour. If you use very strong bread flour, you may have to add more water. The flour I used had a protein content of 11.5%
I hope this can be to some help.
Have you a recipe for the starter please. There are so many methods/flours. Also have you tried it with spelt flour? Thanks
hello Helen.
Making a starter with wheat only can be a bit daunting, especially if you are a beginner.
I suggest that you add a small amount of rye. It makes everything so much easier. It doesn’t have to be much.
Try this recipe:
120 gram water
100 gram wheat flour
20 gram rye flour
Mix and make sure that all flour is hydrated. Place somewhere warm for two days. The ideal temperature is 78ºF/25º.
I know, it’s not always easy to find such a warm place in an ordinary kitchen, and it’s OK if you cant find it. Just try to give your starter the best temperature possible.
After two days it’s time for the first feeding.
Add 60 gram water, 50 gram wheat flour, and 10 gram rye flour, and mix vigorously with a spoon.
From now on, continue to feed your starter every day with the above amounts of flour and water until it’s strong enough for baking. Discard the same amount that you add.
But when is it strong enough?
It’s not strong enough just because it has a lot of bubbles on the surface. It has to expand in volume. When you can see that it has risen (and doubled its volume) and fallen back in the container, then you know it’s ready for baking.
The above process can take some time. Probably at least one week, maybe longer.
Just have patience and continue feeding.
If you choose to go for a 100% rye starter, it will probably go much quicker. I have had a ready rye starter in 3 days.
I have tried Spelt, but not with ciabatta. Search for “sourdough spelt bread” on the blog. It’s not 100% spelt, though. Spelt is a bit tricky to bake with as it doesn’t have the same good baking qualities as ordinary wheat. The taste is great and the crust it provides is superior, but the loaf tends to float out on sides instead of rising upwards if you use a high amount of spelt flour.
Why the biga and the starter separately? Why not just make a bigger biga?
This recipe was a result of an experiment. My thought was that if I added some extra starter I could perhaps get a stronger fermentation with a more open crumb as a result. The result was very satisfactory. Coincidence? Perhaps, but I tried to make these ciabattas with just the Biga, resulting in a much tighter crumb. It can of course still be a coincidence. Baking with sourdough starter seems to end up in results depending on coincidences most of the times. Especially for an amateur baker like me.
Just baked this.
I used half of the recipe and made one loaf, the size of a baking tray. The centre was about 5cms high.
I cut it horizontally and made bruschetta with balsamic, olive oil, tomatoes, mozza and basil. Classic and delicious.
I used a kitchen Aid for the mixing, followed the recipe exactly.
The result is a delicious loaf, not quite the ciabatta am used to making, but that isn’t the fault of the recipe – my Biga ( or poolish, to appease the haters) didn’t quite rise enough, I was a little too heavy handed when taking it from the bowl, and I lost a lot of air from the dough. I also didn’t let it proof enough before baking, my oven wasn’t hot enough and there wasn’t enough steam.
I am going to start again this evening so I can bake it again tomorrow. My wife is over the moon, she loves it !
Thanks for a great recipe.
Glad you liked it, Tony.
Last time I baked after this recipe, I ended up without the big bubbles I want in a Ciabatta. I was also a bit heavy handed as I wanted to see if made any difference.
It does.
So, keep on trying. I’m sure you will get the result you want with some persistence.
Thanks for the reply.
I have since baked this 3 times and am very satisfied with the results – adding more water each time, and getting better structure.
Now my loaves peak at 10cms and some of the air pockets are very large.
I going to adopt it s my go to ciabatta recipe
Good to hear that, Tony.
Big air pockets is a must in a Ciabatta. Otherwise, it’s just some ordinary loaf of bread.
I suspect there will be a lot of bruschetta for you in the future? I don’t blame you, That sandwich (if you can call it a sandwich) is a masterpiece in its simplicity.
It’s was like glue in my mixer and I’m sure I missed something. I took it out to turn and fold… It was still glue. Now i’m exhausted I’ve got to go to sleep. I couldn’t figure out how to cut the gluey substance so it would make some sort of bread. I did cut them whichever way, put them in a pan, separated each glob with A small piece of parchment and put it in the fridge on the tray. I’ll know better the result tomorrow. I’ll work on the English also.
It sounds like something has gone wrong. The dough is wet, but it’s not supposed to be like glue. It’s hard to say what has happened, but we have to start somewhere.
What kind of flour did you use, and what is the protein content?
Michele -in the mixer you need to use the K and not the dough hook.
Does that help?
