I scoured the internet for a good ciabatta recipe, but couldn’t find one that worked. I just wanted it to look the same as Paul Hollywood’s. So, I figured it out all on my lonesome. Below is the best recipe I could come up with.
Ingredients:
1tsp yeast
1 cup of warm water
2 cups of flour
1 tsp salt
olive oil (just enough to brush over the loaves once they go in the oven)
a spray bottle full of water
a whole lot of patience and time
Recipe Instructions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F and line a baking dish with parchment paper
Add 1tsp yeast, 1tsp salt, and 1 cup of lukewarm water to a bowl
Stir until the yeast dissolves and the mixture smells yeasty
Add 2 cups of flour to the wet mixture and stir until just combined
Cover with plastic wrap and place on top of the preheated oven to proof for a total of 2 hours
Uncover the dough every 30 mins and fold it over itself for 8 folds; do this a total of 3 times within the 2 hours of proofing, and make sure to cover with the plastic wrap after each set of folding
After the full 2 hours of proofing and folding, tip the bowl over and let the dough gently fall unto a heavily floured surface
Separate the dough into 4 even pieces
Gently stretch each piece of dough into a rectangle and then roll it in on itself, being careful to maintain air bubbles
Shape the four pieces of dough into squares (use a lot of flour so it doesn’t stick to your hands)
Cover with a cloth and let proof for a final 45 mins
After the final proofing, transfer the dough to the lined baking dish
Lightly brush the dough with olive oil
Place the loaves in the 450 degree F oven and immediately spritz with water before closing, so as to create steam
Bake for 20 mins
After 20 mins, open the oven and spritz again with water
Bake an additional 10 mins
Remove from the oven and tap the bottom of the bread to make sure it’s done
Fudge It! 