One of my goals is to improve on my baking skills. I made bread with my mom recently and I would call the result a success.
I wanted to try a bread that required an overnight starter as part of the recipe. A bread with a starter that needs at least one night for the yeast to bubble and rise just has to be superior, no?
I’ve noticed many food bloggers citing recipes from King Arthur Flour with great results and so my homework was cut in half going to the source of much success. I chose King Arthur’s
Ciabatta.
I was very pleased with the flavour of the Ciabatta and the crust was pretty good but I still did not get the desired look that I often see in a photo of a Ciabatta bread.
Would I need a baking stone? Should I have preheated my oven to 500F before lowering the heat then baking? Should I not use the convection bake feature?
I’ll make this bread again, for sure but if you “bakers extroardinaire” out there have any tips on getting my Ciabatta to get that bakery look, I’m all ears.
Certainly no baker extraordinaire but I think the most valuable thing I picked up was an oven thermometer – I was amazed to see what temperature my oven was actually at when it claimed it was preheated. I also really like my baking stone and I find that adding steam to the oven helps.
No idea on the convection side of things. Also did you use King Arthur flour or just a recipe from them? I have never seen King Arthur out west…
You made Ciabatta Bread. . .and the loaves look beautiful! I know that the look of our prized efforts are extrememly important to us and we are also our own hardest critic. . .but with that said. . .your pictures show fantastic loaves and you said you were pleased with the flavor. . .hhhmmm, your not a complete perfectionist are you? Cnngratulations on your Ciabatta =D
Kat, I’m suspect of my oven’s temp. too. I know that I can adjust but but your suggestions are valid and I’ll look into a stone, as I do make pizza alot. Also, I used Duncan Hines all purpose flour…a great product, IMO.
Shandy, I think the problem I have is seeing the super crusty, rustic Ciabattas at the Italoan bakery all my life…that was my standard.
Peter,
I’m not all that in baking but I agree with Katerina – I bought a oven thermometer more than a year ago and it’s incredible how much difference there is in the temperature! It has really enhanced my cooking and baking, I assure you.
I don’t have a baking stone and I also make pizza a lot (every Saturday night). I used a very large (40x40cm) removable bottom of a baking pan I have as a baking stone.
Your ciabatta looks fantastic!
Your ciabatta looks great but haven’t heard of a baking stone before, so I must definitely find one as well as a thermometre.
Atm I’m very curious about baking bread, as I never dared trying it. Besides some extra courage, I now think I need a thermometer!
Peter, your ciabatta looks really great. :)
Practice makes perfect as they say. Have a great time!
Peter: Yes, get a baking stone. Yes, get an oven thermometer. When you have the stone in the oven, you need to start preheating much earlier than normal. I usually turn the oven on 45 minutes before I bake, depending on what temp I need it to get to. To get a bakery style crust, you have to use steam. Bakery ovens are steam injected, unfortunately or home ovens are not! You can create steam in a few different ways, I’ll e-mail you more info if you want. Read this in the meantime :-)
By the way, I think your bread looks great! I bake lots of bread, but have never made ciabatta! I don’t know why, it’s one of my favorites. My sister just requested that I make some yesterday so maybe I’ll be posting my own soon!
Ciabatta is my favorite bread to use for sandwiches. Crispy on the outside and soft chewy on the inside. I have yet to try making it myself though. I need to start doing more baking.
Peter your bread looks gorgeous to me. For baking, here’s what I think helps:
1. Baking stone, and like Nicole says it needs to go in the oven way early so it is completely heated through. I generally preheat the oven and stone to 475 or 500 and then turn the heat down when I put the bread in.
2. I don’t like using convection for baking bread. I can never get a good crust when I do.
3. Steam. I have a baking sheet with edges that I put in the oven along with the baking stone on a rack just below the stone. When I put the bread in, I have a cup of water ready, and put it on the baking sheet just before I close the door. (Before I got smart and started using the baking sheet, I used to throw it on the bottom of the oven but, well, badly warped the bottom of that oven. Not a good idea.)
4. Bake hot – say 425 – for the first 15 or 20 minutes, then turn the heat down to 325.
5. If you haven’t seen it, there is a book called The Italian Baker by Carol Field that I think is one of the best around for advice on making rustic breads.
Despite all the advice, I really do think your bread looks great.
Peter, the interior of your ciabatta looks just right, I’d say – full of holes. If you’re worried about the outside, I notice the dough – both in the bowl, and in loaf form, risen – looks very dry. Dry dough forms a skin, and this prevents it from rising as high as it might, and also from developing the nicest looking crust. If you aren’t already, be sure to keep your dough covered as it rises in the bowl – plastic wrap is best – and then cover it as it rises after being shaped into loaves, too. I like to put a big clear plastic cover over it as it rises – like, something you’d get were you to order a big takeout tray of desserts or hors d’oeuvres from the supermarket. Barring that, you can use plastic wrap, but grease it VERY heavily with pan spray or olive oil. Remember, the secret to the best ciabatta is a very wet dough; and a very “risen” dough. When ready to go into the oven, it should jiggle like Jell-O! It’s hard at first to know exactly when it’s perfectly risen vs. when it’s overly risen, but practice makes perfect, and the experiments are all yummy. (Glad you like the recipe – I work in the kitchen at King Arthur, and I’m the one who developed it!) – Cheers – PJH
Pjh, I’m indebted to your input on my attempt at Ciabatta and I must ince again say that the taste of the bread was adored by all in the family. The outer crust is where improvement is needed and your suggestions make sense and will be applied.
Personally, I think Ciabatta is the “King” of breads and I’ll show why…real soon!