While on the topic, Thomas – I spend a lot of time in Cataluña, near Barcelona. There, they have a speciality bread called Pan de Cristal or pa de vidre. Very similar to ciabatta but more crusty.
If you find a recipe that works well for this, using sourdough, let me know !!!
I have never baked Pan de Cristal, but I have been thinking about it. If I find a good recipe I will let you know. Is it OK to contact you on the e-mail address you have added?
That would be fine.
I have tried a few recipes and am making some headway, but I see from your blog that you are far more skilled than me !!
Thanks for this post and the comments that followed. I just started sourdough baking and have been wanting to bake ciabatta, but don’t have any recipes in a book that I have. The comments to have been very helpful. I’m not sob familiar with baking percentages yet, but have read about them. I try to maintain my sourdough starter and have done well, I have an Italian one and an Austrian one. A chef of mine has recently asked me to produce bread for a special event (20-25 people), if I make a bulk version of this recipe, should I just multiply the metric amounts in this recipe? What’s the texture of the finished dough before cutting and baking? Is it soft like foccacia (have have some experience with it from a few years back)? Thanks for all your input. I’ll reread the recipe again and will be experimenting at home tomorrow.
I think you can multiply the amounts without any problems. The dough is quite loose and somewhat sticky and you can probably compare it to the focaccia dough, even if ciabatta dough tends to be even a bit looser sometimes. It depends entirely on how much hydration (amount of water divided by the amount of flour) you decide to go for.
Thanks for the tip, just in time. The dough is mixing right now. If worse comes to worse, at least it should be edible! Haha
Whole wheat flour or a flour such as Kind Arthur All-Purpose flour?
I would suggest a wheat bread flour with fairly high protein content. The flour I used had 11.5%
I live near the equator and 25 C is pretty cool for us while it is warm for you. If our room temperature is around 28C to 32Cwhat will be the approximate resting/rising time? Any formula I can use?
Hi Toni,
It’s always tricky to answer questions about rising times. It depends on so many things. temperature is probably one of the most important factors, but a mature and strong starter is just as important. In the post, I said the dough needed 3 hours of bulk fermentation time. The conditions must have been quite favorable because normally my dough needs 4 to 5 hours. With the high temperatures, you are mentioning, you have to be observant, as things can happen very quickly. My best advice is to forget the clock and check the dough instead because there is no formula regarding fermentation time. At least none that I have heard of. For bulk fermentation, I use to aim for an increase in the volume of 30-40%. The easiest way to measure the volume increase is to place a small amount of dough in a straight glass and mark the initial level with a rubber band. Then you can see how much the dough has expanded. For the final rise, I normally use the finger poke test, but it can be a bit tricky when it comes to ciabatta. In the warm environment you are living in, I would say 1 hour to 1,5 would be enough.
Good afternoon I have made your recipe a number of times and I’m enjoy the ease of making it. It has been a hit with everyone I have made it for. Thank you for sharing. I only released today that the recipe askes for 28 tbs of oil for some reason I have only been putting in 2. When I realised I couldn’t bring my self to put in so much oil. Is that correct you need to put in 28 tabs? I haven’t needed it but I thought I would ask. You state it make 8 loaves. How big are your loaves?
Hi Giuseppina.
Stick with 2 tbs. 28 is, of course, completely wrong. Strange that no one has noticed this before, it’s quite an old post. Thank’s for noticing me, the recipe is updated.
I use to bake them 25 to 30 cm long, and about 8 cm wide.
way too much salt
Yes, you are right. I changed the recipe recently and apparently made a mistake about the amount of salt. It should be 20 grams. I have corrected the recipe. Thanks for noticing me.
The Guardian newspaper has a different history of the origin of ciabatta.
https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/1999/apr/30/features11.g24
There seems to bee a lot of different stories out there about who’s the founder of the ciabatta. Some say Cavallari and some say Favaron. Some say that these two gentlemen collaborated when inventing this famous bread, so perhaps both should have credit for it. I think I will change this post and mention both as creators.
Thanks for noticing me about this, Simona.
In your recipe you suggest using food mixer to develop strength in the dough since the dough is very wet and sticky. Would this be instead of the stretch and fold process or in addition to it. ie would you initially mix the dough and to develop strength/elasticity and then do the stretch and folds or just leave it for 3 hours or so?
On my first attempt I lost air in the dough while trying to shape it – it was still quite sticky
Roger
I would say that you either use a mixer or perform stretch and fold. Both work fine, but today I think I prefer to stretch and fold. Don’t skimp with flour when shaping ciabatta. Otherwise, the dough will stick to your hands and loose volume.
