Overnight Ciabatta
I often refrigerate my loaves after shaping, letting them finish up their final proof in the fridge overnight, for example, so that they’re ready to bake first thing in the morning, or whenever. This has proven to be a wonderful technique for controlling my baking schedule so I can fit a few other activities in (you know, little things like work and sleep).
If I have more than a couple of loaves, though, that can take up rather a lot of space in the refrigerator. When someone on The Fresh Loaf recently brought up the subject of retarding (refrigerating) the dough during its initial fermentation to save on fridge space, I realized that was a pretty good idea, which I had not considered before, especially for breads that proof in a space-greedy couche (thanks, beenjamming!). Then in my recent class at SFBI, retarding was covered in some depth and it was confirmed that, yes, bulk retarding is a very fine strategy. One of the breads we made to illustrate this was a ciabatta, which recipe I have adapted here by substituting a little whole wheat flour and increasing the water to satisfy that thirsty flour.
This bread does take two days to make, but the hands-on time is really quite minimal, and the retarding step offers some flexibility in timing that you don’t get with non-retarded doughs. And while you can’t exactly bake it first thing in the morning, because it does need time for the final proof after you take it out of the refrigerator, it’s still great if you want to be able to bake fairly early in the day (well in time for lunch). I made six loaves, and since only three can fit in my oven at once, I put the second three back in cold storage for a while after dividing, with still very good results.
The key to success with this ciabatta is to develop the gluten before adding all of the water. Ciabatta is a highly hydrated dough, and adding all the water in the beginning would make it difficult to develop the gluten sufficiently. By holding back about 20% of the water initially, and adding it only after the gluten has been developed to a moderate degree, a strong but soft dough can be achieved. Strength is further added by folding the dough a couple of times during the initial stage of bulk fermentation.
Overnight Ciabatta
Yield: 3 kg (six loaves)
Time:
- Mix and ferment poolish: 6 hours
- Mix final dough: 10 - 15 minutes
- First fermentation (in the refrigerator): 12 - 15 hours, with folding at the first 45 and 90 minutes
- Warm-up: 1 hour
- Divide: 5 minutes
- Proof: 1.5 - 3 hours
- Bake: 35 - 40 minutes
Poolish Ingredients:
- 457 g white flour (I used Giusto’s Golden Haven organic)
- 152 g whole wheat flour (bulk from Whole Foods)
- 609 g water at about 65F
- 2 g instant yeast (2/3 t.)
Final Dough Ingredients:
- 1082 g white flour
- 710 g cold water (about 40F)
- All of the poolish
- 34 g salt
- 3 g instant yeast (1 t.)
- 51 g olive oil (Note: I omitted this when I originally posted the recipe. Sorry!)
Method:
- In a large bowl, mix all the poolish ingredients until just combined. Cover the bowl and let the poolish ferment at room temperature for about 6 hours. The poolish is ready to use when the surface is creased, and pebbled with bubbles.
- Place all of the final dough ingredients, except about 20% of the water, into the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix on low speed until the ingredients are incorporated, about 4 or 5 minutes.
- Continue mixing on low or medium speed until the dough reaches a medium level of gluten development. This might take about 5 minutes, but will depend on your mixer.
- Add the remaining water and continue mixing until it is all incorporated and you have a dough that feels very soft but strong and springy.
- Transfer the dough to an oiled container.
- Check the temperature of the dough. If it is around 72F, leave it out at room temperature until after the second fold, but if it is warmer (mine was 80F), put it in the refrigerator right away, taking it out only to fold.
- Fold the dough at 45 and 90 minutes. Make sure the container is very well oiled after the second fold so the dough will not stick when it is turned out onto the counter later.
- After the second fold, refrigerate the dough for 10 - 14 hours.
- Take the dough out of the refrigerator and let it warm up for about one hour.
- Turn the dough out onto a very well floured counter (you really can’t get too much flour here; you want to make sure the dough doesn’t stick, and any excess will just be left behind on the counter).
- Working from the center towards the edges, very gently stretch the dough into a rectangle about 2 cm in height. Try to degas the dough as little as possible.
- With a dough scraper, cut the dough into six rectangles (3 x 2). Gently lift these pieces to a liberally-floured couche, supporting the entire piece from underneath with your flat hands, keeping the floured side of the dough down. Again, be very careful to degas as little as possible.
- Cover the couche with plastic or slip it, on a board or sheet pan, into a large food-grade plastic bag.
- Proof for 1.5 - 2 hours at room temperature, until the dough is very light and full of gas. Alternatively, place the loaves in the refrigerator for 2 hours, then another hour at room temperature.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven, with baking stone, to 475F. You will also need steam during the initial phase of baking, so prepare for this now.
- Prepare a piece of parchment paper the size of your baking stone, and put it on a board or sheet pan.
- To transfer the loaves from the couche to the parchment, lightly sprinkle them with flour. Holding the edge of the parchment-covered pan right next to the edge of a loaf, grab the end of the couche, pull it taut and use it to flip the loaf over onto the parchment, so the heavily floured side is now up. Do this maneuver as gently as possible.
