Il Fornaio Ciabatta Bread Food

CIABATTA

Steps:

• The night before, make the biga (see tip, below). Stir yeast with 50ml warm water, stand for 10 mins, then add another 80ml warm water. Gradually add the flour in a stand mixer on its lowest setting. Once it's a wet dough, transfer to a well-oiled bowl, cover and leave for 12 hours or overnight at room temperature.
• In the morning, combine the yeast and milk and leave to stand for 10 mins. Tip into a freestanding mixer fitted with a dough hook, add 160ml water, the biga and the olive oil. Then add the flour and 1 heaped tsp salt. Use the dough hook of a stand mixer to combine the dough. Knead for 10 mins until smooth and elastic. Don't worry if it looks very wet, it should to be a very wet dough! Pour into a well-oiled bowl and cover with cling film. Leave to prove for an hour and a half or until doubled in size.
• Once rested, begin to do a series of folds - lift the dough from the edge, pull up, over, then release it. Turn the bowl 90 degrees and do the same again. Repeat so you do a full turn of the bowl twice, or 8 folds. Rest for 30 mins, then repeat the whole folding process once more.
• Heat the oven to 220C/200C fan/gas mark 6. Tip the dough onto a really well-floured surface and cut in half. The dough will feel like a batter and spread across the surface a bit, but don't panic, just work on a well-floured surface, using the flour and a pastry scraper to help move the dough. Shape the dough into 2 large squares (about 20cm x 20cm). Dealing with each loaf at a time, fold the dough in from each side, as if folding a booklet. Flip over, then pick up the roll and place each onto separate well-floured sheets of baking paper. The roll will be very soft, so oil or flour your hands well. Allow to rest for another 30 mins, covered with a floured tea towel. Don't worry if it spreads a little.
• While the dough rests, heat a baking sheet in the oven. Once the dough has rested, slide each of the loaves, along with the baking paper beneath them, onto the hot baking sheet. Bake for 35-40 mins, until the crust is golden and the loaves sound hollow when tapped on the base. Move to a wire rack and cool for an hour before slicing and serving with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

FOOD-PROCESSOR CIABATTA

Steps:

• Combine flour with salt and yeast in a food processor fitted with a plastic blade. Pulse a few times to mix.
• With the machine running, pour in the olive oil, then all but about 2 tablespoons of the water into the food tube. Mixture should not be stiff enough to be gathered into a ball, nor should it be runny like a batter. It should be elastic and resilient, about the consistency of melted mozzarella cheese. Add a little more water if it is too stiff.
• The dough can be left to rise in the food processor. Replace the cylinder to close the feed tube. Or transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and set aside to rise.
• Allow the dough to rise at least three hours. It can be left to rise as long as 24 hours.
• Oil a nonstick baking sheet and dust it with flour or cornmeal. Using a spatula, scrape the dough out of the food processor or bowl and onto the baking sheet, allowing it to fall in an oval shape about twice as long as it is wide. Pile the dough so it mounds up to about 2 inches high in the middle. Set aside to rise until doubled, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Alternately, the dough can be piled into an oiled, floured, nonstick pie or cake pan, 8 inches in diameter.
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Dust the top of the bread lightly with flour. Bake for about 45 minutes, until golden brown. Allow to cool completely before slicing.