When do you coat the loaves in flour, before or after the final rise?
Always before. You want to handle them as little as possible after the final rise.
I made these and they turned out fantastically. I am a confident sourdough baker and followed the recipe as written. I make my bread by hand and this was only slightly wetter than a boule. Great flavour, texture and air.
This is my first time making this recipe. The “dough” is very wet and runny, like pancake batter. I really want to add flour, but am hesitating because it would retard the gluten formation and I’d have to let it proof longer. So I am going to drop spoonfuls onto a parchment paper-covered cookie sheet and hope for the best. It is taking a long time for bubbles to form, so I’ve put it into an oven warmed for 20 seconds. I double-checked the amount of ingredients and didn’t make a mistake. Here’s what I’m doing (I’m in the middle of the process): I ladled out half the dough as described above, and to the other half of the dough I added 120g flour, using a mixer with dough hook. After two hours I will bake the tray of pancake-like batter. I will decide then what to do with the dough that’s left.
Hi Kathleen,
If the dough is like pancake batter something is wrong. The dough is supposed to be wet and loose, but not that much. Are you sure you have got the proportions flour and water right?
Hello Tomas- I would like to make this recipe in my Kitchenaid stand mixer.
1. My biga is fermenting on the counter right now and will be ready to incorporate with the remainder of the ingredients at 7:00pm tonight.
2. I read through the comments and understand that I can skip the autolyse and the stretch and folds if I am using a mixer.
3. I have a paddle attachment and a dough hook- which one should I use?
4. After I make the windowpane test can I bulk ferment the dough in the refrigerator overnight?
5. If I bulk ferment in the refrigerator overnight, should I bring the dough to room temperature and let it proof on the counter tomorrow morning before I shape and bake it (If so, approximately how long should I proof on the counter?). Or is it ok to shape and bake straight from the refrigerator?
Thank you very much for taking the time to answer these questions!
Hi Erin,
Yes, you can skip the autolyse and stretch and folds if you use a mixer.
I would use the dough hook.
Yes, you can bulk ferment overnight in the fridge, but you may find out that the dough hasn’t expanded very much tomorrow. It depends on the temperature in your fridge, of course.
The dough may need some additional fermenting time on the counter tomorrow. How long is impossible to say. Look at the dough instead. It should have expanded in volume at least 75%
One more thing to be aware of is that the ciabatta will have a sourer taste if you ferment in the fridge. It doesn’t have to anything wrong, it depends entirely on personal preferences. But it’s good to be aware of it.
Thank you for your quick reply, Tomas! I know that my particular starter does tend to give quite a sour taste, especially when cold fermented, but we like that. I just wanted to be sure I wouldn’t be compromising the texture and airy holes by fermenting in the fridge. I will be pushing the schedule a little to finish this bread because I am leaving to go on a short holiday tomorrow at noon and I wish to take the ciabatta with me to visit our friends. I think I will take it from the fridge at 5:30 AM and allow to sit on the counter until I see substantial expansion. It may not quite reach 75%, but I will have to shape at 10:00AM and bake at 11:00AM.
Another question: I am planning on baking this as two long loafs instead of short rolls. Do you have any thoughts on the longer loaves affecting the baking time? Do you think they could end up gummy or under done? I mostly bake until my loaves reach my desired color but I would love to know if there is a target internal temperature on a thermometer. Generally I aim for 200 degrees F.
If they are only longer and not much thicker, I don’t think they will affect the baking time.
I think 200°F is OK, but if you can reach 204°F it’s even better. But if your loaves are risking getting burned, you should stick with a lower temperature.
Erin, just wondering how the overnight fermentation went. Were you pleased? I think I will do the same today because I want to bake them on the same day I give them away!
Also, did setting the dough out at 5:30am allow you to bake by 11am?
Thanks, Dana
After folding every 30 minutes, the dough is still watery,it is not firm, do I add more flour?
If you have problems handling the dough I suggest you add more flour. It’s better to do that then to struggle with a dough that feels hopeless.
This was my first time making ciabatta bread. I have made other bread for years but felt nervous about if it would turn out for me. I followed the instructions, which I think were so clear and to the point. I appreciate that and the pictures of how everything should look. My bread turned it perfect!! I’m so pleased! I looked at a lot of other recipes before choosing yours because sometimes you get lost in all the wordy instructions. I want to thank you for such a great recipe! I will be making this recipe again and again!
I’m so glad to hear that, Naomi.
Many thanks for the feedback.
