Baking Ciabatta needs a little effort and time plus the elaborate messy work. It certainly requires a stand mixer too, as the dough has to be kneaded for 15 minutes at medium high speed, which is almost unmanageable by hand. Unless, you have some seriously strong muscle power! At the end of kneading, the dough looks glossy, it’s gummy, wet and quite lumpy to handle. After the first rise, when you shape the dough for the second rise, don’t bother to make it look neat or give it a form. Leave it uneven and just handle it very gently. Wet your hand, if requires or dust some flour to avoid the dough from gluing.
As the bread bakes in the hot oven, it puffs up making the outer crust golden and crinkly with a soft interior. All that effort you gave earlier will feel worth it! It sure does take numerous practices to bake a perfect Ciabatta and I have a long way to get there. The crust came out quite nice and I loved the rustic look but I wish the bread had more pockets and honeycomb like holes. All in all, it was really good bread and we enjoyed every bite of it.
