Original Italian Ciabatta

Ingredients for 1 servings:

• 200 g flour
• 200 ml water, lukewarm
• 2 g yeast, fresh – not dry yeast!
• 400 g flour
• 250 ml water, lukewarm
• 6 g yeast, fresh – not dry yeast!
• 1 tbsp baking malt
• 2 tbsp salt
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• Flour for the work surface
• Flour for dusting
• Water for spraying

Instructions

Working time approx. 1 hour; Rest time approx. 13 hours; Total time approx. 14 hours

Long-lasting, firm white bread for all Italian appetizers

For the pre-dough, dissolve 2 g of fresh yeast in 200 ml of lukewarm water. Place 200 g of flour in a medium-sized mixing bowl and stir in the yeast-water mixture. Stir with a whisk or fork until the mixture is smooth and pliable. The mixture will be thick and viscous. Cover and let rest in the mixing bowl for about 10-12 hours at room temperature of about 20°C (do not refrigerate). The mixture will rise slightly. For the main dough, dissolve another 6 g of fresh yeast in 50 ml of water. In a bowl, add 400 g of flour, 2 tablespoons of malt, 2 tablespoons of salt, the pre-dough, and 200 ml of water. Stir and knead everything thoroughly. The dough will become tough and sticky. After kneading for a few minutes, the dough should be homogeneous and even, but still quite sticky. Then add the water with the dissolved yeast and knead again for at least 10 minutes. Finally, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and knead for about 5 minutes. Then, cover the dough and let it stand at room temperature for about 45-50 minutes. After this time, transfer the finished dough to a well-floured work surface and divide it into two long pieces using a knife or spatula. Dust these two loaves well with flour and cover with a cloth. Let stand for another 50 minutes. In the meantime, preheat the oven to about 240°C (top/bottom heat). Then, using the cloth, place the dough (note: it’s still very soft!) on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake in the oven for about 15-20 minutes at 240°C. Spray the dough 2-3 times with water from a spray bottle (or similar) to give the bread its typical crust. After these 15 minutes, reduce the temperature to about 190°C and bake for another 20-25 minutes. I got this recipe from two colleagues who sell fine delicacies from Sardinia. It comes from a Sardinian restaurant and is a typical Italian white bread, usually served in restaurants before meals or with appetizers. It’s quite compact, with a very nice crust, not as large-pored as it’s usually served in Germany, but rather firm. If you want it a bit lighter, increase the amount of yeast for the starter to about 4-5 g and for the main dough to about 8 g.