Rustic Ciabatta Bread

Here is a recipe I am so excited to share. It is my last couple days living here in Grenada, and I had a few things in my pantry I wanted to use up before moving out. I had an itch to bake something, but had no milk or butter left...decided to use the rest of my flour, yeast, and a little oil to make one of my favorite breads of all time: ciabatta! Ciabatta is an Italian white bread with a soft, porous texture inside, and a nice crispy exterior. It is perfect for toasting and making bruschetta or crostini, as well as for pressing and making panini. It turned out to be so simple to make, and so delicious!

Ingredients:
2 cups of all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon active dry yeast
2/3 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 1/8 cup lukewarm water
1 tablespoon olive oil

In a small cup, add the yeast and sugar to the lukewarm water, then stir. Let that sit aside for 5 minutes. In a mixing bowl, combine the flour and salt. Add the water mixture to the mixing bowl, half at a time, stirring with a wooden spoon. Stir mixture with the wooden spoon for at least 10 minutes. (It may look a bit dry at the beginning, but as you mix it will become a stickier dough...do not add more water than directed.)

Rub the sides of another bowl with the olive oil. Place the dough inside, cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and set it in a warm place to rise. Once it has doubled in size (took me 1 hour here in Grenada, may take longer in colder climates), lightly dust a work surface with flour. Stretch the dough out to a square. Fold the top and bottom sides to meet each other at the middle. Flip the dough over, and then fold the two other sides in (left and right sides) to meet each other at the middle. Place the dough back in the oiled bowl and cover, letting it rise until it has again doubled in size (took another hour for me).

Preheat the oven (425F or 450F depending on the size you will be making your bread...see below). Lightly brush some olive oil on a parchment-lined baking sheet and set it aside. Lightly flour your work surface again with some flour. Take the risen dough out and cut it in half (will make two long loaves...you may also cut it into quarters to make smaller loaves as I did for the bread in the picture). Stretch and shape each half (or quarter) into a rectangle on the baking sheet. Sprinkle the tops of the loaves with a bit of flour, and place them in the oven.

Bake for about 25-30 minutes at 450F (for smaller loaves), 35-40 minutes at 425F (for the larger loaves), or until the tops are nicely light golden brown. Once they are done, remove them from the baking sheet and allow to cool for 15-20 minutes. Buon appetito!

Here are two of the things I did with my freshly baked ciabatta:

Pressed Argentinian steak sandwich: grilled minute steak, chimichurri, caramelized onions, and fried sweet plantains (add any cheese you like)...assemble and cook in a panini press or on the stovetop in a pan with a weight over it.

Garlic bread: butter, minced garlic, and parsley, toasted under the broiler for 5 minutes.