My husband and I absolutely adore this sandwich and we insist that part of what makes it spectacular is how the huge holes in the ciabatta bread catch the pesto and vinaigrette. No other bread has come even close to producing such a great sandwich. Costco sells Semifreddi’s ciabatta bread, which is delicious but always comes in a 2-pack, meaning that we’re left with at least one loaf of stale bread. My desire to see less waste (and avoid those last minute trips to Costco to grab bread for our sandwiches!) lead me to search for the perfect ciabatta recipe. I didn’t have to look far. Cook’s Illustrated took care of me once again.
I know what you’re thinking and let me assuage your fears. This bread is *not* that hard to make. Yes, it requires a bit of forethought. (Want bread tomorrow? Start it tonight!) But honestly, it’s super simple. You will need to be around for the day that you make this or you will need to have a bread machine that allows you to time rises and that will stir the dough down for you. Otherwise, it’s simply a matter of tossing your ingredients together, stirring the dough once in a while, shaping the dough into loaves and popping it in the oven. And it’s soooooo good. Really. Truly. Amazingly. Fabulous.
ciabatta bread
from www.cooksillustrated.com
Two tablespoons of nonfat milk powder can be used in place of the liquid milk; increase the amount of water in the dough to 1 cup. As you make this bread, keep in mind that the dough is wet and very sticky. The key to manipulating it is working quickly and gently; rough handling will result in flat, tough loaves. When possible, use a large rubber spatula or bowl scraper to move the dough. If you have to use your hands, make sure they are well floured. Because the dough is so sticky, it must be prepared in a stand mixer. If you don’t have a baking stone, bake the bread on an overturned and preheated rimmed baking sheet set on the lowest oven rack. The bread will keep for up to 2 days, well wrapped and stored at room temperature. To recrisp the crust, place the unwrapped bread in a 450-degree oven for 6 to 8 minutes. The bread will keep frozen for several months wrapped in foil and placed in a large zipper-lock bag. Thaw the bread at room temperature and recrisp using the instructions above.
biga (made 8-24 hours before starting the bread dough)
1 cup unbleached all purpose flour (5 ounces)
1/8 tsp instant or rapid rise yeast
1/2 cup water, at room temperature
dough (started 3-4 hours before serving)
2 cups unbleached all purpose flour (10 ounces)
1/2 tsp instant or rapid rise yeast
1 1/2 tsp table salt
3/4 cup water, at room temperature
1/4 cup milk, at room temperature (see note above)
FOR THE BIGA: Combine flour, yeast, and water in medium bowl and stir with wooden spoon until uniform mass forms, about 1 minute. Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature (about 70 degrees) overnight (at least 8 hours and up to 24 hours).
FOR THE DOUGH: Place biga and dough ingredients in bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment. Mix on lowest speed until roughly combined and shaggy dough forms, about 1 minute; scrape down sides of bowl as necessary. Continue mixing on medium-low speed until dough becomes uniform mass that collects on paddle and pulls away from sides of bowl, 4 to 6 minutes. Change to dough hook and knead bread on medium speed until smooth and shiny (dough will be very sticky), about 10 minutes. Transfer dough to large bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Let dough rise at room temperature until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
Spray rubber spatula or bowl scraper with nonstick cooking spray; fold partially risen dough over itself by gently lifting and folding edge of dough toward middle. Turn bowl 90 degrees; fold again. Turn bowl and fold dough six more times (total of eight turns). Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 30 minutes. Repeat folding, replace plastic wrap, and let rise until doubled in volume, about 30 minutes longer. Meanwhile, adjust oven rack to lower-middle position, place baking stone on rack, and heat oven to 450 degrees at least 30 minutes before baking.
Cut two 12- by 6-inch pieces of parchment paper and liberally dust with flour. Transfer dough to liberally floured counter, being careful not to deflate completely. Liberally flour top of dough and divide in half. Turn 1 piece of dough so cut side is facing up and dust with flour. With well-floured hands, press dough into rough 12- by 6-inch shape. Fold shorter sides of dough toward center, overlapping them like a business letter to form a 7- by 4-inch loaf. Repeat with second dough piece. Gently transfer each loaf seam-side down to parchment sheets, dust with flour, and cover with plastic wrap. Let loaves sit at room temperature for 30 minutes (surfaces of loaves will develop small bubbles).
Slide parchment with loaves onto inverted, rimmed baking sheet or pizza peel. Using floured fingertips, evenly poke entire surface of each loaf to form 10- by 6-inch rectangle; spray loaves lightly with water. Carefully slide parchment with loaves onto baking stone using jerking motion. Bake, spraying loaves with water twice more during first 5 minutes of baking time, until crust is deep golden brown and instant-read thermometer inserted into centers of loaves registers 210 degrees, 22 to 27 minutes. Transfer to wire rack, discard parchment, and cool loaves to room temperature, about 1 hour, before slicing and serving.
9 responses so far ↓
1 Brant // Jul 28, 2011 at 6:09 pm
You really can’t tell the difference from the store-bought version! Yum!
2 Monet // Jul 28, 2011 at 8:59 pm
Ah, homemade bread. Don’t you love Cooks Illustrated? Thank you for sharing with me tonight. I’m so glad I stumbled upon your blog! I hope you have a wonderful weekend.
3 Maureen // Jul 30, 2011 at 6:21 am
This bread sounds so good. I buy it all the time but I’ve never been game to try making it. I applaud your effort!
4 Nicole@HeatOvenTo350 // Aug 2, 2011 at 8:21 am
I love ciabatta bread, and we have the same problem with the pack from Costco. I’ll have to try making it myself@
5 Rosse // Aug 4, 2011 at 1:28 pm
Thanks for sharing the bread recipe!
6 deb burow // Aug 16, 2011 at 7:52 pm
Totally good!! Was not hard to do at all. And since I am the only one up and it was time to taste the finished product, what can I say… I have eaten half of one of the loaves! Slather some strawberry jam on it and half a loaf slid right down into my belly! So now it is off to do my “flat belly” exercise routine. (I should say I am the only HUMAN awake in our house. Dog, CaliRose, is seated right under the bread, whimpering occasionally so I do not forget that she wants her piece or loaves!
)
7 Paula // Aug 17, 2011 at 9:24 am
Deb – so glad that you made this and loved it! I have more fun bread recipes on the way.
8 Melanie Stallings // Jan 9, 2012 at 3:51 am
Baked this bread yesterday. It was fab even with just PB & J. Can’t wait to make a proper sandwich with it. Thanks for another winner.
9 Mary C. // Jan 30, 2013 at 12:16 pm
I used to live in the bay and adored Semifreddi’s. Since moving to Minnesota, I definitely have missed their morning buns and ciabatta bread, so I was very grateful to run across your blog the other day.
My loaves are baking right now. Smells delicious! Thanks for this recipe. Definitely making this terrible winter day a little warmer