- To bake, slide the entire loaf-laden parchment onto the baking stone.
- Once the loaves are in the oven, turn the heat down to 450F. Bake for 8 minutes with steam, and another 20 minutes or so without steam. The crust should be a deepish golden brown. Once the crust is the color you want it, turn off the oven and leave the loaves in, with the door cracked open, for another 10 -12 minutes.
- Cool on a wire rack. Wait until completely cool to cut and eat.
Fru B August 28 2007 at 03:35 am 1
Wow the ciabatta looks delicious!
)
Yes I’m from Sweden. I don’t blogg on english (really bad speller
I made the Norwich Sourdough this weekend. It doesn’t look like yours at all. Can’t really explain, but it didn’t raise so high.. The inside was very compact (is that the right word??) And it was a bit like rubber..
What does “360 g ripe 100% hydration sourdough starter” meen? Is it dry? My sourdough is like thick liquide.
I have pictures of the bread on my page.
I’m so happy I found your page!
Marta August 28 2007 at 06:44 am 2
Really wonderful. I’ll try it soon.
Karen August 28 2007 at 01:30 pm 3
Beautiful! I’m off to the kitchen. =) Thanks for the lovely recipe.
Susan August 28 2007 at 06:19 pm 4
Fru B, hej då! I think your bread is beautiful. A 100% hydration starter is one that is fed with equal parts of flour and water, by weight. If yours is a thick liquid it’s probably 100% or close to it.
Marta, I hope you do!
Karen, you’re welcome. I hope your kitchen is cooler than last time I heard from you!
mariana August 28 2007 at 06:28 pm 5
They took my breath away. Wow, Susan, you sure know how to bake a loaf of bread! Astonishing looks and quality of crust and crumb. Congratulations!
bluezebra August 29 2007 at 08:34 am 6
Beautiful Susan! I can’t wait to try this recipe!!! So far I don’t have much luck with ciabatta but I think your tip about forming the gluten first then adding the remaining water will help. I also think I will try this technique for my high hydration doughs!!
Susan August 30 2007 at 07:40 am 7
Mariana, thanks!
BZ, I’ll be interested to know if you have success with the technique.
Cascabel August 30 2007 at 02:01 pm 8
I just discovered your blog - how nice to meet another person with a passion for bread
Thanks a lot for sharing your knowledge!
Jamila August 31 2007 at 07:55 am 9
These ciabatta’s are so beautiful, I am hoping to try them myself!
Susan September 1 2007 at 09:50 am 10
Cascabel, I’m so glad to meet you too.
Jamila, hello, thank you, and I hope you enjoy the ciabatta if you make it!
Melly September 3 2007 at 09:59 pm 11
ok. Now you have me thinking. I have made a total of three batches of (ciabatta) bread so far, I am a newbie. My bread is getting better. This last batch had bigger holes, for me. But not quite ciabatta bread holes. I am baking at 7000 feet above sea level. Do you know anything about this? Next batch I am going to try it your way.
I am going to read and reread this post. I may write to ask you more questions, if that is OK.
Tartelette September 4 2007 at 11:56 am 12
I could just dive in the cratters! Gorgeous breads. I have been reading your blog for the past hour and I can’t believe I have just found about it. I make a lot of bread too (every other day) but rarely blog about it, I am more the sugarfreak blogger!
Keep up the good work!
Susan September 4 2007 at 02:18 pm 13
Melly, sorry I can’t give you any hints about high-altitude baking; I do all of mine here at near sea-level. You may want to ask that at The Fresh Loaf as I’m pretty sure there are people there who can give you some advice about it. Good luck with the ciabatta!
Tartelette, thanks, and I’d love to see some of your breads on your blog. Your sugared creations are very beautiful.
Nhumi September 7 2007 at 01:01 pm 14
Hi, your breads are awesome. I will for sure try some this weekend. I have high gluten flour and also another flour similar to the French for baguettes. Which would be closest to the flour that you use? Thanks.
Thanks.
Nhumi
Kim September 7 2007 at 09:29 pm 15
Thank you susan, your ciabatta recipe worked really well, my housemates finished all of them in one setting. Thank you so much.
Susan September 8 2007 at 05:58 am 16
Nhumi, the flour I use has about 11 - 11.5% protein, so it would be closer to your baguette flour than a high-gluten flour.
Kim, thanks for letting me know how this worked out. I’m glad you liked it!
Barbara November 4 2007 at 04:00 pm 17
I have to make this recipe! We love ciabatta. The texture looks absolutely perfect!
Susan November 8 2007 at 03:07 pm 18
Barbara, I’ll look forward to hearing how the recipe works for you!
