Italian Ciabatta is Airy, Crunchy, and Simple to Make

Summary by Krater

Martin from King Arthur Baking Company demonstrates how to make rustic Italian ciabatta bread using a pre-ferment biga, featuring extensive kneading, a long rest, and a high-heat bake.

From the video

Answers: How do you make rustic Italian ciabatta bread?

• ciabatta bread recipe
• making biga pre-ferment
• bread dough hydration
• gluten extensibility and elasticity
• bread folding technique
• shaping ciabatta loaves

Ingredients

• water
• 1/8 teaspoon yeast
• bread flour
• salt

What it concludes

• Using a biga pre-ferment builds superior flavor in ciabatta bread.
• Combining high hydration and bread flour creates the strong dough environment necessary for an open crumb structure.
• Hand mixing and folding dough allows the baker to perceive gluten strengthening and tension building.
• Heavily flouring the bench surface and the dough prevents sticking during the proofing and dividing stages.
• Baking ciabatta on a preheated baking stone with steam helps achieve a fully risen loaf and a crisp crust.