Summer Ciabatta with Basil, Sun-Dried Tomatoes & Olives
695kcal
Ingredients
Biga Starter — Night Before
- 210 g Bread flour
- 125 g Water
- 2 g Instant dry yeast
Main Dough
- approx. 337 g All of your prepared overnight biga
- 140 g Bread flour
- 190 g Water (Split into an initial 100g mixing pool and a 90g bassinage finish)
- 8 g Baking salt
Summer Inclusions
- fresh basil 1 Generous handful (Finely chopped)
- ¼ Cup Sun-dried tomatoes (Chopped)
- ¼ Cup Olives (Chopped)
Equipment
- Small Bowl (For the overnight biga)
- Stand Mixer (Fitted with a dough hook attachment)
- Square or Rectangular Container (Essential for tracking the dough doubling in size)
- baking couche (Or a well-floured kitchen cloth towel)
- Brod & Taylor Bread Steel Duo
- Two Brod & Taylor Baking Shells (To create individual steam chambers)
- Sharp Bench Knife
Method
Night Before — Prepare the Biga
- In a small bowl, thoroughly dissolve your 2g of instant dry yeast into 125g of water.
- Add the 210g of bread flour and mix until a stiff, tight dough ball forms. Cover tightly and let it ferment at room temperature for 10 to 12 hours overnight.
Day 2 — Mix, Add Inclusions, and Bulk Ferment
- Tear your mature overnight biga into small pieces and place them directly into the bowl of a stand mixer.
- Add the first 100g of water, 140g of bread flour, and 8g of baking salt. Attach your dough hook and mix on low-medium speed for 5 to 7 minutes until the preferment pieces completely dissolve into a uniform, shaggy mass.
- Increase the mixer speed to medium-high and knead continuously for 7 to 10 minutes. At first, the high-hydration dough will look very loose, but it will gradually gain strength, become smoother and more elastic, and begin cleanly pulling away from the sides of the bowl.
- Pour in the remaining 90g of water and continue kneading for an extra 4 to 5 minutes until a strong, extensible gluten network is fully developed.
- Transfer the sticky dough into a lightly oiled square or rectangular container. Wet your hands with water, gently stretch the dough mass out thin right inside the container, and scatter the chopped fresh basil, sun-dried tomatoes, and olives evenly over the surface. Fold the dough into thirds like a letter to cleanly trap the inclusions inside.
- The First Doubling Check: Snap the lid onto your container and let the dough double in size completely untouched. This will take about 1.5 to 2 hours at a warm room temperature of 75–79°F (24–26°C).
- The Single Coil Fold: Once the dough has successfully doubled in volume, wet your hands with a little water. Lift the airy dough up from the center, allowing the loose outer sides to curl cleanly underneath themselves, and rotate the tub to form a tighter, more structured square log.
- The Second Doubling Check: Cover the container again and let the dough double in volume a second time. This takes about 1 hour at a warm room temperature of 75–82°F (24–28°C). Once it reaches this second doubling peak and is full of large, fragile air pockets, it is ready to be divided.
Dividing, Shaping, and Couch Proofing
- Dust your workspace generously with a thick, heavy layer of flour.
- Carefully tip the airy dough straight out of your container onto the flour bed. Do not pull, press, stretch, or aggressively handle the dough here, as you must preserve all the internal gas bubbles.
- Dust the exposed sticky top surface of the dough with another uniform, generous layer of flour.
- Use a sharp bench knife to slice the dough rectangle cleanly down the center into 2 equal slipper-shaped ciabatta loaves.
- Gently nudge the cut raw edges inward to square them up. Transfer the loaves carefully onto your baking couche. Let them proof completely uncovered on the counter for 45 minutes to 1 hour.
High-Heat Covered Steam Bake
- Place your Bread Steel Duo inside the oven on the middle rack. Preheat the oven to 500°F (260°C), letting the steel saturate thoroughly with heat.
- Carefully flip the ciabatta loaves from the baking couche onto a sheet of parchment paper so that the bottom part goes up. Slide both parchment-supported loaves directly onto the scorching hot Bread Steel Duo.
- Immediately cover each loaf with a Baking Shell. Bake covered at 500°F (260°C) for exactly 10 minutes.
- Remove the Baking Shells from the oven. Lower the oven temperature to 450°F (232°C). Continue baking completely uncovered for another 10 to 15 minutes until the crust turns deeply golden, thin, crisp, and beautifully caramelized. Let the loaves cool on a wire rack before slicing!
Nutrition
Calories695kcalCarbohydrates136gProtein23gFat6gSaturated Fat1gPolyunsaturated Fat2gMonounsaturated Fat2gSodium1840mgPotassium664mgFiber7gSugar6gVitamin A190IUVitamin C5mgCalcium56mgIron3mg
Notes
- Why We Let the Dough Double, Fold it, and Let it Double Again: This process builds structural support within an incredibly wet dough while safely creating massive, irregular air pockets. The second rise is the absolute key to achieving ciabatta's distinctively light, open crumb.
- Why the Biga is Essential: The biga builds flavor, complex organic aromas, and gluten strength before the final dough is mixed. It makes this high-hydration ciabatta significantly easier to handle and directly helps create a more open crumb.
- Flipping the Dough Pre-Bake is Crucial: When transferring the loaves from the couche to the parchment paper, making sure the bottom side flips up to become the top is mandatory. This completely redistributes the rising gas pockets, preventing a single giant, hollow air cave from forming directly beneath the upper crust.
- If Using Oil-Packed Sun-Dried Tomatoes: These work beautifully, but make sure to drain them lightly before adding them to your dough container so they don't leak unmeasured extra oil into the structure.
- Baking Without Baking Shells: If you do not own the Baking Shells, you can use traditional home steaming methods (like pouring boiling water into a preheated cast-iron skillet on the bottom rack). Check that your internal temperature hits 205–210°F (96–99°C) to verify it's fully baked.