Daniel December 6 2007 at 04:58 pm 19
Every time I try to make ciabatta I fail. It never comes out quite right. I have tried other recipes, but this one was more promising. However, i still had feeble bread. The dough consistency seemed right, but the baking part didn’t work out. Unfortunately, I do not own a couche yet. I used a Baggett pan for two loaves and a cookie sheet for another. I still had enough dough for at least 3 other loaves. The dough on the sheet ended up really flat and didn’t have the grand taste of ciabatta. The other loaves were ok, but they started falling over the sides of the pan. For some reason, lately, when I am baking the bread my dough falls and my bread has a flat top to it. It doesn’t come out rounded. It might be that the dough is too warm while it is proofing? My crust was OK, but I didn’t bake it long enough. I had to leave the house. When mixing this kind of dough, do you use a hook or paddle? Do you have any thoughts?
Susan December 6 2007 at 05:36 pm 20
Daniel, it sounds as though on ething that may be happening is that your loaves are overproofing. What is the temperature of your dough and your room? If these are too warm the dough will proof faster than the times I give in the recipes. Bread falling rather than rising in the oven is almost always a sign of overproofing.
A couche can be improvised with a smooth cotton towel or some linen fabric. If the fabric does not have enough body to stand up in pleats on its own you can use objects such as books or cartons of foil, plastic wrap, etc., to bolster it on the ends.
Keep at it! Even if you don’t know for sure what’s going wrong, just practicing anyway will help. Good luck!
Daniel December 7 2007 at 01:06 pm 21
I kind of figured it would be over proofing. Thank you so much for your response!
Herb January 8 2008 at 09:11 am 22
Great looking bread! Could this recipe be converted to use a sourdough starter?
Susan January 10 2008 at 08:14 am 23
Herb, there are many recipes floating around for “sourdough ciabatta” although my understanding is that with sourdough it’s technically not “ciabatta” anymore but more like “pane francese.” The recipe for Rustic Bread in Nancy Silverton’s La Brea Breads book is one I have used and like.
IDY February 11 2008 at 01:21 am 24
impressive! heavenly ciabatta!
Susan February 16 2008 at 01:59 am 25
IDY, thanks and welcome!
Jami February 27 2008 at 09:44 am 26
Hi Susan, I just found your blog yesterday and I am hooked! I have a question, how do you get your crumb to be so shiny? My breads always come out dull looking.
norma johnson February 28 2008 at 11:56 pm 27
Susan — What type of mixer did you use for this ciabatta. It is a thing of beauty and probably only a joy for about 1/2 day…assuming it gets eaten that rapidly!
Susan March 1 2008 at 07:56 am 28
Norma, I used my SP5 (countertop spiral) mixer. Yes, it does get eaten quickly but if not eaten dries out quickly too. Once it stales, though, it can be sliced thinly and toasted in the oven for crostini.
Jami, the short answer to your question is practice! The long answer is… well, I can’t point to a single thing that makes for the kind crumb you’re looking for. Honestly, I think it’s all important: flour, hydration, proper gluten development, proper fermentation time, etc. I wish I could be more helpful but I’m just muddling my way through these questions myself!
Daniela May 8 2008 at 11:40 pm 29
Hy,
I’ve seen Your ciabattas: are very very beautiful!
Bye!
Daniela
Teresa May 22 2008 at 03:41 am 30
Thank you for such a beautifully presented recipe! It’s such a motivation to see your lovely photos.
I have question- is the flour “all-purpose flour” or “bread flour”? Since one of the key factors of this recipe seems to be about giving the gluten a chance, and since the difference between these two flours is gluten content (I think), I thought I’d better ask you!
Thanks
Susan May 23 2008 at 07:59 am 31
Teresa, I was wondering when someone was going to ask me this question! I’ll do a post about flour soon, but here’s a short answer — if you can, use flour made from hard winter wheat that has about 11 - 11.5% protein. Most “bread flours” have more protein than this, most AP flours less, and/or are not all hard winter wheat. Gold Medal Harvest King is one national brand that fills the bill.
Hasan June 19 2008 at 06:47 am 32
Hello Teresa,
Nice website and well done on the bread. May I ask if you know if the addition of olive oil should be at the start or later (after autolyse) in the mixing of this ciabatta. I have not made it regularly enough to tell. I was thinking, autolyse first, then add poolish & mix a bit, then add salt & oil and mix more. My thinking was that the ferment may be inhibited by the oil initially.
Cheers,
Hasan
Hasan June 19 2008 at 06:51 am 33
Sorry its Susan not Teresa
Bit brain dead today
Susan June 19 2008 at 06:56 am 34
Hasan, I don’t use an autolyse for this dough — not necessary as autolyse makes the dough more extensible but the dough here is quite extensible already due to the high hydration. The olive oil is added at the beginning along with the rest of the final dough ingredients (except some of the water).
joe June 21 2008 at 10:03 am 35
That’s it, this is my next project. I have been wanting to try a ciabatta for some time. But Susan’s loaf is so incredibly rich looking that … how can I not?
Oh, and my site is now going to be modeled after hers -
As the old saying goes: “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery” (From Bartleby.com: To imitate someone is to pay the person a genuine compliment—…)
Thanks Susan, you’re such an inspiration.
-joe