Ciabatta - by Jae

This is a recipe for ciabatta, a simple type of bread

Background

This is a recipe for ciabatta, a very simple type of italian bread. It's not meant to be anything fancy, just to keep you full.

Tips: When handling the dough it is good to wet your hands before so that the dough doesn't stick to them as much. You should also cover it with a towel when it is in the bowl, so that it doesn't dry out.

Ingredients

• 500 g flour
• 350 g water
• 25 g olive oil
• 25 g fresh yeast
• 1 tablespoon salt

Baking

Mixing: Start by mixing water, salt, olive oil, and fresh yeast in a bowl. When all the yeast is mixed in the water, add the flour and mix until it is one cohesive mass. You don't need to knead it now as that will be done later when it is rising.

Kneading and shaping: Let the dough rise for thirty minutes, then do a stretch and fold on it. Here's a link on how to do it: https://youtu.be/QYzxulQY1Gc. Do this process two more times, waiting 30 minutes inbetween every time. After having kneaded it three times, put it on a surface with flour and put flour over the whole dough so it is easier to handle. Then form it into a bread shape by pulling the edges of the dough underneath itself. Let it sit like this for 45 minutes and cover it with a towel.

Baking: Preheat your oven to 200 degrees celsius, and put the dough on a baking tray. Make sure it still has the correct form by pushing the edges underneath itself. Put it in the hot oven for 35 minutes. After 25 minutes raise the heat to 250 degrees celsius. After 35 minutes you can take it out of the oven, and it should be ready!

Serving

The bread should be slightly brown with some darker spots on it. The inside should have bubbles and be very soft. You can eat it on its own straight from the oven or make sandwiches with it, or eat it with something else. It's up to you how you wanna eat it.