Loaf 70 – Ciabatta in Boulder
Like my lean loaves (Loaf 68), the ciabatta worked beautifully. Big, puffy and light.
I did one step differently than usual. Typically I shape the loaves by stretching the dough out into a rectangle, then doing a tri-letter fold. After half the proofing time I flip the loaves over. This flip is so that the bubbles that are forming on the top of the loaf go to the bottom and then work their way back up, hopefully ending up somewhere in the middle when the loaves are baked.
This time I did another tri-fold before the flip. The net result was the loaves were smaller, and thus thicker. This also removed some of the larger bubbles. They ended up resembling the lean loaves (Loaf 68) without the slashed top. The crumb was much more even than is typical for ciabatta – but the flavor was great. I don’t think I’ll normally do this technique again unless I’m planning to use the bread for sandwiches.
