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Ciabatta

Dry Black Garlic Parmesan Ciabatta

1766kcal
5 from 1 vote
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Prep 30 minutes
Cook 25 minutes
Rise & Rest Time 15 hours 30 minutes
Total 16 hours 25 minutes
This spectacular Dry Black Garlic Parmesan Ciabatta fills the kitchen with an incredible aroma. It pairs sweet, savory black garlic with toasted, sharp Parmesan cheese to deliver a rich, deep flavor profile. The high-hydration dough yields a delicate, open interior structure wrapped in a thin, crispy crust.
Cuisine Italian

Ingredients

The Preferment Biga Starter (Night Before)
The High-Hydration Main Dough
The Savory Inclusions
  • 40 g Dry black garlic cloves (Finely chopped)
  • 40 g Sharp Parmesan cheese (Finely grated or shredded)

Equipment

Method

Night Before – Biga Initialization
  1. In a small bowl, thoroughly dissolve the 1g of dry yeast into 90g of water.
  2. Stir in 150g of bread flour until a stiff, tight dough ball forms. Cover tightly and let ferment at room temperature for 10 to 12 hours overnight.
Day 2 – Intensive Mix, Savory Folds, and Bulk Rise
  1. The Main Mix: Tear your mature overnight biga into small pieces and place them directly into your stand mixer bowl. Add the 210g of water, 25g of bread flour, 8g of salt, and 2g of dry yeast.
  2. Attach your dough hook attachment. Mix on low-medium speed for 5 to 7 minutes until the preferment pieces completely dissolve and form a uniform, shaggy mass.
  3. Add the remaining 225g of bread flour. Crank your mixer speed to medium-high and knead continuously for 12 to 15 minutes. The high-hydration dough will initially look like a loose batter, but it will slowly gain elastic strength, smooth out, and pull away from the side walls.
  4. The Inclusion Lamination: Transfer the sticky dough to a lightly oiled square rectangular container. Wet your hands, gently stretch the dough mass out thin, and scatter your 40g of chopped black garlic and 40g of grated Parmesan evenly across the surface. Fold the dough into thirds like a letter to cleanly trap the inclusions. Cover and rest for 45 minutes.
  5. After mixing your dry black garlic and finely shredded Parmesan directly into the dough at low speed for 1 to 2 minutes, transfer the wet 90% hydration mass into your greased container. Put the lid on and let the dough double in size completely untouched.
  6. Once the dough has successfully doubled in volume, wet your hands with a bit of water. Lift the dough from the center, let the loose sides curl cleanly underneath themselves, and rotate the tub to form a tight, structured square log.
  7. Cover the container back up and let the dough double in volume a second time. Once it hits that second doubling peak and is filled with large, fragile air pockets, you are ready to gently tip it out onto your heavily floured workspace to cut it into the final slipper shapes.
Flipping, Precision Cutting, and Blazing Hot Bake
  1. Dust your workspace generously with a thick layer of flour. Carefully tip your airy container dough straight out onto the flour-bed, ensuring you do not pull or aggressively handle it to preserve the internal bubbles.
  2. Dust the exposed sticky top surface of the dough with an additional heavy layer of flour.
  3. Use a sharp bench knife to slice the dough rectangle cleanly down the center into 2 equal slipper-shaped ciabatta logs. Gently nudge the cut edges inward to square them up.
  4. Transfer the loaves carefully onto a sheet of parchment paper. Let them proof uncovered on your counter for 45 minutes to 1 hour. While they proof, preheat your oven to 450°F (232°C) with a baking stone inside and an empty iron tray on the bottom rack.
  5. Slide the parchment with your puffed ciabatta loaves straight onto the hot stone. Instantly dump a cup of ice cubes into the empty bottom tray to release a heavy cloud of steam, and shut the door.
  6. Bake with steam at 450°F (232°C) for exactly 12 minutes.
  7. Carefully remove the steam tray and continue baking bare for an additional 12 to 15 minutes until the cheese turns fragrant and the crust develops a deep golden color. Let cool on a wire rack before cutting!

Nutrition

Calories1766kcalCarbohydrates322gProtein75gFat18gSaturated Fat8gPolyunsaturated Fat3gMonounsaturated Fat4gCholesterol39mgSodium1252mgPotassium1059mgFiber14gSugar3gVitamin A332IUVitamin C1mgCalcium588mgIron6mg

Notes

  • The Magic of Biga: Using a stiff, overnight biga preferment provides this high-hydration dough with a reliable structural base. It builds early gluten networks that make handling the wet, airy ciabatta much easier while adding a complex, traditional Italian flavor profile.
  • Preserving the Air Pockets: Ciabatta gets its iconic open, honeycomb texture from minimal handling. When tipping the dough out of the tub in step 10, let gravity do the work. Never pat down, roll, or punch the dough after it finishes bulk fermentation, or you will deflate all the gas bubbles.
  • Why White Flour is Necessary for Dusting: This dough is incredibly wet and sticky. Using a generous amount of standard white flour on your workspace and on top of the dough is mandatory to keep it from sticking to your hands, the bench knife, or the parchment paper.
  • Sourcing Black Garlic: Black garlic cloves have a soft, sticky, balsamic-like texture and a sweet-savory flavor profile. If you cannot find them at your local specialty market, you can substitute them with roasted garlic cloves that have been thoroughly mashed and cooled before the lamination fold.

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