Ischia Sourdough Ciabatta

Okay, okay. I know. Ciabatta is from the Verona area (little town called Adria), not Ischia; it was the closest one. The Camaldoli sourdough starter is from way, way further away than the Ischia sourdough starter is, so I went with what was closest.

As you may or may not have known, ciabatta is a fairly new type of bread, developed in 1982 as a means of competing with the ever-growing French baguette “industry.” Near as I can tell, Italian bakers were basically freaking out about the loss of Italian breads reigning supreme there when they had baguette to compete with. This had more to do with what Italians were going to nom out on with their meals than it did with what anyone else in the world would do, because Italians were favoring baguette over local options. There is some debate about this origin story, where some people claim that Arnaldo Cavallari did not really invent this and that it existed before he made it. He says he’d like to see evidence of this, but to date that seems not to’ve happened. So we won’t argue about this, and he can keep it. So long as we get to eat it, amirite?

Either way, ciabatta makes for a lovely sandwich loaf, and that’s exactly what we’re doing today! This recipe is written for a stand mixer, due to the high hydration. If you want to do it by hand, you should assume you’re looking at upwards of 40 minutes kneading time.

Also, you want to know this: when dealing with the finished dough, your best friend in the world is flour. Really. Please don’t underestimate the shocking amount of flour you’ll need to dust your board and your couche or pan. And your hands, and your bench scraper. You’re going to be looking for enough “snow” to ski on. Because that’s what you want your ciabatta to do - ski across your fingers and your board/pan while you’re shaping. You should have a bench scraper for this, but you can sub in a cleaver if you prefer. Also, get a small bowl with a lid handy, because once you’re done shaping, you may wish to save the leftover flour for other purposes. Like your next batch of ciabatta dough that needs to be shaped!

There are a number of ways in which people shape ciabatta, and you can pick the one you like best. I am firmly in the “handle as little as possible” camp, which is in part due to my desire to retain as much of the sourdough starter’s work as is possible, but also is (in larger part than I care to admit) due to laziness. Simple shaping is … well, simple. And easy. And other such jazz.

Normally you would make this kind of bread with a biga, which is basically a piece of day old bread (the OG sourdough starter!), but since we have sourdough starters, why not use them!

NOTE: although quantities are provided in metric, US/Imperial, and volumetric (where possible), you will find that this recipe will behave most predictably if you use metric (which is what I use). Accuracy can start to drift during conversions, in particular when looking at volumetric quantities, and my converter app may not agree with your own experiences. Using the volumetric figures is going to be the least accurate, so I strongly recommend you use a scale. If storage space is at a premium, scales often are designed such that it’s easy to hang them on the wall. This is what I do, because my apartment is tiny and the kitchen even tinier.

Here’s What You Need

500 grams (17.64 ounces, 4.17 cups) all-purpose flour

15 grams (heaping 1/8 teaspoon, .5 ounce) salt

200 grams (7.1 ounces) Ischia sourdough starter

340 mL (11.5 ounces, scant 1 1/2 cups) water

Let’s Make the Dough!

In your stand mixer (you can do this by hand if you want), combine all the ingredients on level 2, then knead at level 4 for 8-10 minutes. Put this in an oiled bowl or container and rise for 4 hours. This is easier to deal with later if you use a tall, square container so you have a more uniform shape.

Bake Time!

After rising, tump the dough out onto your counter and cut it into 4ths. Transfer your pieces onto a sheet tray without worrying about what they look like. Turn your oven onto 425F/220C/gas mark 7) and let your little loaves do their second rise during the preheat. Bake for 25 minutes, then cool before nomming.