Thank you so much for a great recipe. I was a little nervous because baking and following recipe instructions aren’t usually for me, but I really love ciabatta so I gave it a go. It turned out being everything I had hoped for! The second and third goes I got a little looser with the times and it still turns out great. Thanks again, I’m going to try some other of your recipes now!
That sounds great, Rachel.
If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact me.
I made this recipe for the first time last Friday and wow, what a keeper! Reading through the comments really helped. I did the manual stretches and folds and used KA Bread flour and my loaves had lovely big holes.
I helped to set my bench knife to keep the dough from sticking when I cut the final shapes. I can’t wait to try again…next time with stand mixer and dough hook to see if there’s difference in end results…I hope not but it’s good to know there’s alternative way to make it if I can’t be tied down to doing stretches every half hour 4 times.
Thanks for a terrific recipe!
I made this recipe for the first time last Friday and wow, what a keeper! Reading through the comments really helped. I did the manual stretches and folds and used KA Bread flour and my loaves had lovely big holes.
I helped to wet my bench knife to keep the dough from sticking when I cut the final shapes. I can’t wait to try again…next time with stand mixer and dough hook to see if there’s difference in end results…I hope not but it’s good to know there’s alternative way to make it if I can’t be tied down to doing stretches every half hour 4 times.
Thanks for a terrific recipe!
Great to hear that, Dana.
Pleaselet us know what you think about the results using a mixer.
Well, I did try this with my KA mixer and I have to say it was not as holey and airy as the manual technique. So next time, I will stick with the stretches and folds…
Another question though, I want to make this for company but won’t have time to tend to the dough that day. Is there some way to do a long refrigerated ferment at the end before baking off fresh the day I want to serve it?
Has anyone out there tried this?
Thank you!!
Hi Dana.
I have experienced the same. It feels like the dough becomes too strong whit a dough mixer sometimes.
There shouldn’t be any problems having a long cold ferment. I haven’t tried it with ciabatta, though.
I’m confused about the sizing. I’m getting 4 small ciabatta not 8 large. If devided into 8 thats 217g each which is a little larger than a burger bun. From my results this makes 2 large ciabatta or 4 small.
Hi Ian,
Size is a relative thing. However, I do think you have a point. Claiming that you will get 8 large ciabattas out of this recipe can be a bit misleading. Therefore I have changed the recipe to only 8 ciabattas instead.
Thanks for the input.
You stated in an answer to an earlier review that you knew this recipe was incorrect. Why did you not then correct it? I’m a longtime sourdough baker and should have known that a total of three hours rise time is laughable for sourdough. The first time I made it I used my experience and the ciabattas came out okay. The second time I followed your recipe exactly and hoped for oven spring, as the dough raised very little in three hours. Got some oven spring, but the ciabattas were dense and doughy. Also, I noticed that the recipe last summer originally called for 1 tbsp olive oil, but now it says 2 Tbsp. I suggest that (1) you let people know that the recipe has changed, and (2) that the total rise may take a lot longer that three hours.
Hi Michael
I know I answered Toni that “I said the dough needed 3 hours of bulk fermentation time. The conditions must have been quite favorable because normally my dough needs 4 to 5 hours.” I’m not sure I agree that I stated that the recipe was wrong. Considering the high amount of levain in this recipe, I also don’t agree that the 3 hours is laughable. Especially not if the temperature is warmer than ordinary room temperature.
I don’t remember that the recipe has ever said 1 tbsp oil. But I have been wrong before, so I tried to find out where it went wrong. I have checked all updates since the recipe was published and it says 2 tbsp in every one of them except one. It says 28 and is obviously wrong. Another visitor told me about this and I changed it back to 2.
If you have a good starter and make the levain right 3 hours is correct. It took me about 3 and a half hours to proof. Shaped and let it rest for 45 minutes and I got a great rise in the oven. Only thing I changed is I added 10% olive oil or 92g and reduced the salt to 2% or 18g
On day 2 I refrigerated the stretched/folded 4X dough after letting sit room temp. for one hour. The next day (day 3) I removed from refrigerator and let sit at room temp. (72 degrees F) for 3 hours. Then I floured surface and gently stretched into rectangle for final 1 hour rise. The results were very good! I couldn’t tell a difference in sourness but it had a very good, flavor and open crumb. Will definitely do this again! I might even try to let it ferment 48 hours next time…just because.
It’s really inspiring to read about your progress, Dana. I have never tried to retard my ciabatta dough that long. I have been afraid that it would turn out too sour. but now I really want to give it a try.
Love this recipe! I make it all the time.
I’m glad to hear that, Cheryl.