Sourdough Ciabatta

Before you start

Traditional ciabatta gets its flavor and its big irregular holes from a yeasted pre-ferment. This version replaces both with a liquid levain, so the bread rises entirely on wild yeast and tastes more complex and lightly tangy. The dough sits at 80% hydration, which is what gives the crumb its glossy, honeycombed walls.

Wet dough is about technique, not strength. You build structure with coil folds over the first two hours, then let a long cold rest in the refrigerator do the rest. On baking day there is no real shaping: you tip the dough onto a well-floured surface, cut it into two rough rectangles and handle it as little as possible, because every press knocks out the gas that makes the holes.

Ingredients

• Levain10 g (2 tsp) active sourdough starter
• 50 g (⅓ cup + 1 tbsp) bread flour
• 50 g (3 tbsp + 1 tsp) water
• Dough450 g (3¾ cups) bread flour
• 350 g (1½ cups) water — about 28°C (82°F); hold back 30 g
• all of it (about 110 g) levain
• 10 g (1¾ tsp) fine sea salt
• 10 g (2 tsp) olive oil — optional; for a softer crust
• Dustingas needed rice flour or semolina — for dusting

Method

1. Mix the levain ingredients and leave at about 26°C (79°F) for 4 to 6 hours, until doubled and domed with large bubbles.
2. Mix the flour with 320 g of the water until no dry bits remain. Cover and rest 1 hour.
3. Add the levain and salt and work them in by pinching and folding for 3 minutes. Then add the reserved 30 g water a splash at a time, squeezing until each addition is absorbed. Add the oil last, if using. The dough will be loose and sticky.
4. Transfer to the oiled container. Over the next 2 hours, do 4 sets of coil folds every 30 minutes: with wet hands lift the center of the dough until it releases from the container, then let the ends fold under. By the last set the dough should hold a rounded shape.
5. Leave the covered dough at 24–25°C (75–77°F) until it has grown about 40%, is domed and has bubbles across the top, about 4½ hours from mixing. Refrigerate 12 to 18 hours.
6. Generously dust the counter with rice flour. Tip the cold dough out top side down, dust its surface and cut it into two rectangles with a floured scraper. Without stretching, lift each onto a floured couche, pleating the cloth between them.
7. Proof at room temperature for 60 to 90 minutes, until puffy and jiggly. Meanwhile, heat the oven to 250°C (480°F) with the stone on the middle rack and an empty metal pan on the rack below.
8. Flip each loaf onto parchment so the floured underside is now on top, stretching it gently to about 25 cm (10 in) long. Slide onto the stone, pour 1 cup of hot water into the pan, and bake 10 minutes.
9. Remove the steam pan, reduce to 230°C (450°F) and bake 16 to 20 minutes more, until deep golden and 96°C (205°F) inside. Cool at least 1 hour before slicing.

Tips for success

• Use a square container for bulk fermentation; the dough holds its shape better and is easier to tip out in an even slab.
• Wet your hands for folding and flour them only for the final cut. Mixing the two methods makes the dough gum to everything.
• Flipping the loaves before baking puts the most gas-filled side up and gives ciabatta its dusty, rustic top.

Substitutions

Bread flour

High-protein all-purpose works at 75% hydration: reduce the dough water to 325 g. Lower-protein flour at 80% spreads into flat loaves.

Rice flour for dusting

All-purpose flour works but absorbs into the dough faster, so use more and work quickly; rice flour stays dry and releases more cleanly.

Variations

Olive ciabatta

Fold 120 g pitted, well-drained Kalamata olives into the dough during the third set of coil folds.

Ciabatta rolls

Cut the proofed slab into 8 squares and bake 18 to 22 minutes total for sandwich rolls.

Troubleshooting

Loaves spread flat with a tight crumb

The dough lacked strength or was over-fermented. Do all four coil folds, stop bulk at about 40% rise, and handle the dough minimally after the cold rest.

Crumb is open but gummy

The bread was cut before it set or underbaked. Bake to 96°C (205°F) and wait a full hour.

Dough stuck to the couche

It needed more flour on the cloth. Rub rice flour into the fabric so it fills the weave before laying down the dough.

Storage

Ciabatta is best the day it is baked. Keep leftovers in a paper bag for 1 to 2 days and refresh in a 200°C (400°F) oven for 5 minutes. Freeze halved loaves, tightly wrapped, for up to 2 months.

Safety notes

Do not taste the raw dough. Contains wheat.